• Be inspired, October 2019 / 03 Oct 2019

    Yogic psychology

    DAAJI continues his series on the fundamental principles of psychology, with its foundation in the ancient wisdom of Yoga, as compiled in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. He starts from the pure consciousness that is the basis of a healthy human mind, and then proceeds to explain how the various mental imbalances arise. Furthermore, he gives us solutions to regain mental well-being through yogic practices. In this article he continues to explore the vikshepas, the obstacles to mental well-being and balance that underpin so many of the maladies of modern humanity. In this article, Daaji focuses on alabdha-bhumikatva and anavasthitatvani, as well as two modern maladies that didn’t exist when Patanjali was alive – FOMO and digital distraction. Part 10 – ALABDHA-BHUMIKATVA AND ANAVASTHITATVANI FOMO AND DIGITAL DISTRACTION VIKSHEPAS 1.30: Vyadhi styana samsaya pramada-alasya-avirati bhrantidarsana-alabdha-bhumikatva- anavasthitatvani citta-vikshepah te antarayah Vyadhi – Disease Styana – Languor, mental dullness, apathy Samsaya – Dilemma, indecision Pramada – Carelessness, haste, indifference Alasya – Laziness, sloth Avirati – Absence of non-attachment, sensuality Bhrantidarsana – False perception, blindness Alabdha–bhumikatva – Not attaining the destination or stage, lack of determination Anavasthitatvani – Instability, not retaining the condition These are the obstacles on the path that distract the mind. In the modern context, we can add: Fear of missing out (FOMO) Digital distraction In this article we will focus on the last four vikshepas. ALABDHA-BHUMIKATVA & ANAVASTHITATVANI Alabdha-bhumikatva is the obstacle where we are not able to attain the next stage or level in the spiritual journey, and anavasthitatvani is the failure to retain a stage once it has been given. There can be many reasons for these two obstacles. They may occur because of lack of interest, lack of determination, a feeling of impotency, or because we are not able to refine our character in order to maintain the spiritual level….

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  • It changes everything, October 2019 / 03 Oct 2019

    Silence and compassion

    LLEWELLYN VAUGHAN-LEE explores the beauty of silence, and the need of the hour for love and compassion. He invites us to listen to the song of unity, and embrace a world waiting to be born. 1. How can we reconnect with our deeper selves, our essential nature? There are many ways to reconnect with our essential nature. Any spiritual practice, prayer or meditation that takes us beneath the surface of our daily life, beneath the clutter of the mind and the demands of the outer world, can be a place of reconnection, a place where we can rest inwardly and be nourished by the deeper roots of our being. And if we need an added ingredient to help us in this work, silence is most valuable, especially in today’s world where noise surrounds us more and more. To learn to be present in an inner and outer silence is a doorway to what is real within ourselves and in the world around us. And as our world appears to spin more and more out of balance – temperatures and sea levels rising, species depleted – there is a pressing need to return to a this deep place, a place of belonging where real healing and transformation can take place. Returning to our essential self, we may find a balance resurfacing from deep within, a balance that reconnects and restores us, and also allows us to contribute in unseen ways. One of Carl Jung’s favorite stories was The Rainmaker, in which a world out of balance, in a time of drought and suffering, was healed not through activity but through a rainmaker retiring to a hut in silence. Three days later the rain came and the drought was over. When he was asked how he brought the rain, he replied, “Oh,…

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  • October 2019, Taste of life / 03 Oct 2019

    The secret of trees

    DAAJI shares some thoughts on the benefits we receive from trees, and how important they are to our life on Earth. Once upon a time, it so happened that a great sage from the early 20th century, Ram Chandra, visited a village in the tribal area of Rawati in the Malwa district of present-day Madhya Pradesh in India. He was so enamoured of the place, because it reminded him of the ancient ashram of the saint Kakabhushundi. Whoever entered that ashram felt a sense of liberation. After going there, Ram Chandra wrote, “The natural beauty and the innocent people of the village were the attractions. I liked this place very much and felt I should stay there forever. … I was eager to make my dream come true of building an ashram like that of Kakabhushundi. Such places have a better capacity to absorb feelings and Transmission than people do, and can retain them for a longer period. As a result, whoever goes there cannot but be influenced. This is the reason why even today this place looks like Brindavan. Even if one looks at it from the traditional angle, one can do better sadhana here than in other places.” So in 2007 I went looking for this village, now called Raoti. The moment I reached the nearby railway station I could see that there were hardly any trees around for hundreds of hectares; most of them had been cut down. Imagine how much greener it would have been back then! As I reached the village, I noticed a stream that had almost dried up, and on the banks were beautiful trees, including a huge banyan tree with a giant canopy. The thought arose that Lalaji must have visited this very spot, so I sat there and felt immensely benefited….

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  • Samunnati1
    Interview, October 2019 / 02 Oct 2019

    Samunnati

    In 2014, ANIL KUMAR left a successful career in banking to become the founder and CEO of Samunnati. Inspired by ancient Indian principles, the Bhoodan Movement of Vinobe Bhave, the UN sustainable development goals and climate-smart agriculture, Samunnati has undertaken a new role in defining the way the smallholder farmers of India are able to do business and work together in their communities. Here Anil speaks with ELIZABETH DENLEY about how Samunnati started, how it has grown, and what are the next steps. Q: Anil, welcome. You have been on a long and very inspiring journey, starting off in the mainstream business world and ending up somewhere quite different. Can you tell us about Samunnati? AK: Samunnati is a Sanskrit word, made up of sam and unnati. Sam means “collective, together, all incompassing,” and unnati means “growth, elevation, prosperity,” so Samunnati stands for collective growth, collective prosperity, collective elevation. We have designed a model that we call a value chain financial model, focused on agriculture. In this endeavor, all the stakeholders benefit by what we are building, so that the activity grows collectively. Hence, the ultimate beneficiary is the smallholder farmer. Samunnati has two objectives: One is to make value chains in which we operate at a higher equilibrium, which means we increase the throughput, the velocity of transactions. Thereby, the increased demand in those value chains make markets work for smallholder farmers.If you apply the principle of economics, we operate on both the supply side and demand side dynamics of the value chain. Rather than focusing only on supply side dynamics, increasing production, we first work with increasing the demand, and bring that increased demand to the suppliers. In other words, we have taken the market lead approach to agriculture. Q: You have been doing this now for about…

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  • silent-revolution1
    October 2019 / 01 Oct 2019

    A silent revolution in the heartland of India

    A PHOTO ESSAY IN RURAL TELANGANA Members of the Heartfulness Media Team traveled with DAAJI to rural Telangana on the Deccan Plateau, to document the meditation sessions he has been conducting with the villagers in Mahbubnagar District. Here MONU SINGH treats us to just a glimpse of the silent revolution that is sweeping the villages of India through meditation programs in the heartland of the country. Clean air, green farms, simple hearts and village life … it sounds so idyllic, but rural life in India can be very difficult. Here are some snippets from conversations with eight local villagers in Mahbubnagar District, about their lives before starting meditation and how Heartfulness has transformed them. Elderly lady: “I had so many fears about finances, family matters. I used to fear seeing everybody, I was scared of everything.” Potter: “I was always scared that other people may harm me.” Farmer: “It has been a long time since I slept well.” Mother: “I would get very angry without realizing it.” Elderly gentleman: “I was losing my confidence.” Mother: “I don’t know how to change.” During our conversations, they said that in the past they tended to solve their problems only with their minds, and using the mind they were stressed. They came to understand that they could try a different approach. They all decided to try meditation, with the hope that the mind would also follow the direction of the heart. Potter: “When I would see the picture of Shiva, he was in a meditative pose. I would ask myself, ‘What is God doing?’” Elderly lady: “We used to do what everyone did, puja etc. Husband of a married couple: “People used to say that meditation is only needed once you are old, so why do you want to do it now?” Potter:…

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  • 18th-sustainable
    Focus, October 2019 / 01 Oct 2019

    The 18th sustainable development goal

    ALAIN DESVIGNE asks why we have been so unsuccessful in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that officially came into force in 2016, and proposes an 18th SDG that will allow us to fulfill all the others. This paper was first presented at the conference for “The Elevation of Consciousness Through Meditation for Global Harmony” in August 2019, at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India. The concept of sustainability was popularized in the Brundtland Report, published in 1987. This document, which was also referred to as Our Common Future, was elaborated for the United Nations in order to warn the world about the negative environmental consequences of economic development and globalization, with the aim of offering solutions to the problems arising from industrialization and population growth. The concept of sustainability aims at achieving global well-being for present and future generations. In the report, the means to achieve that goal were provided and detailed around three essential pillars: 1. Environmental protection 2. Social development 3. Economic growth It was on 1 January 2016, that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit – officially came into force: a call to action to protect the planet and guarantee the global well-being of people. Although the concept of sustainability was acknowledged by the world community back in the 1980s, and despite the fact that global awareness of sustainable development has been growing over the years, actual tangible results still fall short of any of the set goals. Why is it so? One possible explanation is our lack of a sense of urgency. As a species, do we realize that the crisis we face is unprecedented and represents potentially the greatest challenge humanity has ever…

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OCT 2019 cover

THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

It changes everything
Thought in action
Focus
Be Inspired
Yogic psychology

Yogic psychology

in Be inspired, October 2019

DAAJI continues his series on the fundamental principles of psychology, with its foundation in the ancient wisdom of Yoga, as compiled in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. He starts from the pure...

Taste of Life
Interview
Samunnati1

Samunnati

in Interview, October 2019

In 2014, ANIL KUMAR left a successful career in banking to become the founder and CEO of Samunnati. Inspired by ancient Indian principles, the Bhoodan Movement of Vinobe Bhave, the...

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