I am no authority to speak on death as I am still alive and writing this blog on death. Ok, Jokes apart, Death is an inevitable phenomenon in our life that is taboo to speak on and I would like to share my thoughts and near-death experiences on it. Death and Life may seem like opposite polarities but they are intrinsically connected. In India, we have many schools of thought like Advaita Vedanta, Shaivism, Tantra, and much more to name a few. Each religion of the world has tried to explain death in its own terminology.
Now, what is death? When a living organism doesn’t move as it was first moving a.k.a the animating principle is vanished, the organism is declared dead. We are seeing and observing death all over our vicinity. For example, the snake eating the rat, two lions fighting till death, or if I am allowed to write in a complex manner that the living sprouts come out of the dead seed. Does the seed have to die to give life to a new sprouting plant?
Why do we fear death? Actually, we don’t fear death as we all know that it’s an unknown leap into infinity. What we actually fear is the loss of the known faculties. Known faculties being our money, our possessions, our family and friends, and other aspects of our life. Now, why don’t we want to die? Because all our empires will be demolished. Now anybody who has dodged the dagger of death will fall into its lap one day or another. If we investigate upon ourselves, our body cells are dying each minute with the regeneration of new ones. Our body cells are in a process. Even our breath has to leave for a few seconds from our body so that a new one can enter. There is the death of breath and aliveness of breath. Now we talked about the flesh body and the pranic body. Now we are also in our mental body. Our thoughts, emotions, perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and much more incomprehensible contents of the mind are in constant flux. Our thoughts come alive and go dead or vanish in unfathomable time frames. The same applies to every other aspect of the mind. Now it may seem like life and death are happening simultaneously. Now if we think with full momentum about death and mortality, we really cannot think about it. Because death is not a stoppage but a continuum. In India, Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnations. That means when one life form ends, it is transformed into a new life form. Hinduism believes in Atman or the soul while Buddhist believes in anatta or ‘No self’. Now when we see a dead body, only the animating principle is not present and so it is declared dead.
As I grew fond of idol worshipping of Lord Dattatreya to currently fond of worshipping lord Mahakala (lord shiva’s form of the ruler of time), and from there, my daily living experience changed a lot. I somehow experience micro deaths from time to time as I carry out my daily routine. See if we can get a little complicated here. First, the ancient seers and yogis knew the secret of the universe and they downloaded it into their very minds (from akashic records). They came up with a term or you can call it a device named moksha or liberation. Hindu cosmic theory consists of four yugas. So these yugas are manifesting linearly as well as non-linearly at the same time. Yes, it may seem like a paradox but I will try my best to explain this. Four yugas consist of satya yuga, treta yuga, dwapar yuga and kali yuga(currently going on). So let’s investigate further into this. Each particular yuga has three other latent yugas embedded microcosmly in them. For let’s take a simple example. A universe is a defined space-time combination with limits attached to them. A simple atom behaves like a micro-universe. A simple human being with its complexity behaves like a micro-universe. So for each person, according to his perceptions, he creates a universe of his own. He projects a specific universe with his private lens of senses and perception, creating a personal universe out of this infinite cosmic eternal universe. The yuga cosmology was developed by the seers so that we can maintain our karmic bondages to carry out our appropriate individual function and play our part in this world. If there is a village where all people adhere to the conduct of truth and purity (Satya Yuga), then that specific area has been initiating a small form of Satya-yuga in that specific space-time dimensions and that micro Satya-yuga is embedded in the macro kali-yuga. Similarly, where chants of Radhe-Krishna are going on, that specific dimension colours itself of a micro dwapar-yuga in macro kali-yuga. So the creation, sustenance, and transformation are going on endlessly and simultaneously. It is described linearly in the ancient philosophical texts because the mind cannot put together the thought of simultaneous eternal creation. The mind self-destructs when it touches the dimension of Brahmic consciousness(brahman is known as the ultimate non-dual reality in Advaita Vedanta). The brahman consumes the mind by bringing it to its natural state. So instead of saying that the god of death is lord shiva, he is a transformer. We can say that the transformer is energy-matter. The human form undergoes a transformation as it is mentioned in Bhagavad Gita where Krishna says to Arjun that the atman just changes the body as one changes his clothes or garments and puts on a new one. So the Atman( the true self of a living being) is never killed or can’t be slain.
So these were my thoughts. I hope you can understand this and become fearless when the taboo of death arises in your mind.
I had a great text interview with Colette Davie on Instagram and we went deep into spirituality.
Manish Kadave:- What’s your full name?
Colette:- Colette Davie.
Manish Kadave:- Hi colette davie, What do you think is spirituality?
Colette:- Spirituality is a means for seeking what we are. Throughout the course of life, people seek happiness in objects such as relationships, material things, states of mind and substances. At some point, we realise that none of these things ever seem to fulfil us, and if they do, it isn’t for very long. So, many of us turn toward spirituality as a sort of ‘last resort’ means toward the happiness we seek, hoping that it will finally be found in it. When true spirituality is practiced (if one could call it a practice), we reach a state of fulfilment. In other words, through spirituality, we discover who or what we are, and that fulfils us.
Manish Kadave:- Great answer, now can you describe your spiritual journey in short? If you had one*
Colette:- As a child, my father (who practiced Zen Buddhism at the time) taught my younger sister and I to meditate. We had to do that every day, and that was the extent of my ‘spirituality’ for a long time. I didn’t do much more than sit on a meditation cushion once or twice a day. At some point, it was realised that I was suffering deeply, despite ‘meditation’. Anxiety, depression and other mental health issues had arisen, making daily life unbearable. I also went through an event which truly shook me, and left me at a total loss. I then turned to nonduality (or Advaita) in an attempt to stop the suffering. After following the teachings of enlightened teachers like Rupert Spira, Adyashanti and Eckhart Tolle, it was realised that the happiness, peace and fulfilment I had been seeking outside of myself, had been ‘within’ me. Basically, the true ‘nondual’ view of the world permeated my experience, leaving me with nothing left to seek – totally fulfilled in the knowledge of what I am.
Manish Kadave:- Great…Do you think you are a part of the rising of new age spirituality in the world right now?
Colette:- If you think I am, then I am. However, I don’t think I am anything! From a conventional view, I may be viewed in that way. However, I don’t see myself as a part of one thing alone. I’m a part of those practicing spirituality, and I’m a part of those who are not. We are one!
Manish Kadave:- Nice….Do you believe that truth is hidden in every religions? But people don’t dig deeper in their respective religions?
Colette:- Absolutely. I think that many (if not most) of the worlds most prominent religions are founded in the same Truth. The reason that people have wars over religion is that they fail to see that all religions are talking about the same thing. The same one thing.
Manish Kadave:- Yes you are right! Have you read any religious books or scriptures? If so then Which books would you recommend to read?
Colette:- I never read any traditional religious books or scriptures until the Realisation, so I’m busy catching up now! I’m currently busy reading the Ashtavakra Gita, which I highly recommend for anyone on this path. Apart from that, I highly recommend the books written by Adyashanti (I have read them all, and they are all wonderful), as well as my favourite book, Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse. I don’t want to leave out those written by Rupert Spira – as Rupert was basically my ‘teacher’ on this path. I recommend those to anyone – Rupert is brilliant!
Manish Kadave:- Great… Do you think a guru is needed in a spiritual path or do you consider life as the supreme guru?
Colette:- Both! A lot of the time with those that I speak to or teach, and in my own experience, a teacher or guru is needed to answer questions the mind might have that are preventing it from discovering its True Nature. If it weren’t for my first teacher, I would never have known the answer to certain questions, and who knows if things would’ve ended up like this? Probably not. On the other hand, the implication of having a teacher is that the teacher has something which the student does not have, or that the teacher is somehow ‘special’ in some way. This, of course, is not true at all. You don’t need anything (and I mean anything) to be what you already are. In terms of life being the supreme guru – if life didn’t ‘push’ us toward suffering and, therefore, seeking happiness, we would never awaken. In that way, life is also a teacher.
Manish Kadave:- Great answer.. Final question.. Do you think Enlightenment is a fixed thing or a gradual timeless process?
Colette:- Both. I used to believe it would only happen in a big ‘boom!’ moment – that’s often what we read about, isn’t it? We hear ‘and suddenly, there was no one here’. We hardly hear of gradual ‘awakenings’, so our minds keep sort of ‘waiting’ for that moment. I’m happy to say that for what I used to call ‘me’, that moment never came. Somewhere, something changed, or shifted, and when I looked again, everything was different. It was truly a ‘gradual’ process, and I will never know when it happened. It was so subtle, and I’m grateful for that, because now I can tell people that they do not have to wait for that moment to happen! It really enforces the idea that you are already what is here now, and I think that’s beautiful.
Manish Kadave:- Yes right…
Colette:- No one really wakes up, and you realise that really profoundly when it’s not some kind of kundalini moment! You realise you are what you’ve always been, but now you see it’s not what you thought you are. Although this initial understanding seems to happen once, albeit gradually, I think we have the opportunity to wake up to every moment. In every moment, there is a choice of whether to abide as what you are, or to abide as illusion. It’s not a once off thing! Wake up to this moment. And this moment. And this moment. It’s a never-ending ‘now’, which can be deepened into indefinitely.
Manish Kadave:- Be Here Now! Is the timeless message given by all the teachers!
Colette:- Yes! And this is exactly why. Enlightenment is not an achievement which happens somewhere in the past that the person is totally free to carry for the future. That’s not how it is at all. Enlightenment happens now. Awakening is now. Even if that means awakening again and again, being born again in every moment. Whatever! It’s now.
Manish Kadave:- Yes… It was great interview with you…and thank you for giving your valuable time… I think I got a good friend like you 🙂…
Meditation is something that you need to do like a duty then the essence of meditation is lost. The thing is that the difference between ancient and modern times is that people have accomplished many things on the material level but they have all became poor inwardly. I mean to say that life has worn them out totally. they are more focusing on ‘doing’ rather than emphasizing ‘being’. Meditation is our true nature as we can say, but the mind has obscured it and we are thrown away from our center of being.
All the different types of meditation techniques were developed in the east only. So today I am going to share one of the most powerful meditation techniques which were given from lord shiva to his wife Parvati. lord shiva symbolizes pure consciousness and goddess parvati is the symbolization of shakti. so lord shiva is the embodiment of pure stillness and goddess Parvati is the embodiment of dynamic movement. So in the ancient Vedas and scriptures, it has been said that the absolute reality splits itself into two halves which are stillness and movement. they are interwoven into each other and by any means can’t be separated from each other. so the lord shiva and goddess Parvati are also referred to as ‘ardhanarinateshwar’ means half male and half female.
So the ancient dialogue between lord shiva and goddess Parvati on meditation has been captured in the book named ‘Vigyan bhairava’. This book has all the powerful meditation techniques given by lord shiva himself to goddess Parvati and it consists of a whopping 112 techniques. I will be making a separate post for each technique as this technique which I am going to speak about from my personal experience is about breathing. So the most fundamental thing which is ever new in our life is the breath. Yes, you can’t argue on that because at each moment we are inhaling and exhaling which is renewed at each moment. Breathing is a common meditation technique that is simple yet it has some mystical touch to it. I said Mystical touch because most of the chemical function in our body depends on breathing or we can say how chemical compounds alter in our brain depending upon the breath.
Now we will dive into the technique and I hope I will make it simple for you to understand so you can play with it, I mean people who take meditation seriously always miss the point of meditation. Just take it playfully and see the magic revealing.
Watch the gap between two breaths
Shiva replies :
Radiant One, this experience may dawn between two breaths. After breath comes in (down) and just before turning up (out) – the beneficence.
This is the technique:
Radiant One, this experience may dawn between two breaths.
Explanation of this technique and how to inculcate it in our daily lives:-
Focus on these two points which are:-
The still point is inside the body where after the in-breath stops and before the out-breath starts. this is the point where there is no breathing for a moment. it’s like a zero-breathing point where everything stops. become more and more aware of this point.
The still point is just outside the nose where after the out-breath stops and before the in-breath starts. this is the second point where there is no breathing for a moment. it’s like we are in a different dimension. become more and more aware of this point.
So as you breathe in and the air starts coming in from your nostrils, just feel it and go with the breath side by side. your consciousness should be side by side with the breath, not before or after the breath. don’t get greedy or lag behind. just go with the flow and suddenly for a millionth second, you will feel as if the breath has stopped! You won’t notice it straight away but become aware of that point. then again your breath starts to move out. go with it and again when the breath is moving out of the body, there will come a point where the out-breath comes to a halt and there is again no breathing. this is the second point nearby the nose. become aware of this point also. and again the breath will start coming in.
so you have to become more and more aware of these two still points. as the awareness grows, these points will become bigger and your stillness and peace will grow day by day. and one day you will find yourself completely in the present moment as your mind will get dissolved.
So keep on practising this technique for at least 7 days to see results. 15 min twice a day would be enough.
thank you guys for reading this article till this point and much love to you guys.
From long ago or we can say from the beginning where even gods didn’t create this universe, there was something older than god. Yes, it is known as tao in tao philosophy. In Hindu culture, we call it ‘Brahman’. Tao is considered older than god. Don’t get mixed up in the names. The unknown has many names.
Spirituality in India has been considered older as they have their foundation on different types of Vedas. Many gods are worshipped in India and it is considered one of the oldest religions. The great sages had spiritual insights while they were meditating in the wilderness and they tried to describe the truth or reality or brahman in words. It was written in the form of Vedas. They had spiritual thoughts and have made some bold declarations which can be found in the Vedas. I will tell you the four Mahavakyas of the great statements from each Vedas.
Pradnyanam Brahma – It means that insight is brahman
Tat tvam asi – You are that final reality
Aham Brahmasmi – I am that supreme
Ayam Atma Brahma – My very nature is one with final reality
Hearing these statements, pondering over it, one attains that supreme. The word chosen by Hindu sages is “brahman” which points towards reality. The root meaning of the word “Brahman” means to grow. That which is ever-growing and expanding without limits.
From my experience, Reality can never be spoken about. Even all religions agree upon that. How can you speak about the truth? Language is too clumsy. Even when we declare that we are that reality, in that very declaration, the truth becomes false. Even at the beginning of the great book “Tao Te Ching” written by Lao Tsu, he said that the tao which can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao. Now we can question if the truth can’t be spoken about, then why so many huge volumes are written on them? Why the urge to explain the reality?
In India, the philosophy of Hinduism depicts the great liberation or “moksha”. In Buddhism, they coined the term nirvana. People went crazy when these concepts were introduced because, as both Hinduism and Buddhism agree upon reincarnations, the philosophy says that we have undergone various births, I mean millions and millions of births and deaths. So they felt great when they heard these terms like “moksha” or “Nirvana”. The timeless or eternal to be brought into one’s own being. But the people made nirvana and moksha a kind of goal, which was just like hankering after power and position. First, they sought after the material world, then they dived into the spiritual world. The seeker still remains the same. The ambition is still the same. The thirst is still the same.
I personally went through spiritual life, with my own self-centered actions towards moksha. I had Ambition running through my veins screaming for liberation. I did many different spiritual practices like a mantra, fasting, mind control, and many more. But this did nothing in me. Instead, I developed a spiritual Ego which I carried like a medal hanging around my neck.
What spirituality really means is that finally, you can’t do anything about life because the “you” which you think you are do not exist. All religions have mentioned that clearly. All teachings point towards it, but man fails to see this simple fact. There is only one energy. Ramana Maharshi also said that there is no individual being who is thinking or acting. This means that I’m not typing this article but the whole universe is expressing itself through me. The same goes for you. Now the “Real You” can’t be conceptualized as it can’t be jotted down. You just can’t make it an object and see. From my experience, the person in fact doing every possible practice of spirituality is just the games designed for the ego. The master or guru will test you in different ways. He too knows a simple fact, but the disciple is ambitious, aggressive and he wants to rule the spiritual realm. So the master makes him do all the work just to prove the futility of it. It’s like an indirect hit to the disciple. Let the disciple realize that there is no such thing as “I” and “Me”.
The great state of buddha was being described as an orgasm with the whole universe. Buddha also tried various methods and techniques and he tried his fullest. He was a son of a king. Then ultimately he realized that giving up all search for nirvana, “Is Nirvana”. The ordinary hums and bums of daily life can’t be divorced from nirvana. They are two sides of the same coin.
I really to date couldn’t understand how a guru functions. And “I” means the mind wants all the answers. It can’t remain with the unknown. Because I had primary as well as other gurus who unfolded and unraveled their teachings by and by as life progressed. I’m at a point where even a fallen dry leaf is my guru. The crow on the wing has all the essence of the Vedas. The broken sea shell screams all the spiritual sutras of life. But we can’t experience it because we are too full in our minds. Our minds are cluttered with daily life that we lose the magic element of life. Then we rush towards movies, entertainment, drink alcohol, and do drugs, just to feel that “we are alive”.
We are too mechanical and self-focused even while having sex. The spirituality of sex is kind of a necessity. We don’t know the art of love. We only know how to have sex. Spirituality in India developed a book named kama sutra which has shown different positions of sexual contact. This book is born through deep meditation. If men and women are delivered orgasms, then they move towards higher realms because we rise through sex. The energy coiled downwards starts flowing upwards. Then we can experience the great orgasm with the universe and automatically we won’t require a partner to give us an orgasm. By being in a meditative state, the union with reality will flourish.
Living in the present moment is the key and zen philosophy has done its bit on that. for more information click here.
Trying Meditation for the first time or you may be a meditator, this article shows the power of sound by which you can go deep into meditation. This article will help you. This is the link to the article.
This incident from Mahabharata may shock you. To read this article, click here.
Some unique meditation techniques you can see in this article, click here.
Learn Meditation from Shiva, the God of destruction. Click here to read the article.
Find out the 10 simple & actionable ideas to wake up in the morning, click here to see the article.
Hey Guys, I wrote a book named “Psycho Spirituality” and it came as a best seller in three categories. I had an interview with anshuman sir and we discussed about my incident, spiritual journey and much more. watch the video, like and subscribe to the channel.
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