Are you influenced by gods?

India is known for its rich culture and religious identity. You would admit with me that our devotion to God comes in many forms, packaged into innumerable deities, god's and religions. There are countless religious festivals, ceremonies and rituals that one can get lost in its myriad. Glorifying each of these festivals by splurging money has become a trend in recent times.

 It will not be fair to categorize a person or the country as religious on the basis of how lavishly they set up a devotion room in one’s house, society or in the city. Recently, it was cited that a saree for goddess Durga worth 22 kg of gold was prepared in Kolkata. Does that mean Kolkata supersedes as number one religious state? Not a fair argument, right? Let’s together analyze if our devotion to God is transforming us as a person with divine values or whether religion and life are two different sides of a coin altogether.

It is said that there are 4 to 5 million sadhus (there are naked digambara, or "sky-clad" sadhus who wear their hair in thick dreadlocks called jata) and sadvis. Some of them are revered and worshiped even after their death. There are incidents where people have placed them in the position of gods later to their utter bewilderment, only to be revealed how negative and harmful they were to the society. 

Predominantly, we want religion to make us happy. Our complacent attitude takes the better of us by giving cash offerings and gold offerings in some cases to Temples, Mosques, Churches and other places of worship without really taking an effort to be a transformed person. Check this informational video which is there for a long-time asking people to stop donating money to religious places;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZFEpy5CByI&t=25s   

Even the supreme Court in India has ordered massive judicial scrutiny and do an audit of all religious shrines because of the misuse in many cases.  Check this short video:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/sc-orders-massive-judicial-scrutiny-of-all-religious-shrines/videoshow/65513061.cms

A true God is an embodiment of love, who transforms us from our wretched sinful state of addiction of any kind and restore us to a nice human being. Our devotion to God should be able to transform us to be a better person with divine nature from whom love, peace and joy is continually transmitted.  He invites us to join Him in crafting an abundant and joy-filled life.  Transformed life by God incites us to save the society being affected by any social evil. 
Check the work of Sudha Varghese, a social activist whose devotion to God and her commitment has transformed the society.

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Reference: 

1. https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/durga-puja-north-kolkata-pandal-prepares-saree-for-goddess-durga-using-22-kgs-of-gold/articleshow/60770358.cms 

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadhu

Lost in muchness and manyness?

You would agree with me that we spend a lot of time working, talking on the phone, driving, multitasking and in the process stressed ourselves out. The strong obsession to acquire more, achieve more in a short turnaround time is overwhelming and sometimes frustrating. In contemporary society our adversary (the evil one) majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. We are lost in ‘muchness’ and manyness’.Psychiatrist C G Jung once remarked, 'Hurry is not of the devil; it is the devil’. It is like the taximeters implanted in our brains. We hear the relentless tick rocking telling us to hurry, hurry, time is money. . . resulting in this roaring blur called the human race.

Japanese proverb says, “Even if you sleep in a thousand-mat room, you can only sleep on one mat”

In the pursuit to achieve more we have lost the real connection with one another and have been reprogrammed into a sophisticated machine. All the hurriedness and busyness is ironically forcing us to live an sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating finally puts our lives at risk.  In the bargain we lose our resources, our peace and the joy of living.  Check this link,  Juliet Funt from 'whitespace' gives a professional lesson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXpeGspTq64

You are not a machine, you are created by God. The creator knows that you need to make a living and therefore has already stored up resources from above while you came into existence. Unfortunately, people tend to lose it in the pursuit of gaining more by fair or unfair means. The famous quote in Hindi language in India goes like this, “daane daane pe likha hai khane wala ka naam” which when translated in English means 'on every grain is written the person who will eat'. We have our portion assigned already. Let’s not panic in the fear of tomorrows robbing the 'enough' of today. 

The greatest achievement is not the accumulation of wealth to take care of us after ten years. Sometimes three meals a day and meeting of basic needs in itself can give peaceful sleep and contentment. Let's keep in mind millions are still going to bed hungry around the world.  Enhance the quality of life by prioritizing. Ensure God is the core in all the matters of life - be it your personal, family or work.  Check this amazing video

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Ideas are Powerful.

An idea is a thought that guides human action and there is nothing more powerful than an Idea. Idea produces everything. Have you wondered the bike that you have was first an idea, the car you drive was an idea, the dress you wear was an idea, the shoe on your feet was an idea? Connecting people around the globe through technology in a fraction of second was an idea. Everything we use in this earth is the product of an idea.  Idea doesn't die because it is powerful. People die but Ideas outlive men.

Idea cannot be destroyed they Submerge and Reemerge in generations. Let me give an example, Democracy was an idea invented by Greek philosophers. Plato invented it, Socrates discussed it and Aristotle debated it. They are all dead but democracy is still there. Today the world suffers from terrorism, child trafficking, prostitution, and every sort of crime that destroys lives.  All these crimes were first an idea which still survive even though the concerned person responsible is killed or has died.  The only effective solution to negate such social evils is to address the reason behind the idea with a message of love, and kill the idea with a positive approach.   

Unfortunately, instead of debating the idea we think of getting rid of the person, which is a bad response - A thought to ponder. In such cases a good or bad idea can take stronger root and come even more powerfully.  Today the constant clash to eradicate people from other faith and religion is taking a omnious turn around the world. Unfortunately, many people are obliterated and killed as a result. Anytime, If a nation or group revolve around an idea that exists to the factors, the big crowd's opinions are always right, or the most powerful make a point. If this is the case, then it will make life unlivable in this beautiful planet created by God. Idea can never be qualified based on power. Think about it.

Parents can help children with values and fundamental ethics. Values like morality, integrity, honesty, sharing, helping and becoming a civilized individual is contagious and can spread like a sweet perfume. With a help of God who set a model for all of us to follow, we can influence each other to sustain harmony and make the living peaceful and safe.

Check this video; Jim Carrey  actor in the famous Movie MASK  inspires.

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Checking your ‘likes’ is "the" new smoking addiction.

Checking your phone constantly is a new addiction. Most of the time people are doing it to know if they have received enough ‘likes’ or ‘thumbs up’. Psychologists say that a typical person checks his/her phone every 15 minutes or less when half of the time he/she has not received any alerts or notifications. Its coming from their head.

A Fact to Ponder:

Smartphones, tablets, or the Internet can be addictive because their use can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine to alter mood — which is exactly what drugs and alcohol do. 

Your constant anxiousness to know if you have missed out any important updates and messages generates Cortisol, which eventually stresses you out and you immediately check-in to your smartphone to get rid of the anxiety and stress. Kindly do not miss to watch the video link given at the end of this article. It has alarming information worth noting. Did you know, Steve Jobs who revolutionized the entire world with iPhone, restricted the usage for his kids?

We live in the same house with our family-children, parents but most of the time completely disconnected because we are hooked up checking our smartphone. The major impact of internet is that we get personalized messages and mails based on the preferences we have expressed in one site and it links to all and we are carried away. Tobacco company hunted our lungs, smartphones and apps have hunted down our souls.

Relationships are having a serious negative impact. Now people and their children are becoming a sophisticated machine. God made us to be inter-dependent and connected to each other, love one another, share our joys and happy moments with one another. We are failing miserably to maintain healthy relationships with God and people. With all the revolution in the tech world it is only forcing us to connect at a superficial level even with God. Superficiality is the result of this new behavior. Get motivated personally and encourage your children to read good books and be people friendly. More than therapy you need the help of the divine God to liberate you from the addiction and connect  to reality. Think about it. Religion and your lifestyle cannot run parallel, it needs to be interconnected.

Check this amazing video.

References:

http://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/cortisol/

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Power of Influence!

History is in many ways a story of influence. Everyone influences someone. Therefore, in a sense, everyone is a leader. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted (closed) individual influences 10,000 other people during his or her lifetime. Amazing right? We all influence one another in all sorts of ways – from what to have for lunch and what films to watch, to more important matters of truth and ethics. What we do or say will influence others for good or ill.

As the African proverb puts it, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.’ The mosquito makes a difference in an annoying way, but the principle is the same. One person can stop a great injustice. One person can be a voice for truth. One person’s kindness can save a life. Each person matters.

How can you maximize your influence and use that influence for good? If your existence itself is an influence you are then expected to be genuine and truthful because it has an effect, most importantly first on your family and then to all who come in contact with you. You cannot live a double life, a life that is so harmful to oneself and others and expect your child to be a good gentleman or gentlewoman. The principle does not work that way. 

Your positive influence depends on the status of your heart. This is not conditioned to how religious you are and how much you are able to give your offering to God. It depends if your devotion to God and the meditation you do is transforming you to be a good lovable person, someone who is kind, caring and helpful. Most of the time people’s devotion to God is confined to asking for more money, more wealth, more profit, more business and getting only more and rarely has words in their prayer which is a plea to God to make them honest, kind and a good person. Alter your perspective and be a person who can transform your family, community and your country. 

The movie The Great Dictator was the first Chaplin's film with dialogue. It is based on the setting of World War II. It ends with a great speech by Chaplin who shows how the power and greed of men has influenced and blinded so many people to commit unspeakable atrocities committed towards their own kind.  The speech  clearly states for what mankind was created and how we have grossly missed the mark.

Be a positive influencer. 

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