Guardian Angels

Guardian Angels are always around, says Doreen Virtue.

A lot of us are convinced that demons walk this planet.

If that is true, then angels have to be around too.

The Nature of Panic & The Imposter

Introduction:

Fears tend to be much worse than reality.
Panic makes us visualise a very dark future.

The future is never as dark as the state of panic might might portray.

Humans, it is true, live in a state of panic, more or less.

Somnambulating from one state of panic to another. But that's not you, it's this 'thing', very accurately represented by...



Newspapers are evidence of panic. News channels are evidence. From one scam to another. From one tragedy to another. There are good things happening too, in this world, but the focus is only on tragedy and doom. That is what the state of panic is all about. All other things melt into nothing, only doom, tragedy linger in the perspective. And very often, things appear much more dangerous than they actually are.

Like Jim Bishop says, "The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face."

The interesting thing about panic is, it can never take you over completely. The fragmentation in the human psyche is the reason for this.

When panic takes over, some aspects of you will remain cool and calm. Always.

This is an excellent video on the nature of panic, and dealing with it.

Teal Scott suggests that DO NOT RESIST fear, anxiety, panic. Embrace them, and they will melt.


Teal Scott quote.

"You can't control thoughts because thoughts don't exist in the brain. Ignorance is not the result of choosing to think what benefits you to think. Ignorance is the result of fully believing in your thoughts... thoughts that are most often distortions."

Invite the fear to become worse. Ask it to get more intense. Ask it to give you more. When the fear no longer meets resistance mentally, it loses its power. Just like a stray dog stops chasing you when you no longer run from it.



Pema Chodron quote.
"The “Lion’s Roar” is the fearless proclamation that any state of mind, including the emotions, is a workable situation, a reminder in the practice of meditation. We realize that chaotic situations must not be rejected. Nor must we regard them as regressive, as a return to confusion. We must respect whatever happens to our state of mind. Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news."

And a highly interesting Jim Bishop quote.

Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.

And an interesting Steve Hagen quote.

Truth and Reality are always here for us to see. We don’t need to stand on any particular idea, belief, answer, or other mental structure. In each moment we can see what’s actually going on without grasping — without needing to find something to bolster us or comfort us. After all, what is there to bolster? What’s being threatened?

A brilliant solution, by Pema Chodron
One way to practice staying present is to simply sit still for a while and listen. For one minute, listen to the sounds close to you. For one minute, listen to the sounds at a distance. Just listen attentively."
(Taking the Leap)

CONCLUDING NOTE:

A lot of weakness and sorrow is the result of lack of self esteem, and guilt over past actions, sorrow over past failures.

But then, like Teal Scott points out, most thoughts are distortions. And once this is seen, self esteem will automatically repair itself. You will heal once you see the truth of your past.



A very wise quote from: MarcandAngel.

Think positive. Life is good. Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting pure gold. Positive thinking isn’t about expecting the best to always happen, but accepting that whatever happens is the best for the moment. So keep smiling and keep staying true to your heart. Someday, the negative voice inside you will have nothing left to say.

Must Read:Raptitude

Kalpa Vṛkṣa -2

In the BhagvadGita, in many many verses, earthly life is called an illusion.

In this blog entry we'll look at just one. Chapter 15, Verse 1. In which it is suggested that the human world is only a reflection of Krishna Loka, and being a reflection, the human world is unreal and "upside down". Metaphorically speaking.

श्रीभगवानुवाच
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥१५- १॥
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।
अधश्च मूलान्यनुसंततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥१५- २॥
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल-मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥१५- ३॥
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी॥१५- ४॥

The Lord said: They (or the wise) speak of the eternal Ashvattha tree having its origin above and its branches below (in the visible cosmos) whose leaves are hymns. One who understands this is a knower of the truth.

The branches (of this world tree of Maya) spread below and above (or all over the cosmos). The tree is nourished by the Gunas; sense pleasures are its sprouts; and its roots (of ego and desires) stretch below in the human world causing Karmic bondage.

Neither its (real) form nor its beginning, neither its end nor its existence is perceptible here on the earth. Having cut these firm roots of the Ashvattha tree by the mighty ax of detachment;

The goal (of nirvana) should be sought reaching which one does not come back; thus thinking: In that very primal spirit I take refuge from which this primal manifestation comes forth.

MY MUSINGS.....
The reflection of a tree in water or a mirror, if closely observed, will have ALL the details, that the real tree has. But it's not real. Of course.

QUESTION:

So if earthly life is only an "upside down" reflection of Krishna Loka, where is Krishna Loka? Where is the evidence of its existence?

__________________

Kalpa Vṛkṣa

From Bhagvad Gita.US

Text 1

sri-bhagavan uvaca
urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham
ashvattham prahur avyayam
chandamsi yasya parnani
yas tam veda sa veda-vit

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is said that there is an imperishable banyan tree that has its roots upward and its branches down and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.


Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

After the discussion of the importance of bhakti-yoga, one may question, “What about the Vedas?” It is explained in this chapter that the purpose of Vedic study is to understand Krishna. Therefore one who is in Krishna consciousness, who is engaged in devotional service, already knows the Vedas.

The entanglement of this material world is compared here to a banyan tree. For one who is engaged in fruitive activities, there is no end to the banyan tree. He wanders from one branch to another, to another, to another. The tree of this material world has no end, and for one who is attached to this tree, there is no possibility of liberation. The Vedic hymns, meant for elevating oneself, are called the leaves of this tree. This tree’s roots grow upward because they begin from where Brahma is located, the topmost planet of this universe. If one can understand this indestructible tree of illusion, then one can get out of it.

This process of extrication should be understood. In the previous chapters it has been explained that there are many processes by which to get out of the material entanglement. And, up to the Thirteenth Chapter, we have seen that devotional service to the Supreme Lord is the best way. Now, the basic principle of devotional service is detachment from material activities and attachment to the transcendental service of the Lord. The process of breaking attachment to the material world is discussed in the beginning of this chapter. The root of this material existence grows upward. This means that it begins from the total material substance, from the topmost planet of the universe. From there, the whole universe is expanded, with so many branches, representing the various planetary systems. The fruits represent the results of the living entities’ activities, namely, religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation.

Now, there is no ready experience in this world of a tree situated with its branches down and its roots upward, but there is such a thing. That tree can be found beside a reservoir of water. We can see that the trees on the bank reflect upon the water with their branches down and roots up. In other words, the tree of this material world is only a reflection of the real tree of the spiritual world. This reflection of the spiritual world is situated on desire, just as a tree’s reflection is situated on water. Desire is the cause of things’ being situated in this reflected material light. One who wants to get out of this material existence must know this tree thoroughly through analytical study. Then he can cut off his relationship with it.

This tree, being the reflection of the real tree, is an exact replica. Everything is there in the spiritual world. The impersonalists take Brahman to be the root of this material tree, and from the root, according to Sankhya philosophy, come prakriti, purusha, then the three gunas, then the five gross elements (panca-maha-bhuta), then the ten senses (dashendriya), mind, etc. In this way they divide up the whole material world into twenty-four elements. If Brahman is the center of all manifestations, then this material world is a manifestation of the center by 180 degrees, and the other 180 degrees constitute the spiritual world. The material world is the perverted reflection, so the spiritual world must have the same variegatedness, but in reality. The prakriti is the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and the purusha is the Supreme Lord Himself, and that is explained in Bhagavad-gita. Since this manifestation is material, it is temporary. A reflection is temporary, for it is sometimes seen and sometimes not seen. But the origin from whence the reflection is reflected is eternal. The material reflection of the real tree has to be cut off. When it is said that a person knows the Vedas, it is assumed that he knows how to cut off attachment to this material world. If one knows that process, he actually knows the Vedas. One who is attracted by the ritualistic formulas of the Vedas is attracted by the beautiful green leaves of the tree. He does not exactly know the purpose of the Vedas. The purpose of the Vedas, as disclosed by the Personality of Godhead Himself, is to cut down this reflected tree and attain the real tree of the spiritual world.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

The fifteenth chapter states that detachment is the cause of cessation of birth, that the soul is an amsa of the Lord, and that Krsna is superior to matter and the jiva.

The second to last verse of the last chapter stated that by bhakti yoga one attains the status of brahman:

mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
BG 14.26

The question may be asked "How does a person attain brahman by bhakti yoga rendered to the Lord possessing a human form?"

True, I am human in form, but I am the basis of brahman, the supreme shelter of brahman. This statement, which functions as a sutra, forms the beginning of chapter fifteen. You said that the devotee, surpassing the gunas (sa gunan samatitya), attains the status of brahman. What is this material world made of the gunas? Where did the thread begin? Who is that jiva who surpasses samsara by devotion to you? You also spoke of the jiva being qualified for brahman (brahma-bhuyaya kalpate). What is that brahman? And who are you, the basis of the brahman?

Anticipating these questions, the Lord now speaks. First, with use of a metaphor, the material world made of gunas is compared to an asvattha tree. Above all planets, in Satyaloka, lives four-headed Brahma, who is the one root of the tree of the material world, who is composed of mahat tattva, the first sprout from prakrti (urdhva mula). The branches of the tree are below, composed of devas, gandharvas, kinnaras, asuras, raksasa, pretas, bhutas, humans, cows, horses and such beasts, birds, insects, worms, moths, and immobile creatures at the bottom, in the realms of svah, bhuvah and bhu loka.

This asvattha tree is the best tree because it lets one fulfill one's goals of artha, dharma, kama and moksa. But according to viewpoint of bhakti, asvah means that which will not last till tomorrow (a= not, svah= tomorrow). Asvattha therefore means that which is bound to perish. For the non-devotees however, it appears to be indestructible (avyayam). Chandamsi refers to the Vedas, which expound karma in such verses as the following:

vayavyam svetam alabheta bhumikam

Desiring wealth and power one should sacrifice a white horse in the northwest. Taittiriya Samhita 2.1.1.1

aindram ekadasaka-palam nirvapet prajakamah

Desiring offspring one should offer eleven oblations in the east. Baudhayana Srauta Sutras 13.2.120.7

Because they expand the bondage of the material world they are called the leaves (parnani). With these leaves the tree becomes attractive. He who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.

Katha valli sruti says:

urdhva-mulo'vak-sakha eso' svatthah sanatanah

This eternal asvattha tree has its root is upwards and branches downwards. Katha Upanisad 2.3.1