me & memoirs II

I had lost my first election in 1999 by only 600 votes & was in a deep state of dilemma of my future career in politics. Though i used be on constant tour in my constituency i still use to in state of mentally & bodily fatigue.

Ultimately a day came when a spiritual book songyal rinpoche's tibetan book on living & dying came in my hand. Uptil that time i was a rather atheist beliving that every sucess & failure is a output of once own competency.

In disgusting moments i used to blame others. I use to drive my body like a mad dog from morning till evening and had no regard for a word call fitness.

But this book almost glued me from start to end. Being a rational thinker i was rather skeptical of major part of this book. But then then this book sparked a differnt thirst in me. I rather became more curious to study buddha & his philosophy. Then i read one of the classical fiction by Hermann hesse,s siddhartha which struke my chord...then came series on buddha of which karen armstrong,s buddha & thich nhat hanh,s old path white cloud were notable. After that i did deep reading in medition & its method. Modern medition guru,s has joseph goldstein, jack kornfeild, sharon salzberg , lama surya das were on my shelf to help me. I had a vipassana meditation course in s n goenka,s place which changed the whole view on dhamma.

in this period my uncle whom call shivajitatya introduced me to two great books dean ornish,s reversing heart the disease & the otherone was a marathi book by one of the most revered personality in social & medical field in india that was dr abhay bang,s maza sakshatkari hridayrog. these two books changed my whole attitude towards fitness & lifestyle. But the former one was even a spiritual treat also.

Slowly i shifted from buddhist technique of anapansati & satipathana to more tibetan schools as well as to old hindu advaita traditional meditation. Tibetan one were more ritual & near to heart. Names as guru rinpoche, shantideva,milrepa, tsongkhapa entered my space. soon they all took me to old buddhist nalanda school of nagarjuna,kamalashila,chandrakirti, vasubandhu,asanga..... finally to school of shunyata(emptiness) madhyamika. this was a long but thrilling drive ....

But finally i started to long for His holiness dalai lama ,s blessing & dharshan. I had done much of correspondance by email to his office but was invain. Finally in 2009 i had a holy dream in which i was serving meals to haji,s.( muslim pilgrims going to mecca)

In next few days i was in Dharamshala listening to teachings of hh dalai lama on kamalshila,s stages of meditation (a book i had read & practised often)...At same time i requested HH dalai lama,s office for private audience....& my merit was not my political post but my deep thirst for buddhism & tibetan vajrayana.....What a surprise i got precious 20 minitues to interact with him....

I am sitting in his visiting lounge which is full of thankas & wooden wall & floor. He enters in room with smiles accompanied by a translator. He sits down and ask me to sit however i touch his feet(indian way) ...

To my surprise he starts discussion with asking about my family background . In next few minitues we were talking topics like indian democracy, shivsena, neobuddhists, indiansociety....& thus i found him to be intrestingly smart political leader also. later he discussed about tibetan dharma & his books of which he advised me to translate ethics in millenium in marathi .( on which i havent done a bit...what a.........i am) ..At last he offered me a small golden buddha & put a khata (shawl) around my neck almost held me in arms said worship this has lord vishnu...i tell you it was a moment like meeting mother of thousands of births ( HH dalai lama is alokiteshwara lord of compassion)......


Nowever days now i feel indifferentl to sucess & failures of my political & social life..i am never in carreer dilemma .....i meditate on advaita or almost say on emptiness ....Saint dyaneshwar has directly pointed on advaita in his spiritual text amrutanubhava......Just so, the one pure Consciousness becomesThe enjoyer and the object of enjoyment,The seer and the object of vision,Without disturbing Its unity.

me & my memoirs

i was about sixteen and on a holiday in jorve my maternal grandpas place.my usual timepass in those pretty golden days was reading. one day in morning as i was peeping in some pages dada dropped in his living room and asked what was i reading. than he suddenly stood on small stool & extended his hand in his copboard full of books. he picked one book dusted it of and handed to me and said 'read this its my favorite'...it was go ni dandekar's smarangatha , a autobioraphy. i read it like a hungry wolf found it one of the best memoirs till today.
dada was a vorocious reader. one of his favorite book was biography of george washington carver's marathi biography written by veena gavankar named ek hota carver. dada distrubuted this book among schools & institutions. he used to persuate his partyworkers & youngters to read it. his speeches were always filled with incidances on life of george washington carver.his other favorite were pra ka atre's karheche pani, yeshwantrao chavans krishnakath & henry kissinger,s dairies.
further dada wrote his own memoirs in autobigraphical way in two volumes named amrutmanthan & amrutgatha which became a instant hit and got applauded in literaute circle. another memorable incident happened in 2005 . i accidentally encountered a marathi version of french classic the man who planted trees by jean giono. one day my aunt by chance picked up a copy from my desk and carried to sangamner where see dropped on dada's desk absentmindedly....and that night
dada read the short book and could not sleep. he got up in morning and called out a early morning meeting with all his senior partyworkers...this whole episode gave birth to a green movement called dandakaranya abhiyan..rest is history!
however reading autobigraphy's have been passion of my life....in may 2010 i got hold of the autobiography of malcolm x....i swear i tell you what ...its almost like a bible...it almost a emotional roller coaster..it swirls,moves,dives deep in water,swings in sky........you wont believe this book has vibes!
i havent finished yet has reading it needs a mental space which i hardly get....but i assure you its a life time treat! some of favorite memoirs alias autobiography's are swami rama's living with himalayan masters, obama's dreaams from my father, mauhammed asad,s the road to mecca, dalai lama's freedom in exile, jon krakauer's into the wild are only some of the few...otherwise many more!

i love myself...i am aware of my breath...i inhale love,kindness & goodness...i exhale by forgiving myself & all worldly people...i love my body full with energy & health...thanks to my head, forehead,eyes,nose,mouth,neck,heart,stomach,legs & hands....i pay deep gratitude to father,mother & allfamily,people whom i interact....,i pay my deep gratitude to mother earth.....This world is filled with great joy,harmony, wealth & abundance...All abundance of universe flows in me, my aura & my house...My everyday is filled with gratitude & love flowing innature,trees,birds,animals & people...I am love & sucess...

prachannbuddha...crypto-buddha

Adi shankarachrarya & prachannbuddha
Adi Shankaracharya was one of greatest philosophers of Hinduism. In this article, I want to share some of my thoughts with you and hope to start an interactive discussion thread to get to the heart of the debate of Pravritti (activism) v/s Nivritti (passivism). Which of the two are applicable in globalized world of 21st century? Which one is closer to Hinduism? Or this dichotomy is not really justified?Adi Shankaracharya is sometimes called a crypto-Buddhist by scholars because he challenged Buddhism and took away many of its concepts and merged in the mainstream Hinduism. Hence Buddhism lost its unique appeal and after external invasions on Buddhist monasteries, Buddhism had to leave India and take refuge in Tibet, China and other southeast countries. The question arises whether Buddhism really influenced Adi Shankaracharya? Is taking premature Sanyaas (renunciation) escapism as an influence of Buddhism/Jainism or is it authorized and approved by Vedic culture and Bhagwad Gita?

Terming Shankaracharya as crypto Buddhist or escapist or Nivritti oriented person is wrong. He demonstrated in his entire life in which he reestablished Vedic culture in Bhaarat and Buddhism had to leave for other countries. Therefore, he was a true Karma Yogi. He might have written in his Gita Bhaashya about renunciation but to interpret that as escapism will be wrong. And to interpret this great philosopher/ Karma Yogi with our little intellects is a childish effort?Now what about the tradition of starting Mathas and the wave of Sanyaasis after Adi Shankaracharya? Is this an influence of Buddhism? Is it true that Adi Shankara himself had emphasized that all the later caretakers of different Mathas must be married person. Looking beyond the Shankara Mathas, other Sanyaasi Acharyas such as Swami Chinmayananda (Chinmaya Mission), Swami Vivekananda (RK Mission), Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living), I think they all can be compared to Adi Shankaracharya's tradition of Sanyaasi yet true Karma Yogis. All these modern Acharyas have been active Karma Yogis. They all have spoken, debated and argued against the onslaught of conversion, Missionaries etc. They all have traveled entire world to spread Vedic culture. So, in the true tradition of Adi Shankaracharya, none of them can be called escapists. I think only those Sanyaasis can be called escapists who sit in the caves of Himalayas and try to just practice Yoga or meditation and remain aloof from society and current problems. Is my conclusion correct? Now let’s see the other side of the debate.

Both Buddha and Shankara did spread their ideology during their lifetime. But they both preached Sanyaasa or renunciation as the solution for all the miseries of life. They spread their wisdom throughout India and changed the prevalent notions of philosophy. Buddha challenged the rituals of Vedic culture and Shankara challenged Buddhism. Both won huge support from masses. But what was the message both preached? Both highlighted and underscored the importance of renunciation. Hence, both are Nivratti-oriented Yogis. And the followers of both have always chosen monkhood over householder life. When the today’s society needs all our energies for social/spiritual upliftment, is it an ideal role model for society? Should we rather call Buddha and Shankara both as Gnaan Yogis or Saankhya Yogis but not Karma Yogis and that would make Shankara indeed a crypto-Buddhist because he adopted all the Buddhist concepts into mainstream Vedic culture and that signaled the death of Buddhism from India.Of course, before Buddhism, all our prior Avtaaras such as Rama, Krishna were all householders. All our authors of great scriptures were householders and so were most of the Vedic sages. Only Hanuman in Ramayana and Bhishma in Mahabharata remain celibates but to call them escapists will again be a huge mistake, both were live examples of dynamo of energy. Both actively participated in warfare and politics.What do you think?

this article was written by pankaj jain on http://www.swaveda.com/articles.php?action=show&id=50

what do you think about revenge?

Avinash
What do you think about revenge?
What do you think about revenge? Is it true that the person should take the revenge to the one who made his suffer? OR what is the philosophical view behind the revenge by Buddha or others?

3/23/07

Rajeev (Bhau)
revenge makes you suffer....the person whom you hate might be happyits the other end unhappy.....i read a african tribal story where a crimal is set free in crocodile water ....its his karma thats decisde his fate........compassion is best antidote for hate...bhau

3/27/07

Avinash
but according to 'ISLAM' if anybody kills one person then the family of the dead person has the right to take revenge means in other words they r saying to take revenge....what about this????

3/27/07

Rajeev (Bhau)
i dont know exactly......but christanity & islam religions evolvedfrom middle east regions.....where egyptian,babylonian & jew religion had a law called..."a eye for an eye, a tooth for an tooth"...there is a law to stone the sinner,but again religions from desert had to be designed that way to practice morality...as when these regions were taught ordinary people where involved in battles,killings,women abusing & idol worships(Pagans)....circumstances evolved laws............but if you original teachings of jesus..its speaks of love.....& prophet teaches to love god.....both teaches to love & be commpassionate....after all religions..hinduism,buddhism,jainism,taoism,islam,christanity,jew, sikhism,bahai even shaman teaches love for nature & its laws( which includes humans).....again a final twist is that nature tells a animal to kill a animal for survival..for example tiger has to kill deer...thats the way....imagine eskimoes in tundra have to killfish,seals & raindeers to survive...but then they also pray to shaman gods to forgive......isnt it paradoxical?

3/28/07

Avinash
its correct that for completion of natural food chain one animal should kill another.....also if there is a huge population of community then according to DARWIN'S law of "survival of fittest" one should kill another to survive himself...but according to German phylosphical book "THE WORLD AS WILL & REPRESENTATION"(written by "Arthur Schopenhauer") to hurt anyone for self survival is a sefishness means both of them r saying oposite to each other.....but according to them both r correct...

3/31/07

http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=6441630751346856372
It's a wrong thing.
From my point of view i don't thing the revenge is the ultimate and the right way.We should leave whatever has happened previously.It not only hurts other but ourself too.

7/9/07

Rajeev (Bhau)
zzzzzzzz

meditations

since from last month i have been watching Mooji on you tube ....refering to Nisargadatt maharaj's I AM THAT ...
after a long i tine i sat for contemplation session...

.my every thought is ego
.my every body feeling is associate to thought which is ego
.my listening is associated with thoughy which is ego
.my every sesation is ego
.my everymove is ego
.other than ego i have a being(this thought is also ego)
.ego is suffering
.watching breath is also thought ultimately link to ego...

tangraming bhagwatgita

can i get the answer?
there r so many obstacles in life. in every field.......... in sincere work and in sincere social service also. Does the way of peace follow the path of politics also? 6/20/08

Rajeev (Bhau)
i dont think its for peace & tranquality.........its constant war, struggle,fight, uncertantity.........so was bhagwad geeta told by lord.............Whenever a student needs some advice in the spiritual field, it is generally given by the spiritual teacher in some quiet, secluded place such as a temple, ashram, or church. Bhagavad Gita is unique in this respect. It was revealed by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra amidst the hustle and bustle and great noise of chariots, elephants, horses, bows, arrows, etc. Many feel that it was impossible for Lord Krishna to have given such spiritual advice to Arjuna under those circumstances; but he did preach Gita on the battlefield, and his words did have the desired effect on Arjuna.

What is Gita? It is transformation. In the beginning of Gita we see Arjuna in tears, unwilling to participate in the battle which would result in the death and destruction of his kith and kin. He throws away his bow and arrows and declares, "I will not fight." Lord Krishna then reveals Bhagavad Gita to him. At the end of Gita we find Arjuna in a different state. He is completely transformed. He now picks up his bow and arrows and declares, "I am now free from delusion. I am on my senses now. By your grace, there are no doubts in my mind at all. I will act as per your advice." That is transformation and that is Gita.


The world is a constant arena or battlefield. We are all the time on the battlefield. All sorts of thoughts, currents, and countercurrents are attacking us on the physical, mental, and causal planes. We have to be ready to face the attacks of unrighteous deeds, lust, greed, anger, etc. We can be successful in our battle if we have the blessings of a Guru and the grace of God. Hence it is imperative that we purify ourselves, control our mind and sense organs through austerities, grace of Guru and God.


the whole hindu philosophy revovles around the issue ''to fight or not fight''................so its our dharma which is important 6/22/08

SANJAY
in such case, either it seems or it's sure that battlefield is a secluded field also. But what about them who get killed here . death doesn't care ,whether the arrow belongs to Arjuna or it belongs to Karna , originating same race but both facing each other. And how can we forget blandishment of those who acquire their target in this battlefield crushing the innocents? And battlefield always demands antagonistics and for those who search peace can't such situation be a bugbear?
it's nice to fight against bad but it's nothing but diplomacy but victory seems to give evanescent happyness. Then........... then .....where is real peace? 6/24/08

Rajeev (Bhau)
these questions are part of BG...to understand this just think of animal world were humans dont exist..........birds has to hunt insects, tiger hunts deer, snake go for frog??????????????????? whats all this.......this is existance ....hunger,fear,fight,sex are basic instints.........above all there is no principal of justice.....they come,they live,they go............thats cycle of animal..
so basic differance in animal & human is intelligence which teaches dharma...........dharma is universal art of living................people who dont understand dharma are as good as animals....so such innocents are bound to have faith as animals............??????????? then other theory of buddha says life is pain (dukkha) nobody can change this faith...........all born lords krishna,buddha,rama,mahhumed,jesus had to go............so its dharma,dharma,dharma which one should understand.............BIG QUESTION ISNT IT? 6/27/08

SANJAY
Really big question.
Dharma is the only solution.
But how is it possible that dharma supports sometimes the false things like the killing of Duryodhana even if it was overrule to attack on thigh in the fight like GADAYUDHDHA and our lord Krishna demands Bhima to do the same thing.
Nowadays we often observe such or more overruled things in many fields, sorry to say but mostly in polytics.
Then how can we judge dharma? 6/27/08

Rajeev (Bhau)
according to some hindu school of thoughts..dharma is not all divinity nor all virtue all good things.........its a system to run humanity.........say example democracy is system
to run country so it has constitution & laws made........in same laws there may be flaws but when we overall look at things with sky view democracy runs with these laws............so a overall system & Its law.........a system is dharma not its law.......but we think law is dharma.........
i personally feel dharma as software to run humanity , there aspirations to personal feelings ( buddha calls it 'end of suffering')...........now a software on platform can have many small softwares in it....say a windows software can have ms office, media player, even software to erase whole c drive or small softwares............now you cant say a delete or erase software is against system as it is a part of it........same as bodys immune system........it kills human good cells along with virus............. 6/27/08

Rajeev (Bhau)
bhagwatgita gives a large canvas or system along with bhakti, dyan,karma, raj yoga(small software).........it never says killing a person is bad nor says saving a person is good....overall bhagwatgita never speaks of small virtues or good behavior....it never says to avoid meat nor says to be strictly vegetarian......... 6/28/08

SANJAY
Then can i say if it is like a coin having two sides. Then and then only it seems a game of gambling....................
Here in this case laws always overcome system (i think).
If dragging of the examples of technology and human body in the debate of mind is only to explain Dharma ( I have no strength to define it) , then they are respectfully acceptable.
But how can we ignore some diabolic facts held by laws? Don't they need some revolution?
System , I appreciate, is as soft as dewlap; But can't law be an incrustation on the system? Is governance the inbuilt quality of government?
You may think i am a maximist, but in search of missal, i can accept it.
Overall , cruelty is the worst recrudescene; can the system (Dharma) rectify it?

is india a farce?

today read the news in march 29,2010 TOI about 'army gets SC nod to construct road along china-India border"......i was literally stunned to read this.
well India's army,executive & judiciary involved in a case which deals with India's border with Nepal,Bhutan & china which itself is disputed.SC of India made a central empowered committee to study proposals of border roads & study how they harm environment ,ecosystems in sanctuary.
its really mindbogglingly issue...
1. do high altitude's have deep vegetation's
2.by a border road do really ecology gets hurt.
3. considering just a highway which would be in use for 8 months(4 months winter)
would it be really bothering wildlife.

of course its almost not an issue....on the other side of Indian border china have made express border highways, hi-tech airbases & army units.... Tibet still being arid land they have build bridges , railways & roads for what?
just to shift whole Chinese army in a day from eastern front to western front.. that's it.
if Indian government & courts really are bothered of forests & ecology what about tiger poaching going on in project tiger...what about sandalwood smuggling its ridiculous to talk of ecology on such sensitive borders & just overlooking poachers in mainland.
the Indian army have to pay wild life board 71.4 crores on which Sikkim government would go for conservation... all N-E state government official & politicians them selves are involved in woodcutting activities..
its high time for Indian government to be serious on border roads when china is claiming arunachal. China's heavy activities around leh & ladakh are really bothering issues and look we are talking of courts,ecology & committees. what if china encroaching till Delhi where would our courts & govermemt sit.
--rajeev rajale

setu bandha re sagari...