WHY WE LIVE ON DIFFERENT LEVELS

Each will read into the words, his own state of consciousness.” Alice Bailey

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Corinthians 13:11

We understand many things because we know, we think and we have experiences. But each one of us does so according to his/her levels, whether it is in our daily lives or business or in our pursuit of a balanced life. For example, a teacher gives the same instruction to the whole class, but each student ‘understands’ the subject matter according to his/her level. Some will begin to think about the content and do research for greater insight. Others will simply let the class material stay in their notebooks and never read it again.
Suppose a group hears a news program on the television or say they all read the same book. It is not surprising that at the end of the activity, every one may have their own understanding of what they saw or read and sometimes there are meanings hidden in between words/lines that are ‘caught’ by very few people, if at all.
In reality, our science has failed to create any method or procedure to determine the levels of man. In our schools we have tests and exams which essentially separate those students who can advance to the next grade or stage of their education and in a sense their lives. For us adults, if there is any measure of our levels of existence, it is the earning power that we can achieve in our life. It comes down to the measurement in terms of wealth. Sometimes the position of power that an individual occupies influences their measurement. This is not an accurate or a reliable scale since it only considers outward forms, qualities and talents of the individual. Further some people may become infamous or their social standings may change.
For example, a person may be physically fit, and have an average control of his/her emotional being but have a poor mental mechanism. In such cases, the use of a particular level is limited by the development of that level. So he/she in effect operates with a discord or unbalance in his/her constitution and for them the chances of a long lasting successful, happy and prosperous life are doubtful. The reason being there is little integration and co-ordination between the three forms (physical, emotional and mental).
Also, it is possible that the outward appearance of a person may only manifest the stereo-typical image, but they can leave a lasting legacy of goodness, righteousness and spiritual values just as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Socrates and many others did.
These great personalities demonstrated that the ‘tools’ of measuring the value of a person, were not precise and needed to be redefined, but their inner convictions and integrations produced long lasting values that people have embraced in all civilized countries/regions of the world. They had to overcome many persecutions, difficulties and obstacles during their lives and yet they learned very important lessons, which they proceeded to share with all humanity.
Similarly, we can learn to change, modify or improve our levels of existence when we are subjected to crisis, problems and suffering. This change comes about because we are forced to face many challenging situations in our daily lives. Our actions/reactions originate because we engage in problem-solving thoughts and actualize them in our environment.
If the problem-solving process involves physical, emotional and mental mechanisms, the changes will be lasting and beneficial. The person involved in such a transformation will most likely be more watchful of his/her actions, thoughts and interactions while simultaneously making efforts to change his level of beingness. We improve our skills with regular practice of the skills. For example, the teachers improve when they teach, musicians improve when they play music and technicians improve by learning new techniques through practical experiences and education.
One of the most important aspects of improvement in our levels is to remember that our presence in this life has a purpose that is in the realm of ‘un-measurable’. Though this part is more important than the ‘measurable’, few people even can cognize it. The ‘un-measurable’ part is the major part of the human being. This can be ascertained when the person engages in sincere, selfless and sacrificial service to others. Once again, this is evident from reading the biographies of those human beings who served humanity in that fashion.
Service is an activity that comes natural to a human being who wants to care more about others than his own self. It is a sharing of talents, time and resources without expecting anything in return. This is the easiest way to change our levels. The greater the field of service, greater is the opportunity to raise our levels. Sometimes this involves some suffering, sacrifice and forbearance; but that can be a sign of the change in our levels.
Many criticized Gandhi. They persecuted him and put him in jail. He was subjected to racial prejudices, hatred and anger during his struggle for the independence of India. He persevered through it all. Ultimately he gave his life for the noble cause and proved that his levels of nobleness, thoughts and actions were far more advanced than the rest. He not only served the people of India but all of humanity. It is believed that in spite of his struggles and sufferings, his deep thinking led him to know and understand the science of service.
It is only through lofty thinking and consciously living a life of service, that we can gain true wisdom to change our level. Therefore we must live a conscious life of love for others and always try to serve in whatever field that life presents us.

THE MYSTERY OF FULL MOONS

A great sage says that the future religions will be formed around full moons.

There are twelve, sometimes thirteen, full moons every year. These full moon days are opportunities for development for each human being. What is he or she developing? The human is developing the quality of thinking, quality of discipline, quality of improvement of the physical body, emotional being and mental nature, and the quality of virtues hidden within every human being.
At the exact time of the full moon, an alignment of great bodies of energy takes place.
Our sun is in a certain constellation and the energy of that particular constellation is beaming towards the earth via the sun. However the potency of energy is reduced by the earth’s satellite, namely the moon. During the full moon, the sun illuminates the moon with its own solar energy and thus prevents the moon from absorbing or polluting the energy of the constellations. Therefore, at the exact time of the full moon, the earth receives the maximum impact of that energy. This is an optimum time for human beings to utilize the energy to increase their health, happiness and prosperity.
Some people, either consciously or unconsciously, are sensitive to the energy during the full moons. It is believed that 48 hours before and after the exact time of the full moon are the most powerful. Some people have observed that there is an increase of strange behaviors in people during these times and notice an increase of energy in their bodies during such periods. We will leave it to the scientists and psychologists to figure out the cause and effect of such incidences. They could discover that the strong energies play a significant role.
Esoteric astrology conveys to us that every full moon period has a keynote or key words. That is quite true but esoteric astrology also gives us a different keynote. The difference in the two is that the former is oriented more towards an average person, i.e. one who is only interested in his/her bodies, materialism, selfish living, acquiring possessions, emotional gratification and solutions to mundane problems. The latter is most important for the spiritually advanced human beings, who partly or completely have renounced the pleasures and comfort of their bodies and are more interested in developing virtues for furthering their spiritual growth.
The keynotes (also called the key words) are important because they give us the seeds for deep scientific thinking.
They are given by Alice A. Bailey as follows: (X = exoteric) and (E = esoteric).
ARIES: (X) Let Form again be sought.
(E) I come forth and from the plane of mind, I rule.
TAURUS: (X) Let struggle be undismayed.
(E) I see, and when the Eye is opened, all is illumined.
GEMINI: (X) Let instability do its work.
(E) I recognize my other self and in the waning of that self, I grow and glow.
CANCER: (X) Let isolation be the rule and yet —- the crowd exists.
(E) I build a lighted house and therein I dwell.
LEO: (X) Let the other form exist. I rule.
(E) I am That and That am I.
VIRGO: (X) Let Matter reign.
(E) I am the mother and the child, I, God, I, matter am.
LIBRA: (X) I choose the way which leads between the two great lines of force.
(E) Let choice be made.
SCORPIO: (X) Let Maya flourish and let deception rule.
(E) Warrior I am and from the battle I emerge triumphant.
SAGITTARIUS: (X) Let food be sought.
(E) I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another.
CAPRICORN: (X) And the Word said, ‘Let ambition rule and let the door stand wide.
(E) Lost am I in light supernal, yet on that light I turn my back.
AQUARIUS: (X) Let desire in form be ruler.
(E) Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men.
PISCES: (X) Go forth into matter.
(E) I leave the Father’s Home and turning back, I save.
During the 12 months’ journey of the Sun through the constellations, the earth feels the energies of both. We don’t know the source of their energies, but such energies are invisible and they manifest through the forms. Of all of the above the most important full moon times are during the periods of Aries, Taurus and Gemini. The exoteric keynotes are an indication of where the general humanity is in their consciousness. The esoteric keynotes indicate the challenge that lies before the traveler on the path of higher consciousness and spirituality.
In order to receive the energies at various times, the most important preparation one can do is purification. The simplest purification is that of the physical body. Eating healthy food, cleanliness of the outer and internal parts of the body and regular exercise etc. are some of the ways we keep our body clean. Do we need some other purification? The purification of our emotional nature is not so easy. Cleansing of hatred, jealousy, and many such negative emotions, is not easy. It takes observation, discipline and practice. Then we need mental purification of bad thoughts, of revenge, prejudices, bias etc.
The process of thinking is a very deep subject that needs a separate treatment. But let us say that thinking positively, thinking lofty thoughts and thinking objectively is a learned science. Many have achieved it and most of us are still trying to achieve it.
We can only receive energy proportional to our success in purifying our bodies. Think of your bodies as vessels. Until the pollution is cleaned out there is not much space left for the energies. Actually we are energy bodies. If our bodies contains impurities, they get loaded and just as the nutrients in the soil feed the weeds or the unwanted vegetation, so also our impure qualities grow to block the movement of vital energies. Is it any wonder that we feel lazy and depressed after a stressful period in which our emotions and mind are feeding the ‘weeds’?
How to remove the unwanted ‘weeds’?
There are some books which describe visualization and other exercises that can help in the purification process. Some other practical suggestions are:
Supply pure foods to our bodies.
Develop virtues and then actualize them in our daily lives.
Establish right human relations.
Serve sacrificially without any selfish motives.
Learn how to think scientifically.
Actualize goodness, truth, beauty, justice, joy and freedom in our environment.
The above list is not complete but it can be the starting point for those who choose to improve their lives.

ESSENTIALS OF RESPONSIBILITY (part 2)

A calm emotional nature is very necessary in making us ready for the test. If the emotions are disturbed violently, our mind is not able to focus on the solution. For example, if a calm pool of water is disturbed we either cannot see what is underneath the surface or we see blurry and distorted shapes which are not precisely defined.
Education makes the mind sharp. But the mind can only respond proportionally to its level of knowledge. That is one of the benefits of a good education.
The mind is the driver, but if the vehicle (body) has a malfunctioning engine the mind is rendered useless. Many people put toxins such as drugs, alcohol, nicotine and contaminated food in their bodies and that means they are being irresponsible in keeping the body (vehicle) healthy and consequently they will pay the price. We create our own poor physical and mental health. The body does not function appropriately on demand.

Our positions in a family, organization, profession, community, or a leadership position on a national or international level indicates that responsible actions and thinking are required of us. At the same time when we strive to increase our social standing or our position in any organization we also increase our responsibilities.

Duty is not responsibility. Duty is imposed on us by virtue of the choices we have made. For example, our job requires us to do certain activities. That is the duty we have contracted for, in exchange for fair compensation. Our responsibility is to have a focused mind when we are on the job and give 100% effort to finish the job at all times.
The difference between an average worker and a good worker is in the quality of their job performance. The first one does his duty and the latter feels responsible for the results of his work. Both get paid the same, but the responsible one has a better future.

The developed sense of responsibility is achieved by knowing the difference between your self imposed duties and the every day work duties. The former leads you to an improved sense of responsibility but the latter is just the work you do for the pay you get.

Did you observe that when you were growing up or were promoted in your job your responsibilities were also increased?
Growth of every human being is the result of accepting responsibilities and faithfully meeting the needs of our responsibilities however large or small.
Progress in life is achieved by taking on increasing responsibilities. Therefore, never attempt to escape responsibilities. As we proceed on the path of life, we should realize in our hearts that we have greater responsibilities. Such responsibilities are entrusted to us to create a balance in our life at that level. Any action that makes us insensitive to our duties is an action that will unbalance our bodies and disturb the harmony.

Suggested steps to become a responsible human being:

1. Everyday for few minutes, recollect the thoughts, words and actions of the previous day and try to improve for the rest of the day; e.g. did you do or say something to hurt anyone? If so, resolve that today you will be watchful and conduct yourself differently.
2. Inspire yourself and others, if there are forth coming challenges. Try to create conditions in which the others feel hopeful, safe and energetic.
3. Improve your work all the time. Since none of us are perfect beings, there is always room for improvement. Success is the result of steady improvement. Actually if you do not improve and advance, the life current will destroy you; for example, we are all required to be computer literate at some level, otherwise we become functionally obsolete.
4. Be an example to others, through acts of kindness, generosity and righteousness.
5. Do not slander, humiliate or hurt others.
6. Help people to make any kind of progress in their lives. Sometimes the smallest gesture can be a life changing event.
7. Encourage and support those who discuss ideas that will lead humanity towards goodness, truth and beauty.
8. Find ways to expand your own consciousness and of those near you. For example read inspiring books; listen to inspiring tapes and attend group gatherings such as schools, churches or community programs where the focus is on helping others grow. Get involved in such groups and serve selflessly in any way you can.

In summary, responsibility means that we are responsible for our thoughts, words and actions. Many young men and women are assuming responsibilities for the environment such as pollution, recycling, economizing water & utility usages, preventing waste of our precious commodities, protecting animals and nature etc. This is the result of increased sensitivity which is a part of and a great example of the sense of global responsibility. We may not agree with their methods or their arguments. At least they are creating awareness of our deteriorating way of living, our exploitation of the limited planetary resources. A great percentage of the population in this country and the world are blinded by the profiting oriented individuals, corporations and leaders interested mainly in pursuing their selfish interests. But a part cannot benefit if the whole, to which it belongs, is not healthy and functioning well.
The philanthropists of the world are doing a tremendous service so that mankind can enjoy this planet and live in health, happiness and peace. And a responsible person should make a concerted effort to help them in any way possible. We are all on the same ship after all; and the name of the ship is the planet Earth.

ESSENTIALS OF RESPONSIBILITY part 1

There is no school that gives you practical instructions in understanding responsibility. We use the word many times in our lives and yet few have taken the time to really understand it. And when you do start to think about it in a meaningful way, the topic seems a little abstract. However, we cannot live a fulfilling life without any responsibility, either towards ourselves or others.
Irresponsible people are people who ensure their failures in the future. They can never be truly successful and have a satisfactory healthy life.

Responsibility is the ability to respond to the needs of the present and the future.
To be responsible means to respond to the commands, the needs and the expectations of yourself, your environment, your relationships and your future.

In some cultures, people believe that whatever place we are born and in whatever family and condition we find ourselves in, we have to realize that an opportunity has been given to learn, to assimilate and to grow. Astrologers will tell you that you choose your parents/family in which you choose to be born and it just may be that this choice is based on your past incarnations. Mercifully, nature blocks out that knowledge during the process of incarnation. It is for us to find out what the opportunities are, by pursuing our duties faithfully and honestly and by doing our best to progress in life in a satisfying manner. If we try to get out from under such responsibilities, we miss an important step in learning about life and the future.
Of course there are those who design ways to escape from the situation due to laziness, ignorance, carelessness or making wrong decisions; but they complicate their lives and create obstacles in their relationships, health and happiness. This is due to the perpetually active law of cause and effect.
Consider these questions. Can you meet the needs and demands of your family, your friends, your community and your co-workers? Are we put on this earth only to eat, drink and seek health, happiness and prosperity without taking care of our duties & responsibilities? Are we selfishly satisfying the needs of our bodies at the expense of urgent demands by our responsibilities? And then there is this question that should be sounded by our conscience, “What is our responsibility towards the Self?
The word ‘Self’ as used here needs a little more elaboration. Therefore, let me explain.
In the Trans Himalayan traditions, the Self is described as “the spirit within the heart”.
It is the electrical presence in us that visualizes, wills and meditates. It is the inner core of every atom, man, solar system and the cosmos. It is the inner space within us that is able to communicate with the outer space around us. It is what we essentially are. It is the ‘image of God’ that is referred to in the holy books.

Next, we need to examine this thought, “If I am to respond to the demands of the Self within me, what about the Self in other people”? This will inevitably lead to the conclusion that if I can respond to the demands of others and they are doing the same, then we have an environment of understanding, peace and harmony. Responsible people contribute towards the opportunity to live in peace, prosper and enjoy life, because the ability to respond can create changes in us and others.

Everyday life creates many needs in people. At the same time the burden of work, money, relationships, friends, families, day to day obligations create a tremendous emotional and mental stress. There are times when one wants to just get out and start a new life. People tell you that you should not be in that environment and it is affecting your physical health. Most of such advice is incorrect and wrong. You have to face up to your obligations, duties and responsibilities. Remember you chose your environment before birth and there are many lessons you still need to learn this time around.

A wise teacher says, “… Flee not from life…..”
The life being referred to here is the life of responsibilities.
Advanced persons look upon responsibilities as an occasion for some sort of a test. No one can plan for the testing period. But we can observe our emotions and our mind. For example, if fear or insecurity start to increase, we must immediately use our mental faculties to find the reason and stop it. Such conditions indicate weakness in us. So we must try to rectify them with help from others or with scientific observations and thoughts.
………… continued in part 2

LABOR

“I have often spent my time stringing and unstringing my instrument, when the song I came to sing remains unsung.” Rabindranath Tagore

Labor is the ability to use materials, matter and energy to produce results that will be useful and beneficial. We can also define Labor as the action of the will of a human being to master his/her thoughts, words and actions. The intent of any labor should be to demonstrate the mastery of the object through which you are expressing yourself.

True labor follows a plan. For example, labor to design and build a new machine that will help the medical science. It is easy to see that a lot of research and experiments go into creating a good design. Next the right materials and parts are needed. But then if the technicians are not told about the plan, they will build it into an incomprehensible object. Therefore, a supervisor is necessary to explain the design and the drawing in a manner that the workers can understand. Further, if they are told how that machine is very important, the workers will be watchful in their construction. They are now using their minds.

You might say that there are many people who do routine jobs every day. For example, does a homemaker labor when she is taking care of the home and the children? She certainly does, if she is concentrated and aware of the work that is done and its effect. When she becomes mechanical, she is liable to make one or more mistakes and some of them can produce bad results.

In the definition above, we read ‘thoughts, words and actions’. What about those items.
With words great wise men and women have influenced and inspired many people. Scientists and philosophers start to think of the implications of their words and ideas and begin work on projects that will be helpful to humanity. Words have changed many minds and caused many to discover new methods of research. Painters, sculptors, poets and specially writers have created beautiful works to describe the effects in the future.

There are many kinds of labor.
1. Daily labor. This is the most common type of labor.
2. Personal labor. This labor is done for your own self, such as education, self- development, disciplining your mind, changing your personality, etc.
3. Group labor. This is a contribution towards the progress of a group or an organization. If you consider the group as one entity, then the individual members are expressions of it.
There are higher labors such as planetary labors and higher.

When the labor is mechanical, it is our urges and drives that are performing the labor. For example, the urge can be due to hunger, shelter, jealousy, hatred, prejudice, bias etc.

One cannot perform satisfactory labor without a healthy physical body, a purified emotional nature and a developed mind. All are important, especially when we consider the labors performed by leaders and those in influential positions. You can see the effects of their labor affecting the economic conditions and our lives for many years(.)?

Labor connects the object of labor with the subject of labor.
Who is the subject? i.e. the doer of labor. If we are doing labor following our mind’s reactions or responses, then the mind is the subject and almost always the labor is mechanical. For example, as an employee, you are expected to do certain tasks and you do it, sometimes without thinking and at other times solving minor problems. But at the end of the day it is your mind that decides if your work was satisfactory or not.
Now consider that you are behind the mind and are telling it to find the ways to overcome some obstacles and then you do the labor. This time the consequences are going to be different.
Therefore behind all our actions, being there is very important. When you inject yourself in the expression of labor, that labor is enhanced and more productive. A very simple act of shaking hands can demonstrate to the other whether you are behind it or not.
Now we can say that labor means a search to find your self in yourself and others.

BALANCE and HEALTH

(continued from March 2009)

There has to be balance in the work a person does and the money he receives. The employer is not willing to pay the worker who is lazy and unproductive. Similarly, if unbalances exist in our emotions or mind we cannot use them effectively.
There also has to be balance in the energies we receive and spend.
People doing certain kinds of yoga or other disciplines should know that they are releasing energy. The energy has to circulate and used. If not, the static energy will create complications.
Congestion of energy leads to various diseases and medical conditions. Asylums are full of people with unbalanced mental conditions and the medical profession is inundated with people that have unbalanced emotions.
For example, water standing on top of a mountain is of very little use as potential energy, but make it flow and we can generate electrical power. Unused energies create congestions in our system; properly flowing energies keep our bodies healthy.

Energies can also be depleted rapidly just like a balloon that loses its air when it is punctured.
For example, you are in a happy mood and then some bad news comes and destroys the happiness immediately. You win the lottery and are jumping with excitement and creating plans to spend the money and then just before they give you the cheque, the tax man interrupts your happiness and says, “Excuse me, first I will take my share and you can have whatever is left.” All your plans to use the money are destroyed right there and as the song says, “The thrill has gone away.”
Dangers can also arise when we are not able to assimilate the energies or when we have ‘leakages’ due to excessive use of our chakras, aka centers of consciousness, especially the ones below the diaphragm, namely, the center at the base of spine, sacral center and the solar plexus center. We have optimum health when all the centers are functioning according to their capacity and intended use.
The Ageless Wisdom teaches us that we have physical senses, emotional senses and mental senses. They function naturally due to purity, right living, development of virtues etc. Premature opening of the senses leads to many problems. For example, in an electrical circuit, you overload it by connecting too many appliances. The circuit breaker immediately trips to prevent a short circuit.
Our chakras are interconnected (just like an electrical grid) and can only survive if they are used judiciously. By excessively overloading them due to misuse or over use, we create short circuits. The result is that this may create burned ‘wires’ somewhere. May be it is in the mechanism of our brain or the nervous system or an organ near a weak chakra that starts to fail. Check out those who opened their astral senses ignorantly by using drugs and other hallucinogenic substances. The question that should occur to the reader is, why create a cause when there is no reasonable understanding of the effect. Could it be for the promised pleasure, excitement or something else. Psychologists probably know of many fools who have destroyed their mental mechanisms, or nervous system and lost the drive to succeed in life or became severely handicapped and become a burden on society and the state.

It is interesting to observe that balance is not in developing the opposites. Balance is a principle. There is balance in the Universe and the Galaxies and the Solar systems. Car runs because the components and the tires are in balance. Birds fly due to balance. A surfer is able to conquer huge waves because of the balance. A drunk is seldom in balance. An angry person is not in balance.
It is interesting to note that to acquire balance in love one needs to develop the expression of love. Hate is not required to balance love.
When we experience happiness, joy and bliss, we are in balance. So next time you are not happy or joyful, find out where there is unbalance in your life and try to fix it.
Total health comes when we restore balance to our bodies.

As we all know our modern lifestyle creates a lot of toxicity in our bodies and it must be removed intelligently to create balance.
We all can remember the times when we said words we didn’t mean, we did something and later realized how wrong it was or we realized that our past decisions were based on false realities. The problems came about probably due to impure thinking, improper actions and wrong choice of words. We distort our thinking when we don’t think clearly; we create unreal images in our mind and crystallize them. Then we start believing in the images. A wrong type of imagination can create justification in our minds (albeit false) to act unrighteously. All this is the result of unbalance in our system. So we need to purify our mind and learn to think clearly.

Balance gives us maximum efficiency. That is why we balance the various systems in our automobile. We can then give the right amount of gas to maintain the speed and economize fuel.
Balance of energies means the right amount of energy circulates naturally and contributes to the healing of our physical, emotional and mental bodies.
Today some physicians merely mask the symptoms with their remedies & drugs long enough for the human body to bring itself into balance naturally. For some diseases, the medicine is a life long routine to maintain sanity or balance.
On the other hand, Yogis know of exercises that can produce balance in the body and mind.
So we can say that balance creates health. A healthy mind in a healthy body leads us to a happy and prosperous life. After all isn’t it what we are all looking for, Health, Wealth and Happiness.

In conclusion I must summarize that if we want to live a healthy life free of illness and suffering, we must find ways to educate ourselves on the proper foods to eat, proper exercises for our bodies and a pure and balanced life will provide us with a healthy emotional and mental state free of hatred, harm, negativity, grief, ignorance, poverty, malice, slander, dark and criminal thoughts etc.
What we need is to stay positive, be kind, loving, harmless, caring, selfless, pure, sacrificial, honest and righteous; in short develop virtues.
We deserve to live a happy life which incorporates self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech.
May we all see the light and focus our attention to improve for a life of health, happiness and prosperity.

BALANCE and HEALTH

Balance is a condition in which all parts of our mechanism, separately and as whole, are in harmony with each other and are ready to be used for a purpose.
In practice, few people have a balanced condition. Due to several reasons our bodies, emotions and mental mechanism are not perfect and have problems functioning to their maximum efficiency and appropriately. Also there is improper coordination between them.
For example, the body wants to do something but the mind is busy with something else. The emotional relationship needs attention but the mental hatred, prejudices, separativeness etc. prevent compromises. The unbalanced cooperation between the three bodies leads to problems, chaos, sickness and diseases. For example, the physical body has so many systems, organs, glands, nerves and so on. They all have to work efficiently and cooperatively with each other. But if any part is not healthy, we have medical problems of various nature.

Meanwhile, a healthy physical body does not automatically give us over all integrated health. When we have an unbalanced condition we take herbs and medicine and hope that it is the right remedy for our illnesses, and sometimes it helps. On the other hand what about our sick emotional and mental mechanisms. Did we investigate what remedy will help? And if so, when do we make efforts to keep our emotional and mental mechanisms in balance.
Let’s compare our health to our car for example, if the automobile engine is balanced but the gasoline is not good, there is a problem. And what if the tires are balanced but there is a flat.
Therefore, we need to pay attention to all the systems and mechanical parts for the car to function safely. If not, we will be stopped from proceeding to our destination. So maintaining total balance requires proper automotive maintenance, vigilance, knowledge, labor and availability of proper resources. So if you, the driver, are healthy but the automobile is not, would you drive a mechanically unfit car?
Examine the physical body, the emotional nature and the mental mechanism. Are they in good operating condition? Are they working with each other in a synchronous manner? Obviously, for almost all of humanity this is a problem that must be examined, studied and solved.

A life of health, happiness and prosperity is a life in balance. That should be the goal for most of us but achieved by very few. It takes a lifetime of making right efforts, seeking right opportunities and faith in your abilities to find the right path to the goal. Have you ever come across a wealthy person who spent his life pursuing money, position and power and now with a terminal sickness wonders if it was all worth the effort? And of course they are willing to give up their wealth to get their health back, but it is futile at this stage. Wishes do not and cannot produce health and balance.
Instead almost everyone is looking for happiness without knowing what happiness is.
Happiness is not a permanent phenomenon. We have moments of happiness and then the pendulum swings to the opposite side, as it always must.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, one of the most revered ancient book, explains the reason in paragraph 2:14 wherein Arjuna is told, “… Contacts of the senses with their objects bring cold and heat, pleasure and pain; they come and go and are transient. Endure them, O Bharata.”
It is the contact or the attachment with those things that our senses can perceive that we look for giving us happiness. But our senses are imperfect; therefore their perception is also not lasting.

To create balance one needs to have balance within our hearts and mind and in our emotions and reactive body. Balance creates calmness, a very important quality that becomes very important during confusion, conflicts and disagreements.
When a chaotic argument ensues, a calm person is able to create peace, which is nothing else but another aspect of balance.
The text of St. Mathews, in verse 9 of the Beatitudes states, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
For example, to create security in the minds of passengers in an airplane, the pilot needs to be professional, knowledgeable, sane and healthy. He also has the duty to make sure that the airplane is mechanically sound before he takes control of the airplane and then he can assure the passengers that the flight will be safe and reach its destination.
We are the pilot of our bodies. Are we sure that the bodies are in sound health? When was the last time we checked it? Is it reasonably pure and free of toxic foods and other items? Does it need some special medicine? In order to advance in life, we need to develop the same qualities as the pilot of an airplane.

Health is nothing else but a condition in which the physical, emotional and the mind are in balance. An orchestra sounds melodious and enjoyable when all the instruments are in tune and every instrument is played exactly as the music is written for it. The resulting harmonious sound pleases us and makes us joyful.
The great Indian poet Tagore write, “ I have often spent my time stringing and unstringing the instrument of music, while the song I came to sing remains unsung.”
It is important that the instruments of our life, namely our physical body, emotions and mind are ‘tuned’ correctly. Then they can operate not as separate entities but as united integrated unit.
Physical health allows us to prosper economically and enjoy a good life without suffering from illness. Emotional health leads to right human relations and peace of mind. Mental health results in making right decisions and proper planning for the future.

A happy family is a family in balance with each other. The same with a growing friendship, it is the result of friends in balance. That is why improper actions, words of criticism and negativity throw the relationships out of balance. This is because during that time, we are not examining the relationships from all points of view, such as the goodness in them and all their other qualities. We only see what we want to see due to our shortcomings and handicaps.
It is incorrect to think that the others can be what we want them to be. We are upset at their behavior and blind to our own selfish expectations. That indicates an unbalanced condition.

Another example is if the hours we sleep and the hours we are awake are not in balance, we feel the stress and the exhaustion. We also need balance between the food we eat and the calories we burn. The detrimental effects of such an imbalance are obvious. As a consequence we have medical problems. We spend money to eat unhealthy foods and then spend more money for resulting medical bills. See the irony of our decisions?

Human beings are not only made of matter, they also have a subjective side to them. There is a story about a Yogi. He was approached by a man who said, “I don’t believe in anything but Earth or matter. There is nothing of the spirit in me or outside me.” So the Yogi said, “Come here and lie face down in this dirt. Let me see how long can you survive in earth.” The man did as he was told. But after about a minute, the man tried to lift his face and said, “I am suffocating.” To which the Yogi replied, “You cannot live even a short time alone in the earth.” The man immediately realized his error that one needs more than earth to live.
That other part that we all need is called the spirit. Every matter is imbued with spirit and the spirit is present in matter. There is a balance. If we say that spirit is positive and the matter is negative, then the presence of both in balance creates a neutral condition.
From the discussion above, does it not seem correct to state that the human being needs to balance matter and spirit in order to maintain good health? This is nothing else but balance.
When the energies operating within us and outside us are unbalanced we have congestion. Congestion is a condition in which we have unbalanced energy. Such a condition has to be resolved, otherwise we have complicated body problems. (to be continued)

The Science of Service

“The best exercise for the heart is to reach down and pick someone up”.

Service is the act of performing one’s duty.
Each of us was born for a purpose. To serve means to manifest the essence of goodness that the human being possesses. We serve in proportion to the degree of this essence that is present in us.
The Science of Service is the science that integrates our personality. We have the physical body, emotional nature and the mental mechanism. All of them should work in harmony separately and together. When one of them does not work well, we become sick and/or develop diseases.
In many traditions and cultures the service is imposed upon the people, by the family, the community, the religious establishment and the like. Imposition never produces good results. It prevents the person from growing and from becoming a success in life. Some people react to impositions visibly and the subsequent friction in their relationships always leads to pain and suffering.
The Trans Himalayan tradition says that there is a Law of Service also called the Law of Progressive Perfection, and if we follow that law it will produce benefits such as, joy, health, cooperation, harmony and healing.
From the study of Ageless Wisdom, service can also be defined as the implementation of the operation of the Law of Evolution through the human being. This is a little abstract but worthy of deep thinking. The purpose of this law is to manifest the divinity within us. Selfless service is the easiest way for all human beings to do so.
Therefore, part of the purpose of life is to make yourself ready to serve without expecting any rewards.
The simplest stage of service is physical service. The next stage is the emotional service and then we have the mental service. Then a time comes when we can serve in all the three stages simultaneously.
To serve we need three things.
1. Instrument of service.
We must keep our bodies healthy and ready to serve. A good diet and necessary exercise can give us a healthy physique. Take care of what you eat, how you eat and how much you eat.
But that is not enough. Along with all this we need adequate sleep and maintain a clean body. Good clean air and sunshine affect us in a beneficial way. Pollution and smog make us depressed, moody and sick. The physical body is like a car. It must kept clean, inside and out so that it looks good, it is dependable and all parts function in synchronicity.
We need to cultivate good emotions. Develop calmness and tranquility. Emotions need to be positive with corresponding expressions. Emotions such as jealousy, envy and bias create complications in our bodies. Emotion is like the water system in our cars. We need clean water to circulate in the radiator to give the most cooling to the engine. A Great Sage says, “Prepare your emotional nature for unexpected things.”
Mentally we need to have a good education and learn the discipline of lofty thinking. Prejudices based on color, race, religion, traditions, beliefs and nationality are an obstacle to service. Pride, arrogance, ego, vanity and illusion prevent us from serving satisfactorily. This can be compared to the electrical system of a car. The wires must conduct the power and the signals efficiently. Any short circuit can result in disastrous consequences.
2. Field of service.
We can only serve best if we do so willingly and without any expectation of recognition, rewards or results. Human beings are under various pressures, such as economic, family demands, health concerns and other concerns. Every human being is naturally prone to serve according to their background, education and expertise, experience, and demands on their time.
For example, Some would love to teach; others would love to improve the field of communication; still others would like to do fundamental research in medicine or in science; then there are some who would just want to help and lessen the hardships on philanthropic organizations by donating money and volunteering their time.
The field of service is as wide and the selection to choose from is huge. It requires a firm determination and a commitment on our part. Here is an important point. Every service and any field will contribute towards the welfare of a person, a group, a state or a nation and even the world.
3. Energy.
A server in this age and the coming Aquarian age must be ready to meet any need at any level. For this one needs to have a rounded knowledge in all fields.
Energy comes to the physical body from the foods we eat. For the emotions, energy comes from developing joy, gratitude, seeing beauty in nature, all forms of art and people. Mentally we derive energy from inspiration. It is the gas that keeps our car running. Inspirations can originate from great ideas, a great need, or a great source outside our bodies. Inspiration can lead to courage and fearlessness, a very important combination when serving a greater group.
Ego and vanity drain the inspiration, since it causes us to use the energy for personal needs. This is an act that demonstrates degeneration of our mental faculties. Ego & Vanity make us blind to service.
One way to serve humanity is to try to eliminate suffering around us. Lord Buddha says, “The Path to divinity is nothing but elimination of the causes of suffering.”
Human suffering is the result of imperfection. So to eliminate suffering, eliminate imperfection.
Christ said, “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
To eliminate suffering we must ask ourselves:
Am I causing suffering to others?
Am I an imposing personality? If so, we must know that it is due to ignorance and denial of responsibilities.
How can I eliminate suffering? Through sacrificial service.
Serving without expecting results makes you a selfless person.
Another form of service is meditation.
It will take a separate essay to explain the process. However, know that real meditation eliminates ignorance and leads you to enlightenment. It is important to learn the Science of Meditation; without it there is no spiritual progress. In Buddhist literature meditation is called “Mindfulness”. It means at all times you are really ‘there’. You must be conscious when you talk, act, think or interact. Our failures are the result of moments when we are not conscious or when we are ‘absent’. This absent mindedness conditions our future. Meditation organizes our mind. It increases the light of discrimination.
Meditation integrates our bodies. It also means having more love, better human relationships, more creativity and power to manifest virtues. Meditation leads to freedom.
We have hidden potentials that need to be explored and brought out to share with others. This is the way of transforming our lives. Another thing, if you see talent in others, help them to bring it out. That is a great act of service.
We cannot serve unless we are creative. We cannot be creative unless we learn to think. And it is not easy to develop thinking when the body is full of toxicity or is impure and full of inertia.
We learn to serve when we love to obey a greater will than us. For example, we learn to obey our elders, our employer, our teacher etc. This obedience is total and followed without any questions. Unfortunately in the western culture, this virtue is dying out. Everyone wants to ‘find himself/herself’ without acquiring adequate guidance and experience. Obedience creates some kind of integration in our physical body, emotion and mind. It is like a rope made of 3 strings. The rope is much stronger than the individual string. It can support a heavier load and is more useful.
Is Service necessary?
There is no progress without service. Every product that makes our lives easier is the result of service.
The Sun is sacrificing itself in service and the whole solar system stays alive due to it. If the Sun were to stop its sacrificial service, life as we know it would end.
Most importantly the motive of a server must be pure. For example, the ideal server might say, “I sacrifice my money, my time, my labor, my pleasures and comfort for the good of the Group.”
The next important quality of a true server is that he or she does not expect anything in return. The service is done with total self forgetfulness and joy.
In Conclusion, for a joyful existence, we must find means and ways to serve each other, and try to find greater means to serve our nation, humanity, mother nature and finally our planet because if we neglect this almighty ship we are all on, we will soon watch the ship sink with all of us aboard it. And all the life and existence that we have learned to enjoy and live will be aborted forever.

PRAYERS

Prayers are attempts to communicate with God or The Almighty with our hearts. It is the establishment of the living bond with the Presence within us. Prayers are the foundation of life. It gives us hope and comfort. It strengthens our will and helps us continue the life’s struggle. At first, like children, prayer is an external mouthing of words, then as the meaning of prayers is affirmed in the heart, it changes into communion with God. Prayers must have qualities of benevolence and inclusiveness instead of selfish wishes and demands. HE knows what you need.
Communication with God does not require special words or a special location. High quality thoughts require no language. The Spirit is omnipotent and all-pervading.
Even the most primitive words are sufficient to be called prayers.
This communication link is essential and served best by a pure heart and a clear intent. Without this link, humanity would turn beastial and the results would be unthinkable.
Some people do not like to worship. And it is possible to live a life in such a state. And yet during miserable times, they wish for help and redemption. Their prayers are often pleas for help. They do not know that true help comes to those who strive to help themselves. Besides the time of a human being is not the same as the ‘time’ (if at all there is such a thing) of the Supreme Being. Man cannot live only to satisfy his urges and desires in this life. Man is matter and spirit. The spiritual part needs its ‘food’ also. Prayers show us the way to feed the spirit.
Religions have special words or mantrams for prayers. Usually they are an arrangement of words together with the prescribed recitation pattern. Prayers have a resonance which is necessary for the harmony of space. It has to do with the combination of sound, rhythm and words.
Some ‘religious’ people may say that it is required that before praying one should follow a ritual of cleaning and putting on certain clothing. But we need more than that; besides the outside cleanliness of the body, one should also have a clean heart and a clean mind. That is to say, the human mechanism must be ready to receive, assimilate and distribute the consequences of prayers.
The effectiveness of the communication is proportional to the purity of the heart and mind. Purity of heart means there is no hatred, prejudices, ill feelings, bias, sorrows and selfishness. Purity of mind means the mind is devoid of mal-intent, separatism, revenge, anger, and hostile wishes. A cluttered mind cannot concentrate while praying and an agitated emotional person cannot focus on the words. We need clear channels so that intense dedicated pleadings find the destination. The rituals and the special vestments of the Priests have important significance for the prayer filled ceremony when done inside a church or temple.
Many prayers have been given to man in antiquity. They contained important words and phrases which generate vibrations that are calming, healing and effective when said with sincerity , selflessness and inclusive motives.
The Universe is so precise in its mathematical exactness, its own rhythm and in its own cyclic activity. To tap into that rhythm would be the greatest achievement of man.
I love the sounds of choirs singing hymns or gospel songs; to me such sounds convey the most reverent vibrations that harmonize with my heart. Words seem more impressive when they are sung in harmony. Even members of other kingdoms have their own special way of praying and giving gratitude. For example, in some traditions they say that at dawn when the birds start their melodies, they are singing their prayers to welcome the light of the sun. Plants and flowers seem to rejoice in the sun in gratitude.
It is only the humans who while praying are thinking about filling their stomachs or their business/family problems. Therefore, it is necessary to remind ourselves the basic principles of prayers.
In prayers we are communicating with the Most High. We cannot talk with our boss or friends simultaneously with our mind focused on non-related matters. So how do we even dare talk to the One who is Omnipotent, when our mind and our heart are not ready?
The communication link is a gift available for men and women to connect their hearts to the Heart of God. Prayers organize our mind and attract beneficial responses and thoughts. We are enriched by such thoughts just as we are when we meet special friends. The meetings happen rarely but when they happen, one needs to value such friends and work to maintain their friendship.
It is not necessarily true that prayers need a church, or a temple or a mosque to be effective.Communication with God, the omnipresent, can be done anywhere at any time.
Then why do people pray in a special place, like a church or a temple or a mosque? It is possible that in time, sincere prayers magnetize the location. In the great Cathedrals of the world, one often feels the serene atmosphere and it produces a healing calmness and inner peace. Perhaps it is due to hours and hours of praying and singing of the choirs.
Did you notice that in cathedrals and churches people always whisper without really knowing why? The walls, the church altar, the frescoes and the paintings/pictures are probably highly magnetized with harmonious spiritual vibrations.
There are places in the world where people believe that it is has been made holy by the presence of a Saint or a Disciple. Even the objects used by such a spiritual person are revered. I know of several places that people visit regardless of their caste, creed, race and religion; they pray for health, peace and blessings. Holy water is said to contain many beneficial properties. Novenas are made with total faith and hope.
Some people believe that in their homes, it is good to use the same chair or prayer rug for their recitation and/or meditation. The accumulated charge of the prayers can be healing. People often develop a ritual for praying. They keep the area clean and before praying light a candle and burn incense. Rituals are designed so that the congregation may concentrate and focus their minds. However, rituals do not necessarily intensify the significance of the prayers. It is the participation of the devoted individual who adds to the overall power of the prayers.
In many countries, people sing holy songs while doing their daily jobs and creative labor. It is said that ancient prayer rugs have healing properties. The weavers used to sing holy songs and prayers with utmost concentration and all those vibrations are absorbed in the rugs.
Prayers can be short or long. Both are effective. Prayers that are non-denominational are very important for the unity of mankind. Here is an example of an ancient short prayer given to humanity a long time ago by a great Sage; I really love it and say it every day to remind me of my Self:
More Radian than the Sun
Purer than the snow
Subtler than the ether
Is the Self
The spirit within my heart,
I am that Self,
That Self am I.

There is a most beautiful prayer given in the books by Alice A. Bailey called the Great Invocation. (A special article is under preparation to explain the significant details of the Great Invocation.)
The entire prayer can be a ‘seed’ for deep scientific thinking and it will produce many revelations. Imagine if millions of people recite this prayer with deep concentration every day; then we will create changes in our families, society and our planet.
Reciting a prayer is an act of service. When we pray for the good for all, for world peace, for unity, for the sick and the underprivileged, for justice and for blessings for all, we are contributing to the spiritual energies that exist in the Universe. The energies can then be utilized for improving the condition of this planet and its dependents. All members of the human races deserve to live a healthy, happy and a prosperous life.
There are learned men and women, teachers, monks, priests, rabbis, disciples and aspirants, who spend their waking moments in prayers. In different countries people pray in their own special way.
We may not understand it and even find it primitive. But we cannot dispute that it is an indication of spirituality. Every prayer has its own beauty and we must appreciate the beauty of the sounds. Our communication with the Highest should not be an imposed activity; rather it should always be the response to our heart’s desire.
When the prayers are repeated mechanically or said for personal gains, they lose their effectiveness. Uttering prayers for self-seeking reasons probably violates the Law of Righteousness.
Some pray for forgiveness but make no efforts to modify their actions. It is as if the ‘holy shower’ of prayers will wash away their sins. Can such prayers really be effective? Prayers without any effort at reformation are nothing else but an attempt to ‘negotiate’ with God. What an absurd and a futile attempt! This is nothing but hypocrisy and meaningless action and yet many people all over the world repeat such actions daily.
May be the person while praying believes that this time he will be successful!
Insincerity in prayers is an act of blaspheme. Imagine trying to conceal something from the All- knowing and All-pervading Intelligence!
Our lives are occupied with our problems, business, pleasures etc. that we do not find time to pray. Is it any wonder that the daily routine has made us mechanical and predictable to the sellers of goods? We have many demands on our time but without prayers our lives will be unbalanced and therefore, unhealthy.
We need to develop courage to break the mechanical way of living. Prayers give us an opportunity to reorient ourselves to God. Prayers can reveal guidance and increase our desire for our spiritual health. The spiritual health is the basis of our physical & mental health.
Prayers should be a part of our daily life.
In Agni Yoga we read, “Verily, let each heart strive upwards. In this alone is the path to perfection.”

The Ageless Wisdom

Only a total understanding of the Ageless Wisdom can assure a bright future for Humanity.

The Ageless Wisdom (AW) is a collection of ideas, thoughts, actions and observations that have been in existence since the human beings learned to think and express them in art, writings, sculptures and monuments.

The longevity of such expression is a proof that the fundamentals had their origins in archetypes. Human beings have the abilities to investigate such archetypes through scientific deep thinking, through sacrificial service and through education.

Once such a connection is made, a fragile link is created between the archetypes and the human being. This link becomes the communication line through which great inspirations, ideas and knowledge can flow. It is up to the human beings to nurture the link through constant labor and by refining the senses.

Since the whole creation consists of energies, the ageless wisdom is but a vehicle to show us the power and grandeur of the energies but with something else. And that is the illumination of the path towards becoming perfect. The Great One said, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” His teaching was the purest form of instructions given on many levels of thinking, so that at every stage of development the human being is able to find his way to a higher level of thinking and beingness.

As we grow, our bodies, emotions and minds are bombarded with the external influences. Without proper training and development it is easy to see how one can be sidetracked from the true purpose of incarnation. Before we realize, we are trapped in the traditions, conventions, dogmas, doctrines, racial and religious pressures, family situations and economic struggles.

Few can still find the time to investigate and search for the path to higher achievements. Unfortunately such adventurous and courageous persons are rare. Most of us are immersed in the daily struggles and think that it is easier to be led than to be a leader.

Ageless Wisdom is the vehicle that shows us how to labor to secure enlightenment.

In our schools we begin our education by studying ABC’s, then progress to higher learning. As we study we start to develop our minds and in time learn how to think constructively and logically. Lots of creative ideas reach us and allow us the opportunity to accelerate our understanding.

Every part of the creation, including the smallest cells, has the power to think. The recent discovery of the stem cell is a demonstration of this hidden truth. Thinking is an effort to discover and when a human being stops thinking he/she loses the ability slowly but surely.

Ageless Wisdom harnesses the energies that are swirling in Space. Such energies sustain and nourish the Universe, the Solar Systems and all that has been created. Therefore, through utilizing the AW, man can discover the beneficial secrets and the mysteries of the creation.

It is unfortunate that time and careless handling destroyed many of the records of the ancient civilizations by ignorant discoverers. However, from the collections over many centuries we know that there was tremendous scientific and cultural progress in that period.

The 21^st Century is an Aquarian philosophy based period. That is to say, most of the achievements and discovery will have to be done by groups and then shared with the whole world. Perhaps they might discover that our Earth has gone through many cataclysmic times but the essential wisdom was somehow retained in many areas of the world and are waiting to be discovered.

One of the most important ideas that pervade the Ageless Wisdom is the power of thought and thinking.

Helena Roerich in her letters writes, “Thought in its substance is infinite, and only our consciousness attempts to limit it. Therefore, without delay, let us start the next step—broadening of consciousness. The most ancient wisdom of India says: “Thought is the primary source of world creation.” The Great Buddha pointed out the meaning of thought which builds our essence. He taught his pupils to broaden their consciousness. Lao Tze, Confucius, and Christ—all Teachers of spirit and great thinkers taught the same thing.

The Great Plato said: “Thoughts rule the world.”

Thoughts do not belong to the privileged. Everyone can learn to think deeply and scientifically. And as those who have studied university courses know that it requires tremendous sacrifice and labor to learn to think constructively.

Where does such thinking lead us?

It leads us to unity, peace, progress, good health and happiness.

All creation is the result of thinking. When such thinking is subordinated to selfish pleasures, power and domination, separativeness and exploitation, we are creating causes that will have detrimental effects at various levels.

We also gather knowledge by using our senses properly. But individuals who have developed advanced mechanisms of thinking can gather knowledge in subjective levels. An example of such an event is during sleep wherein some people experience visiting classes where great Teachers discuss relevant topics and give hints about the work to be done. If the person is able to retain the information when he/she is awake and makes sacrificial efforts to do the work, then the result is a tremendous increase of consciousness and therefore wisdom.

Sometimes the words knowledge and wisdom are presumed to be synonymous. That is not so. Knowledge is nothing but warehousing of information. When knowledge is utilized with love and it is actualized then the result is wisdom.

Knowledge gives us material wealth and means to achieve power and position. It also gives us news about the world events, discoveries and the existence of many laws and rules of conduct. Wisdom illuminates ways to help others through labor, service and compassion. It therefore, results in unification of humanity. Wisdom makes us realize our true potential and the purpose for our existence.

Knowledge reveals how to increase or decrease pain and suffering but is unable to foresee the result of its applications. E.g. knowledge of atomic fission led to the bomb, but the damaging effects on humanity were never imagined.

Wisdom will seek to discover the causes of chaos and confusion that exist in families, nationally and internationally. Wisdom can remove the causes and bring unification and peace. When there is harmony there is balance, and where there is balance there is progress.

The purpose of Ageless Wisdom is to teach, reveal and to manifest Goodness, Truth, Beauty, Justice, Joy, Freedom and Sacrificial Service. This is the path to perfection. These are all great concepts behind which is hidden a treasury of wisdom. The key to discover, understand and assimilate the above is by meditation. Meditation is the process of scientific thinking by using the various levels in your mind.

As a result of the meditation we expand our consciousness. Then by actualizing the results of the meditation we can see the effects in our lives, our relationships, our environment and our health.

When we do the meditation, we will find that we have to learn to think using concrete and the abstract parts of our minds. This is a great achievement.

Ageless Wisdom makes us realize that the thought within us is the Spirit, the seed of perfection. The purpose of the human being is to investigate the potential of the seed and bring it to fruition. As we are evolving, the entire Universe is also evolving, each at its own pace.

The Ageless Wisdom is an expanse of energies that is ready to manifest in our lives through inspiration, revelation and love. We must make ourselves worthy to receive these blessings.

The great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore said, “I have come many times to string and unstrung the instrument of music, but the song I came to sing remains unsung.”