Sairam friends,
When ever I go out with friends, if they wanted to have food or snacks, I request them to find a restaurant or any place where we can patiently sit and have food. Secondly, I don’t like what they call fast food stuff. I don’t know what it means though. Does that mean, we are too busy with out life that we have food quickly and go to work?
Anyway, I read an article in Forbes that few decades back Fast Food culture was spreading in U.S and hence it resulted in obesity in many people and even the next generation of children.
Today, we go through our Social Network profiles, Read many articles, look at various videos and photos, zip between hundreds of TV channels and where ever we go, we have lots of infotainment and entertainment to feed our brain. The brain is capable of accepting all that we see, read and understand. It has ability to process it but mind its different. It accepts various things we see, do and feel based on our mood and applies our individuality into these messages, images and videos.
I myself have the habit of going to Social Network websites, look into profiles, people, photos, videos and may be some good stuff etc. Its business out there for many people including me. Example: Being someone interested in Digital Marketing, I see how Social networks can be used to promote a business. Your personal information honestly is a cake for someone to sell something to you exactly when you need it.
Anyway, This article isn’t about privacy. Its about how we must live in peace irrespective of all these messages, images and videos bombarding our brain. Honestly, We don’t have such a powerful mind to be pure, honest and good as we really are when we keep ourself open to these flooding Social content.
At some point of time, out mind accepts bad as normal. So we loose the humanity in us. We accept the world as a place where a difficulty/pain can happen to anyone and it doesn’t matter if it happens to a third person.
My point is simple.
1. Joining a Saint Shirdi Saibaba group, clicking like button or simply saying “Aum Sai ram”, publishing a photo of Sai or even writing an article about Sai doesn’t make you good.
Take me for instance. I have been serving sai for more than 10 years. I write some OK articles in StarSai but if you ask if I am truly the best devotee of Sai, I will say NO. I know my weakness. I get upset with Sai often and my mind get depressed or cluttered easily.
2. Lets say there’s a online community to promote growing plants and trees. You can speak about it and write about it, click like. Do all shorts of stuff but until you sow a single seed in your garden and take care of one single plant, you do nothing for Nature.
I myself tell many people that I don’t do much. I only write about doing good. I get satisfaction that many people get inspired by what I write and do some good deeds but if you ask what I have done from my part, its too little.
3. Coming back to to your Social media presence and consumption, please be there but don’t be too actively involved in it when you can use your life for various productive purposes. Social media is a tool to show what you have done, learnt or gained by working hard in your own world.
For many people, Social media itself has become a world. This doesn’t fetch you anything.
Please get out of it.
So due to this fast food in the form of messages, images and videos we feed our mind, some people say that the next generation might face lots of mental problems as we get old. Meditation is the key to keep your mind calm irrespective of what happens in the external world. It makes you a better human being.
Follow my Meditation technique. My Meditation is not about closing eyes alone. Its not about some Guru teaching you how to raise your so called Kundalini and keep it between your eyes. For Gods sake don’t teach me how to do it. I don’t want to be a saint. I first wish to be a good human being. If I can’t do good, I atleast don’t want to think or do bad to anyone in any situation. I have seen so many people being part of such meditation stuff and they aren’t any different from people who don’t meditate.
Well. So may I know what difference you did to the world or yourself?
My meditation is simple. I want you to live in peace.
Its as simple as that.
It doesn’t cost you much.
Learn something new.
Do a new course in the field of your choice.
Learn history.
Read good books.
Get inspired in all ways possible.
Write diary once in a while. ( Your personal diary)
Close your eyes and don’t think of anything.
Close your mind from the clutter of all these messages, images and videos.
Open your mind to new “YOU”
You have lots of things to do.
We are here to do something good for ourselves and others.
Meditate.
No you don’t need a Guru to initiate you in Meditation.
My meditation is simple.
My rules are simple.
In my meditation. You simply sit calm, closing your eyes in a peaceful place.
Think of Shirdi Saibaba or your favorite God or your parents as they really love you.
Think of Mother Nature.
Think of Himalayas.
Think of how water flows in a river
Think of beautiful flowers, trees and birds
Think of Mountain Gorillas ( Trust me. They are more beautiful and have a good heart than the people whom you might trust today and get cheated tomorrow. Very few hundred Gorillas are remaining on planet Earth. Pray God to keep them safe. Aren’t they sweet. Imagine what if only few hundred Humans are remaining on Earth. Will you not worry about it? )
Think of strangers who had helped you in past. Your life have not been so bad. Really not. You are gifted too.
My meditation needs Nothing but you.
You are Sai. You are your Guru.
You don’t really need Sai or a Guru if you learn to live with what you have and rest your mind in peace.
Many people think that I promote Sai devotion through StarSai.
Believe it or not. If you pray Sai and remain narrow minded keeping all the dirt in you, there’s no use in going to temple or doing pooja or even going to Shirdi every year.
Being a Sai devotee doesn’t matter to me or Sai.
Being good and pure matters.
Hence I want you to meditate.
My meditation is simple.
It only needs you.
I don’t want you to become a saintly person and do pooja and spiritual stuff.
I simply want you to think good. do good and be good.
I write this on my Father’s 70th birthday. April 20th 2014.
Because today I realized Life isn’t about what you do. What you earn or what you have.
Its simply about how peaceful you are.
Your state of mind this moment should be “Peace’
Silence and Peace.
World has millions to show you.
You remain where you are and be your master.
You be your Guru.
You Meditate. You live. Its your life.
You alone can make you happy.
Love,
Venkat
The world judges by our actions .Life judges by our intentions. Only a Sadguru molds us to perfection in and out. Baba s blessings.Shri Sainathayanamaha.
I totally agree with you Venkatji that there is information overload these days. People are always tethered to their devices constantly checking social media or whatever. So many people (not only youngsters) are so distracted by their phones that they don’t even make eye contact when you are talking to them.
I know mothers who do this! Our brains do need a rest especially when the info being bombarded to our brains are not all useful or necessary most of the time. I am all for being knowledgeable about world events or other things but everything in balance. Bottom line: Meditation gives our brains the much needed rest but it also has powerful positive impact on our physical health too.
A lot of my friends say that they cannot sit still to meditate. I feel that those are the folks that even more need to sit still and meditate so that their mind is not running is 1000 different directions.
Someone wise once told me that people these days are afraid to BE WITH THEMSELVES. It’s like they need a distraction all the time to run away from their own thoughts/fears/anxieties or whatever else.
Instead of being HUMAN BEINGS, we have become HUMAN DOINGS all the time. I am not perfect but am conscious of these things and work on it every day.
Jai Sairam!