Business to the Buddha

Tag: Adwait

  • One consciousness

    I had been thinking about writing on Bhojan Mantra unfortunately for the last couple of days I did not get time. This Covid lockdown has changed me in more than one way, especially regarding spiritual practices and reading books on One consciousness. I have started respecting food a lot. Earlier I used to just gobble in anything – vegetarian of course – without giving it any thought as such. Food is there, I have to eat it at a given time or if I am hungry I am going to eat it. During Covid when people are struggling for food, suddenly my approach to eating is changed. Many people are donating especially for the daily wage workers, in fact, I had been donating also to International associations for human values – donate here –  an organization which is donating food packets to the daily wage earners.

    I said that Covid-19 changed me in a certain manner, food is one very change. Almost always whenever I eat my lunch or dinner I recite this Mantra called Bhojan Mantra. There are two mantras the video of the same is given here a loose translation of the same is also available on this video. This is my first trial of creating video, Sanskrit recitation is not an issue, the challenge is the usage of technology. I wish someone could help me in creating or editing the videos better.

    The first Mantra (sourced by Bhagvad Geeta Chapter 4, Shloka 24) loosely means that whatever we are eating is the energy or the Brahman whoever is eating it is a Brahman and the action performed afterward and even during eating the food is also Brahman that is by the Brahman for the Brahman of the Brahman. Interesting isn’t it? Everything is made up of the same energy – only forms are different – and everything is going to go back in the same energy. If you now try to relate it to the concept of Physics concept E=Mc2 (Mass-Energy Equivalence) you realize that this Mantra was written long back and it means the same thing which has been accepted and proven scientifically.

    Note – Here Brahman is not the varna that Indian system has.

    I was attending a meditation session of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – Guruji – in the session, he said every incoming Breath energizes You and outgoing breath relaxes it suddenly struck to me the moment you eat your food it becomes you, the moment you breathe in that air the air also becomes you and the moment you breathe out that air going out actually is no more you. In a way, we can say that the breath becomes me and dies as me when it goes out! Or if we expand our Horizons actually everything is ME – the air the food.

    http://business2buddha.com/2012/12/tender-coconut/

    We define ourselves as the body alone which was some mineral in some parts of the world some time ago. Now it is me, or perhaps now I am feeling that it is me, it was, it is and it will remain me – only thing is I need to look beyond the body alone. This is also a concept of Indian spirituality – Adwait – everything is one single Monolithic entity represented or manifestation of the same energy or consciousness – Brahman – in multiple ways.

  • Cast(e)ing doubts – Color of skin







    This blog is in the series of blogs on – against – the caste system of India. Though this blog is on a Western Social Challenge. I wish some day we would value people on their

    Capabilities and not Caste
    Action and not Ancestry
    Character and not on Color of skin

    That we all connected there is no two (non-duality) no big vs small no higher vs lower. So let us first understand what is one of the challenges before we reach there.

    —

    We first bought National Panasonic Cassette recorder and player in 1991. I was 11 years that time, I started listening to songs specially – Mukesh, Lata and Michael Jackson. Being a Hindi medium 6th grade student English was literally a foreign language to me. But, who heard MJ for lyrics the music was enough. When I came to know about Michael Jackson’s plastic surgery I came to know about the racial issues out side of India. Well, I was young so never thought about racial discrimination. In 2007 I watched “To kill a mocking bird” and heard speech “I have a dream” of Martin Luther King Jr. That time I realized how deep rooted the problem of discrimination was. Than in 2008 Obama won, seemed as if there is a hopeful positive movement, how much? I cannot comment on that, I have never been to the US.

    Recently, I watched a movie Invictous. This movie is based on true incidents in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was elected as President of SA. SA organized rugby world cup in 1995. The idea was to bring black and white people of SA together – through the language of sport. Those who are from countries where Cricket is played might remember that in 1992 South African team again joined international cricket. Reason – in 1970s ICC removed SA cricket team due to racial discrimination “Apartheid“.

    One of my friends later told me about Muhammad Ali, that Ali was a born Christan but changed his religion. Well, I rarely enjoyed watching boxing so was mostly unaware about the greatness of Muhammad Ali, anyways. When I heard about he changing religion I went one step beyond. I felt that we humans would remain like that. Currently we are fighting on supremacy of religion. Each religion has different sub-sects Muslims has Shiya and Sunni etc, Christans have Catholic and Protestants etc, Buddhists have Hinyan and Mahayan etc. Jains has Digambar and Shwetambars. Hindus? Well we have many sects and many caste based devision. In future we would fight on supremacy of the sub-sects (currently too that happens Syria, Iraq, Caste system in India etc) What we need as humans is increasing our consciousness we all are born equal – as humans. We need to respect each other as humans. Next if you need to value someone more and other less. Value him or her on

    Capabilities and not Caste
    Action and not Ancestry
    Character and not on Color of skin

    And of course other qualities rather than somethings on which a baby may not have control e.g. color of skin and caste of birth etc.

  • I am that!







    Last weekend, I went for a haircut. In the big mirror of the barber, one of the rare things happened. I was staring at myself without my specks in the mirror and was surprised. I had never noticed that between my nose and eyes there is some bulge, which earlier was not there. I look at my face once again and asked myself – “is it me?” When I asked myself this question, I literally meant “the bulge” near top of my nose just below my eyes, which is mostly behind the frame. Or perhaps I never noticed.

    The question was specifically to that part of my body – the bulge – is this really me? Suddenly some different thoughts made me think even more about the “overall me”. What defines me? The body – the bulge- until past couple of years was not there it is now, when I will get older, this mass would be lost. I should not be defined by this. Earlier I wrote on a tender coconut and how nothing becomes something in this case – the bulge, and in previous blog’s case – a tender coconut. I have black hair, in few years these would be white, would I change? What is that, that defines me as me?

    Well on a philosophical level I may say that I am soul. But do I know it? This question about knowing the soul is like having information and not truly knowing the soul. These questions reminded what was suggested to me by a friend Ameet Murdeshwar a few years back. I often met Ameet while traveling to office during 2007-08. He told me read , a book “I am that” by Nisargdatta Maharaj.  This book is on Adwait Vedanta. I feel myself to be too immature to read that subject. Though I have a copy of the book, unfortunately never had a chance to read it. I am asking myself this question for a week now – am I that? I will read it now.