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Browse published articles attributed to Gopalakrishnan Chandrasekaran, with full-archive search.
People are taken in by propaganda that abets their beliefs, especially in the realm of religion and politics. They are unaware that a conditioned mind interprets everything according to its conditioning. Their native intelligence remains stunted.
Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for Enlightenment, meaning "understanding". In the Zen Buddhist tradition, Satori refers to the experience of "seeing into one's true nature" (Wikipedia). In this article, we look into the common grounds betwee Near Death Experience (NDE) and Satori. The common grounds tell us something about natural spirituality. Their messages take us into the wider consciousness.r
It is usually assumed that our consciousness begins with birth and that matters get recorded from then on. In reality, consciousness exists even while the child is in the womb and a kind of ‘knowingness’ seems to operate then.
Careful examination of the various features of the Near Death Experience (NDE) – that is, the experience of those who clinically die for a short time - helps us understand the fact of reinca ation. They also help us perceive the deeper purpose of life on this planet. This brings in unqualified compassion in us towards all living beings.
Researchers on NDE have gathered a lot of information over the past 35 years or so. Putting them all together and reading between the lines, we can gain a lot of insight into life. Gradually, we turn to be holistic and understand the sacredness of life. PMH Atwater, a seasoned researcher on NDE, has done some good analysis on the many reports from the NDE people. The following conclusions are from her publication ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to NDEs’. Also included are statements of Jean Ritchie, another author on NDE.
The vast majority of human beings live under the shadow of the fear of death – one’s own and that of the near and dear ones. They can release themselves from that pain by paying attention to what is known as the After Death Communication (ADC).
This beautiful, blue marble of a planet is racing through space with great dignity. Do we match it in dignity and deserve to belong to this planet? Obviously, we don’t! The reasons are clear too. Can we bring in a new dimension to this scenario? The writer has participated in discussions on this issue at such places as the Vasanth Vihar (Krishnamurti Foundation India) and the Adyar Theosophical Society, Chennai, India.
General Human beings on this planet are unaware of how much they burden their minds unnecessarily in the process of growing up. It is good to wake up to this unfortunate situation and release oneself from the burden to move towards a peaceful life. We then add a certain sacredness to our life from which all other holistic things follow.
There are many facts about Near Death Experiences that have come to light through the research in that field over the last 30 years. The more we look into them, the more we receive wonderful messages about the wider truths.
The conventional spiritual involvements are through religious concepts and, hence, through the verbal approach. In contrast, the non-verbal awareness takes us to a different spiritual dimension untouched by the conditioned mind. It clears one’s psyche of all the muck that it collects in its demands for security and satisfaction.
Summary: Messages from near death experiences resulting from unsuccessful suicide attempts tell us a lot about the impropriety behind the act. Even though the impropriety is generally felt by all, the inside story of it reveals a great deal more. - - - - - - - People who return from a near death experience (NDE) after an attempted suicide tell us in different ways why such an act is fundamentally improper. The perspectives given by them can help people understand the preciousness of life and the need to desist from the heinous act of self-annihilation.
Inner serenity is a matter of slow growth, as all issues of greatness happen to be. Patient and consistent reflections on the esoteric matters of life can bring about that serenity. The ensuing confidence helps us lead a well-ordered and useful life.
Research on Near Death Experiences proves that those who return from the clinically dead state are profoundly changed for the better in a number of ways. Those who listen to them with their hearts can move on to a holistic and wholesome life.
Listening to what lies behind the thought process can be quite helpful in understanding ourselves beyond the verbal explanations. Certain periods in our daily routine are conducive to that listening. It is good to pay attention to those times of inner silence. The Conditioned Mindr
An example of what may be called the Mutually Exclusive Multiple Pointers (MEMP) approach to discovering the hidden truths is explored here in connection with the issue of reinca ation. Those on life's quest will find this interesting and useful.
The conventional concept is that human beings have free will and that they can make any decision by it unhindered by other things. This is true only within a limited sphere of awareness. When the perspective expands, we see a totally different actuality.
True peace with inner depth cannot come through following some formulas, religious or otherwise. Applying oneself to understanding the esoteric facts of life builds stable peace. Here the convergence of modern science and mysticism can help a great deal.
True detachment results from understanding how we gather a lot of unnecessary mental accretion that hangs heavy on us preventing us from discovering higher dimensions of our spiritual existence. Dropping off the accretion takes place when we understand what it means to embark on an inward journey, with effortless detachment as its content.
Functioning within the habitual thought-swirls of the mind leads to several unfortunate mental states that spoil our lives. Self-awareness and listening to the movement of life can free us from those states and help us lead a peaceful life.
Awareness of our relationship to the child can help our inner transformation as part of our soul-search. It would also ensure that the child grows in an atmosphere of love unsullied by the grownup’s emotional attachment and self-interest. All in all, it is a sacred involvement. Perception
People keep searching for peace and happiness by revolving within the content of the mind which is conditioned by circumstances and genetics and, consequently, very limited in its ability to perceive. True vision lies in the wider consciousness. The sequence in the wider field seems to be as follows: There is the expansive consciousness that may be called the Universal Consciousness. When it functions through the brain (which is the physical organism), it issues out a stifled form itself that functions as the mind. So, we can write:
Most people seek a spiritual goal projected from the content of their minds. They workout a system of their own or seek a religious or spiritual guru to lead them to the goal. They do not sense the inherent self-deception involved in this process.
Inner transformation of our minds is necessary to step out of the self-created prison caused by the habitual thought. Self-awareness and the associated wonderment bring about an inward journey that augments inner transformation. It helps us understand the near death experience (NDE) and integrate its messages with our inner evolution, leading to wholesome life.
The transformational state is based on pure awareness in the ‘Now’; the future is taken care of by that holistic state of mind. In contrast, paths to preset goals sustain the ego through expected fulfillments; the ‘Now’ is relegated as a mere passage.
It is interesting to study the correlation between the messages of near death experiences and the pointers from ancient scriptures. Our confidence in the spiritual content of the afterlife experience increases when we find striking parallels between the two.
Understanding the roles of the intellect and of the intuition in our living can go a long way along the journey towards the truth and the associated inner peace. In the absence of this movement, slavery to belief systems will become inevitable. The intellect and the intuition in us have somewhat different roles to play in helping us move towards a holistic life. The associated perception takes us to the deeper being in us helping us lead our lives intelligently.
In the aftermath of quite a few near death experiences, the person gets cured of almost impossible medical conditions much to the amazement of the hospital staff. We look into some case studies and the possible inferences from them in this presentation.
Reflective people apply themselves to understanding the vagaries of life and it helps them move into deeper perspectives. Consequently, there is a sensing of the non-apparent aspects of life. They see that shocks in life have a message understanding which the shocks become unnecessary!
Paranormal phenomena like the near death experience and the out-of-body experience have brought to light the connectivity of all living beings and the feeling of oneness at their essence. Can we move towards that holistic awareness?
Most of the times, our life gets complicated by our own attitudes. To meet life’s challenges without being agitated is not an easy thing to do. In this connection, we learn something about the nonchalant disposition in life from the Near Death Experiences.
The need for releasing oneself from the tyranny of thought is clear for those who embark on the inward journey. They begin to understand the natural by-products of that release, namely, life’s sacredness and its intrinsic purity.
When we widen and deepen our perspectives, our life moves towards serene waters. One such perspective is available through understanding Reinca ation. This creates an elbow room in one’s consciousness, leading to stable peace.
Functioning from the universal consciousness makes us go beyond the five senses. The messages from near death experiences help us understand such consciousness and bring about a holistic transformation in our psychology.
Pure spirituality is untouched by history and geographical location of people. Thus it is available to all humans irrespective of belief systems generated in history. The universality of pure spirituality beyond space and time is highlighted by many paranormal phenomena. Historicity is time-based and time-bound while true spirituality is ete al, uninfluenced by man and his mental conditioning. Thus, it is something to be discovered through inner awareness and wonderment - not to be found through conformity to history-based systems.
The feeling of sorrow, as different from sadness, can take us on to the beyond – the region of universal spirituality where man’s self-centered projections cannot thrive. Can we understand the beauty of that feeling and its deeply cleansing effects?
Human beings have a tendency to cling to comforting and satisfying conclusions rather than be bold enough to acknowledge the truth. This attitude thwarts the journey of discovery in any field and, especially, in the realm of spirituality. A good historical example of this may be called the Cope ican Paradigm. This is the item in connection with the discovery of the solar system’s heliocentric characteristic. The Polish astronomer Nicholas Cope icus is usually credited with providing a systematic proof of the heliocentricity based on the retrograde motion of the outer planets.
Many issues of life can function as our teachers if we adopt an attitude of looking into them with the eage ess to understand what lies beyond the apparent. Reflection on the sorrow at losing a near and dear one can lead to a life of compassion.
Many people are unaware of how the issues of the society influence them and intensify their mental noise. This is where the psychological fabric of society functions as the culprit in the drama. Opinion mongering is an essential part of it. It is good to be aware of how our thoughts are influenced by the psychological spider web created by society. Freeing ourselves from it is not easy because of the fact that the practical aspects of our life are also fused with it. Through careful discretion, we can release ourselves from the spider web and bring about inner integration.
When the psychological energy elements are in the helter-skelter form, they lack the synergistic effect. Healthy mental transformation can take place with synergism. Our noisy mental state, lacking polarization, fritters away the energy.
Understanding oneself is the secret behind stable inner harmony. It implies an awareness which helps us gain clarity of the way the conditioned mind functions. Here are some avenues for reflection that can lead us to that understanding.
It is always rewarding to go through an intelligent bunch of worldly advice. Here we see one such bunch. It is followed by a hilarious spoof of the same. Both seem to have an input for those who wish to lead a cheerful life governed by wisdom.
Wholesome living implies certain seriousness about how we apply ourselves to the practical issues of life. At the same time, it is necessary that we be relaxed. How can we wisely combine these two to bring about healthy living?
The essence in all beings is a spark of the Divine and so, it is the same in all. It is not identified with any nation, race or religion. Thus, it is anonymous, like a tree in a forest. The awareness of this fact brings in universal love in human beings. The Ego-self and The True Self
It has been known that some terminal patients report paranormal visions when they are close to passing away. A careful look at those reports can help us receive profound messages regarding what happens at the transition between life and the afterlife.
It is interesting to note the way in which we cognize things and come up with feelings and emotion with respect to various items in the world. Understanding these from a wider field of Consciousness leads to confidence and peace.r
Awareness varies with people. The more advanced ones are able to perceive the hidden truths of life. This helps them organize their lives better and be compassionate to fellow beings. Evolution of consciousness is based on the deepening awareness. However, the majority is still held in limited awareness causing a lot of clamor between the individuals. It is good to examine this matter of limited and comprehensive awareness.
Effortful movements towards spiritual transformation sustain the habitual neurology and so dissolution of the ego does not take place. What can help are the two factors of passivity and inward non-action which move us on to a different dimension of awareness.
People are looking for peaceful life from within the turbulence of the conventional mindset. This includes the religious practices too. Such peacefulness can only be temporary as they do not eliminate the fundamental cause of the disturbances.
The human mind has the tendency to be tethered to the past or future. In the process, it creates problems due to its anxiety and the like. Understanding the value of spontaneity helps us move into healthy psychology with its spiritual content.
When our thoughts run along the habitual grooves driven by self-importance and self-interest, life gradually loses its intrinsic grandeur. Mediocrity, boredom and loneliness take over. Can we do something to step out of this rut?