Ajay0

Insightful article by the Brahmakumaris on creating a methodical roadmap to overcome old negative habits and addictions... https://www.brahmakumaris.com/blog/how-to-overcome-old-habits/

You are welcome. Since love is a higher state of consciousness , obviously virtue or value-based conduct is a means forward to achieve this state. These sayings can bring perspective in this regard... As for love being an antidote to nihilist despair, I would say that nihilist despair arises from the perception that the universe or existence is meaningless, random and chaotic. If you hold on to such a conditioned reality tunnel as a fact of life, despair is naturally and obviously the result. I had already stated that nihilism is a short-sighted perspective that does not take into account the phenomenon of Buddhahood or enlightenment (present in various religions like sufism, hinduism, buddhism, jainism, taoism.) and is based on a superficial, uni-dimensional understanding of reality . It is a philosophy that arose in the western civilization which does not have the antiquity of the eastern. I would exhort you to observe and study more world philosophies instead of settling for a certain segment of the philosophical spectrum. 'A few observations and much reasoning leads to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth.' ~ .Alexis Carrell

It just came to my attention recently that the mass shooter is a girl, and that there has been nine such female shooters in the past. This is a bit unbelievable for me as females usually have a natural instinct for non-violence and compassion . I had listened a few days back to a video of a spiritual master stating that the balance between the masculine and feminine (or yin yang) in the world is overwhelmingly in favor of the masculine, around 85 percent, and even women are now imitating masculine values and traits. The feminine does not have much space for creative expression in the world at the moment. This obviously must lead to a grosser and more conflict-prone world. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Declassified pentagon files have suggested the possibility that reincarnation is real based on data derived from its research projects. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a63149552/pentagon-psychic-spies/ https://www.uniladtech.com/news/pentagon-study-reincarnation-could-be-real-298673-20241210 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14166719/Secret-Pentagon-study-reincarnation-consciousness-Monroe-Institute-Gateway.html

As per eastern philosophy, nihilism is a short-sighted philosophical perspective. Nihilism considers all virtues and values to be mere abstract contrivances, while eastern religious philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism states that virtuous or value-based conduct results in progressively higher states of consciousness and enlightenment or Buddhahood eventually. Buddha and Anandamayi Ma had creditted virtuous conduct with potential attainment of enlightenment. You might find these thoughts insightful and useful to develop a better perspective Rajini Menon is a modern enlightened sage who attained enlightenment solely by adherence to virtuous conduct and following her conscience at all times. Here is a thread I had created on her in this regard...

The Law is that a man should be at rest, at peace, undisturbed, and the body should always be in motion; the mind to be subjected to the laws of statics, and the body subjected to the laws of dynamics; the body at work and the internal Self always at rest. That is the Law. Be free. ~ Swami Rama Tirtha Patience in mind and dynamism in action is the right formula. Usually, we hurry the mind but we're slow in our action". ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Being exuberant, balanced, and equanimous gears you up for the highest possibility of life. ~ Sadhguru

Life is inclusive. Only your mind is exclusive. ~ Sadhguru The only burden you have ever had is your mind ~ Robert Adams. If your mind carries a heavy burden of past, you will experience more of the same. The past perpetuates itself through lack of presence. The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future. ~ Eckhart Tolle The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions, we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now. ~ S.N.Goenka "Train the mind to live in the present moment, drop the stress that you are carrying for nothing". ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering. Whether our action is wholesome or unwholesome depends on whether that action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined state of mind. ~ Dalai Lama

Reincarnation has been part of eastern Dharmic religions ( Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,Sikhism ) as well as Taoism, and also native european belief systems such as the Orphic Greeks, Celts, native German, Slav and Norse religions for milleniums. Reincarnation is also a belief in native north American tribes such as the Inuit, Navajo, Tlingit, Haida. Gitxsan, Dene Dháa . Also african tribes such as the Igbo, Nupe and Yoruba of Nigeria, Akamba of Kenya, Akan of Ghana, Baganda of Uganda. Also in some cultural groups in the native Australians. Even in the Abrahamic traditions, reincarnation as a belief exists among the Druze, Islamic shia sects (Alawites, Ahmadi religion of peace and light. ) , Jewish Kaballah, early Christian sects of Cathars, Bologmils ( which were persecuted to extinction by the Catholic church) and modern christian sects like 'The Christian Community , 'The Order of The Cross' , Kardecism. In western psychiatry and psychology as well, the likes of Dr. Brian Weiss, Dr. Michael Newton , Dr. Ian stevenson ,Dr. Jim Tucker and others has compiled a body of research work substantiating reincarnation and showing that it may have a basis in fact.

Sri Avinash on his journey from a Vietnamese refugee child to being an enlightened sage.. https://www.sriavinash.org/sri-avinash/awakening-and-mission/#PAGE-3

India is considered to be the only country on earth which has never persecuted its Jewish population. Zilka Joseph’s new of book of poetry, ‘Sweet Malida: Memories of a Bene Israel Woman,’ dips into the culture and mythology around the subcontinent’s largest Jewish community. ‘What’s Kosher?’ An Indian-Jewish poet’s take on memory, belonging, and her people’s delicious history. https://forward.com/culture/617986/indian-jewish-food-poetry-bene-israel/

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) in collaboration with the Brahmakumaris have devised an interesting way to process recycled construction and demolition debris involving solar thermal energy ensuring sustainability. The Brahmakumaris have an excellent track record in green energy projects, and scientific researchers used their giant solar concentrators of the thermal power plant in the Brahmakumari headquarters for their research purposes, which yielded excellent data on recycling waste concrete and the valuable properties the processed concrete possessed with various structural applications. This is a good case study of collaboration between spiritual institutions and scientific researchers for furthering green energy research, initiatives and environmental conservation. https://thebetterindia.com/309007/prof-ravindra-gettu-iit-madras-scientists-recycle-waste-concrete-using-solar-thermal-energy/

American economist, academic and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs on Nato... https://www.jeffsachs.org/newspaper-articles/ap6xhb4f2h8taxn3f9486kallhnsxw

Ashoka was the third Mauryan Emperor ( 304 – 232 BCE) in the Indian subcontinent, who is considered a major patron of Buddhism responsible for spreading it across Asia and the known world then. He started his imperial career as an aggressive young conqueror seeking to expand his empire and invaded the state of Kalinga , an independent feudal kingdom. While Ashoka emerged victorious in the hard fought war, the heavy casualties he witnessed depressed him and he experienced a bout of unhappiness and mental anguish instead. This was instrumental in his conversion to Buddhism and pacifism later on. Aśokāvadāna is a book that is about Ashoka and is part of the Divyavadana which are some of the oldest Buddhist writings. His remorse after the bloodshed of the Kalinga war is poignantly expressed thus :                  "What have I done?                   If this is a victory,                 what's a defeat then?             Is this a victory or a defeat?              Is this justice or injustice?                Is it gallantry or a rout?   Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Did I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the other's kingdom and splendor?                One has lost her husband,                       someone a child,               someone an unborn infant....            What's this debris of the corpses?          Are these marks of victory or defeat?                       Are these vultures,                                crows,         eagles the messengers of death or evil?"

Attention deficit, I suppose. I had mentioned in the op that Ashoka embraced Buddhism and pacifism later on after the brutal Kalinga war.

Odisha (An Eastern State In India) has decided to Expand Mangrove Forests In Coastal Areas For Cyclone Protection https://orissadiary.com/odisha-to-expand-mangrove-forests-in-coastal-areas-for-cyclone-protection/

Mangrove forests significantly mitigated the impact of Cyclone Dana along Odisha's coast in eastern India. The dense mangroves near near Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port helped reduce wind speeds and prevent severe damage to structures, proving essential in the region's defense against natural disasters. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/how-mangroves-in-odisha-likely-reduce-cyclone-danas-impact/articleshow/114861057.cms In 2023, the world's economic loss from natural disasters was estimated at $380 billion. Using natural resources like mangrove forests to reduce the impact of super-storms and cyclones is one example or case study of using nature itself as a means to fight natural disasters effectively and reducing substantially the damage caused in the process.

The best indicator of your level of consciousness is how you deal with life's challenges when they come. Through those challenges, an already unconscious person tends to become more deeply unconscious, and a conscious person more intensely conscious. You can use a challenge to awaken you, or you can allow it to pull you into even deeper sleep. The dream of ordinary unconsciousness then turns into a nightmare. ~ Eckhart Tolle Every challenge takes you a little deeper and awakens you again and again. Without the challenges, you probably would go to back to sleep. The challenges keep you awake. ~ Eckhart Tolle I do not put much emphasis on periods of meditation - if you do meditation, it's fine - but the important thing is to bring the awareness into everyday life, into every little action that you do, into the varied challenges of everyday life. ~ Eckhart Tolle https://www.azquotes.com/author/14703-Eckhart_Tolle/tag/challenges

A message by Dadi Janki of the Brahmakumaris on interfaith harmony , delivered for World Interfaith and Harmony Week 2015. https://aboutbrahmakumaris.org/un-page-on-interfaith-and-harmony-week/

This is actually an ancient concept known as the Rajarshi. The Rajarshi means one who has attained both spiritual prosperity as in enlightenment and material prosperity as in wealth and riches. The Rajarshi is considered superior to the mere monk because the monk is dependent on the Rajarshi for his food, shelter and other necessities. By aiding the monk in his material needs, the Rajarshi gets the spiritual merit for it. The slogan of the enlightened sage Prem Nirmal is to become 'an enlightened billionaire.' Janaka is mentioned in the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita as an ancient enlightened king who attained enlightenment , and is often considered as a symbolic example of the Rajarshi. Solomon is similarly an example of a wise and wealthy philosopher-king in the Abrahamic tradition. Janaka and Solomon are good examples to follow in terms of people who have attained both spiritual and material prosperity.

The two world wars which originated in europe and killed over 100 million people came as a result of military alliances and competition over colonies. The wars weakened the european colonial powers to the point that the asian, african and south american nations were able to gain their independence and freedom. Sadhguru is a Guru and has disciples in China as well and does not have any nationalistic bias. He is only wishing for world peace and hoping that the ukraine war does not result in further casualties . India , in a display of its diplomatic prowess and capabilities, patched up its relations with China recently and Modi and Xi were seen together in the Brics summit recently. ( Brics now covers more people and gdp than the g7.) US-nato however still keeps a confrontational posture with Russia( the only power on earth with the nuclear weapon capabilities to wipe out US-NATO) instead of seeking diplomatic solutions through talks and dialogue.

The present ongoing wars with a potential for escalation to nuclear holocaust is not a conspiracy theory but a hard fact. Check out the thousands of dead solddiers and civilians, if you care to look. I am not a fan of Trump but I am okay with his statements on de-escalation of the european war.

Well, I appreciate your innocence and naivete.

What if that is what the capitalist own media narratives say so that they can keep creating wars around the world to bag expensive orders for their weaponry , without anyone getting smarter or wiser ! They have even dismantled democratic governments and replaced them with authoritarian ones if it fitted their economic agenda. I would ask you to exercise your own judgement rather than be superficially manipulated by external conditioning .

Fasting increases the prana/chi which helps in healing and helps meditate better. However, fasting for a week or month is not advisable unless you have done the necessary preparation and research, is used to such long fasts, and have a conducive ecosystem around you with experienced guides and medical facilities. I would recommend intermittent or partial fasting or fasts for upto three days at the most. I usually do not eat much at night and avoid dinner and supper as it helps me to rise up early with a clear head. Food taken at night also goes mainly undigested so it is a waste of money and food as well. Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography has creditted low food intake or fasts with better mental clarity.

Sadghguru has a right to his opinion. Even American intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Christopher Hedges have been critical of US-Nato's expansion to the very borders of Russia, wilfully ignoring their promise to Gorbachev, and which provoked the invasion. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_218172.htm?selectedLocale=en Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg admitted and boasted about nato provoking Putin to invade, ignoring the heavy casualties of the war that followed, and focussed only on the expansion of NATO inspite of the threat of nuclear war and holocaust. Defense companies share values have increased manifold after the war, and I am suspecting that this has been a money making scheme from the start. “War is rich old men protecting their property by sending middle class and lower class young men off to die. It always has been.” ~ George Carlin