Healthy and Happy, for Yourself

Your past, present, future, is it all worth it? Are you content with the situation you are living in? All the sacrifices, all the pain you suffered, was all that even necessary? Have you forgiven yourself for conditions you did not have control over? Do you look in the mirror and accept reality or do you avoid it and ignore it saving it for another day? Are you happy with the journey you let so far? Do you love the people around you? Do they motivate you and help you in becoming a better person? Are you in love with your day-to-day life, or are you doing it for the sake of doing it? Have you imagined what your life might be like in the next 5 or 10 years? Are you working towards it? Is your purpose in life just surviving, or do you wish to be an inspiration to this world? You realize that we only have one life; are you making the most out of every day? Have you loved and accepted yourself, the person you are inside and outside? When was the last time you treated yourself, bought yourself a gift, or cooked your favorite meal? Do you give yourself care and attention, or do you wait for another individual to fulfill your desires? Do you get heartbroken and disheartened when someone doesn’t meet your expectations, or do you forgive? What are your limitations, principles, values, boundaries? What if someone breaks your rules? Do you leave the relationship or tolerate it? Is your life even real, or has someone trapped you in their fantasies? Are you happy with your partner, children, colleagues? Is there anyone’s energy that always throws you off? How do you cope with disappointments? Is your coping mechanism healthy or unhealthy? Are your decisions leading you to more harm or good? Are you the type to keep a grudge, or do you move on and forget? Did you know that being a wife, husband, employee or student are parts of your life and not whole? Do you let these relationships consume your everyday life?

It’s important to ask these questions to yourself from time to time so you do not get too carried away or consumed with one aspect of your life. It would help if you prioritized yourself above everything, yes, even in do-or-die situations. Enough rest, sleep, and care will help you with productivity and creativity. Don’t ever let an individual or a situation occupy your entire mind. Take a breath of fresh air, go out and come back to the problem. Even 5 minutes can help you get better clarity of your obstacles. Never let anyone tell you that you can not. I promise you; you can. Be there for yourself, love yourself. Your kidneys, liver, and intestines do not know the situation you are dealing with so give yourself nourishment. Live life for yourself; you need yourself. Pat yourself on the back; you made it far all by yourself.

Letter to Future Self by a 15 Year Old

High school so far for me has gone by way too fast than it should have been. It has had both its ups and downs. I wonder now about high school life and how it would be for the next two years. A lot of things have changed. Whatever I have dealt in high school, whether good or bad, has made me a better and more mature person right now. And I know this is not it yet. There are more things to learn in life, but whatever high school has taught me so far would never be forgotten. I don’t think that I would be ever overloaded with academic work, as I am not taking very many advanced placements or honors classes. The thing that would affect is the little things. For example, managing friends and school together, time limits, making time for other things. I believe that high school is probably the hardest stage of your life, not because of academics and little things like that. Highschool is the hardest stage because people undergo a lot of physical and mental changes right now. People never think about what they say or say what they think. Every individual is confusing in his or her way. It is hard to deal with other people’s emotions and mood swings while you are trying A’s and 100% in your AP and honors class.

My goal for high school and after is to be a better person, and I want to learn and keep learning from life. After high school, I want to pursue art, along with the philosophy of psychology. I will somehow take the right amount of courses to be a psychiatrist, a child psychiatrist. I don’t have very many close friends in school. It is sad now that I think that the people I hang around with every day during lunch know nothing about it as if there is no depth in our friendships. And the best friend I have whom I thought we would be friends there has ben only drama. My best memory of high school so far was probably all the memories I spent with my best friend, like the basketball games we have been through, and everyday fun that had happened. Little nicknames we had for each other that I still remember were… I had great times with my friend, and I cherish all the moments we shared. I try to look into our friendship and try to look for what I learn from it, but I guess that doesn’t help me forget it. Although my life is way beyond complicated right now, I hope and will try to do very well academically and do well on my finals and get my grade up. I can not sacrifice my grades for someone who lives in my past and not my present.

-Deepasha

Merging through Meditation

Meditation is when the mind focuses on one single thought. All the external distractions do not interfere with the concentration. In pure meditation, sometimes, the present state dissolved. It no longer matters what is going around the human body. That concentration is much more beyond the body’s wants and needs. It is all about being in that state of peace. After waking up from that meditative state, it’s time to realize that one is much more than just the body. The world doesn’t end for us after death. The body’s needs and wants are not the purposes of life. Meditation makes you realize that there is so much more.

“The mind is the senses, emotions, intellect, and will.”

Once somebody realizes the grandeur truth, they are aware that senses, emotions, intellect, and do not control them. When this bridge is crossed, that is when you come closer to your consciousness. When realized that the mind is no higher than the body, that is the ultimate state of peace.

After deep meditation, it is evident what separates you from the infinite consciousness, which is the personal identity - dissolves. The realization is called “undifferentiated awareness.”

Turiya is the state of waking up from a dreamless sleep. At this stage, one is neither aware of the presence of their mind nor the body. Once reached this ultimate peace, then one is in “Samadhi” when one is liberated or “Moksh.” Everything else is just Brahm. It is this state where one is the most alive.

Realizing that one is much more beyond the body, mind, and personal identity, they discover the Self or the Atman.

“Our real Self is not different from the ultimate reality called God.”

Realizing this truth, the Self merges with the infinite consciousness. Once absorbed, there is no difference in space and time. If not united, the differences are dissolved, and the awareness remains “chit.”

When consciousness reaches the state of samadhi, the body combines itself with time, space, the dimension in a package. The entire reality is within. This is the moment of being complete, is called Sat. The process of meditation brings the ultimate joy to humanity. Being in total awareness and bliss brings joy. Being one (united) with the Self is then the only desire.

Tat Twam Asi

i. Upanishad Simplified

When the Aryan came into, what is now known as India; brought their religion and spread the knowledge of their Gods and deities. They worshipped the natural elements because they are the power that has brought creation to life.

There are 7 powers, also known as Devas, mentioned in the Upanishad.

1)    Fire (Agni)

2)    Storm (Indra)

3)    Wind (Vayu)

4)    Night (Ratri)

5)    Dawn (Usha)

6)    Sun (Surya)

7)    Death (Yama)

It is believed that there is one Supreme divinity and these Devas are merely His powerful forms. Upanishad is a spiritual text which is compiled with knowledge of great spiritual Gurus. They teach how spirituality is related to everyday life. Everybody can pursue their life with the right conduct to reach ascension.

My understanding:

What is reality? What is Self? The Self is Him. Therefore, we are not only the creation but the creator. No, you do not need another life to find your Self. The purpose of life is to realize that you are God.

The Upanishad teaches that you do not need a religion, rituals, cultural practices for ascension. You just need to be one with Yourself. Your body itself will take you to the journey of self-realization.

These Devas which I mentioned earlier are the living pieces of evidence of God’s existence. The first step is to find the Oneness with the Devas. Unite yourself, feel them, imbibe the purity of these powers.

There is a beautiful quote written in the Upanishad to simplify this concept, “by knowing one piece of the gold, all things made out of gold are known: they differ only in the name and form, while the stuff of which all are made in gold.”

Okay, still didn’t get it. Let me explain:

We all know that God exists right? Yet we entangle ourselves and let our Mind entangle in everyday issues, our physical body, temporary emotional phases. We get so carried away in this illusion that we forget we are the creation and the creator. We made the creation to find the creator. Similarly, if we find one piece of the Supreme (ourselves), would we not find the Supreme himself?