| A SPIRITUAL HEALING SYSTEM TO AWAKEN THE BODY'S OWN HEALING POWER |
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What is lifestyle?
What must
we aim to remove from our lifestyle?
Why
we must remove T.V. ...
Why
we must remove junkie and sensuous music, gossip...
Why
we must remove perfumes ....
Why
we must remove unrighteous behaviour ...
What must we add to our
lifestyle?
The Last Word
Gems From Baba
We are aware that many of you who will read this may already be following
most of what is given here. However, as healers it helps to have on hand
"printed" guidelines which, if you lack time, can be photocopied and passed
on.
WHAT IS LIFESTYLE?
The sum total of what we do (or fail to do), from the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep, day after day, is lifestyle.
If day after day we watch television and read books and magazines that feed our sensuous desires; if we listen to music that only conjures up base emotions; if we use our hands to engage in activity that is anti-peace and anti-God (read that as anti-anyone), if we smell of perfumes created to stir the senses, we can be sure of perpetuating negative samskaras for future lives as well, besides causing several dreadful diseases in the present life-time.
If we fail to do what it is our duty to do according to our station in our life (as wife, mother, husband, father, daughter, son, employee, employer etc.) we are indulging in adharma or "sinful acts".
We begin by listing what needs to be removed from our lifestyle and why, followed by what we must add to our life in order to bring about a qualitative change in our purpose, our perspective, and consequently our wellbeing.
WHAT MUST WE AIM
TO REMOVE FROM OUR LIFESTYLE?
Remove mind polluting books and magazines, T.V., junkie/sensuous music, gossip, criticism, judgement, perfumes, unrighteous or adharmic activities.
Our body and mind is fed not only by what we eat with our mouth but
also everything that enters through all our sense organs.
WHY WE MUST REMOVE T.V. AND MIND-POLLUTING BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND PICTURES FROM OUR LIVES:
Let us begin with what we "eat" with our eyes! A lot of what we see can be described as "involuntary" i.e. we have no control over it. What we CAN control is the subject of discussion here. It is by choice that we read what we do; it is by choice that we switch on the television; it is by choice that we stop and look at defiling cinema posters.
Baba has renamed television "televisham". "Visham" means poison. Do we really understand what Baba is saying? He is saying TELEVISION IS POISON.
Most people attribute Baba's condemnatioin of the television to the negative impact of the programmes on the mind. This is the truth but only half the truth. What most people are not aware of is that TELEVISION EMITS REAL RADIATION. There is growing evidence that radiation from T.V. can be a cause of epileptic type of convulsions in children, anaemias of various types (leukaemia?), skin problems, behavioural problems in children and what is most alarming - birth defects in children born to mothers having prolonged exposure to radiation from T.V. and computer screens (VDU's).
Television's impact on the mind cannot be overemphasised. ALL generations are victims to this invasion from the skies - but the SWITCH IS IN OUR OWN HANDS. The junk, and we cannot call it anything but that, pollutes our minds, erodes our cultural values and makes us impervious to violence and moral degradation. Violence and immorality have now become accepted norms.
Till about 15 years ago television played a very insignificant part in our lives - if at all it played a part. Interpersonal relationships within families have taken a plunge because no one talks any more - the idiot box is a priority. Our food is eaten in front of the television and conversations revolve around the previous day's serial!
Try removing the poison from your life - unplug it - put it away (or atleast reduce it to news only) - and see the difference.
Now let us talk about books. They can provide the best Satsang (company of the good and holy) and also the worst kind of "bad company" - it all depends on our choice of books and magazines. Those of you who have stopped reading yellow literature, love stories and gossip magazines - please do not keep these storehouses of sensuousness on your bookshelves. Don't give them or sell them to others either - BURN THEM. You will then never be tempted to read a book like that again.
WHY WE MUST REMOVE JUNKIE AND SENSUOUS MUSIC, GOSSIP AND CRITICISM
Our senses of hearing, smell, touch and taste, can likewise become
gateways for garbage to enter our bodies. Gossip, criticism and sensuous
music would obviously not fall into the category of "good food" for the
mind and body. Music, it is said, is food for the soul but to achieve this
lofty goal, it must be uplifting - raising us to higher levels of consciousness.
WHY WE MUST REMOVE
SENSE-AROUSING PERFUMES, AFTER-SHAVE LOTIONS ETC.
Not many people realise just how powerful our sense of smell is. The
memory imprint of smells is like a computerised recall and often a passing
fragrance will bring a complete flashback of a scene which we never imagined
was alive in our memory. It is not possible to control smells and fragrances
brought to us by the wind or by other people, but we CAN
control the kind of fragrance we ourselves carry around with us.
Most perfumes today are made with the sole purpose of arousing the senses.
BESIDES - perfumes are known to cause epileptic/epilepsy
type seizures in children, asthma attacks, allergic sneezing bouts, headaches,
nausea and a host of other symptoms. Would you like to cause these
problems in innocent children you meet everyday?
WHY WE MUST REMOVE
UNRIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOUR, ADHARMIC ACTIVITIES.
Touch includes all activities that our hands engage in . Any anti-God
activity (read that as anti-ANYONE activity) will
take us further from the ideal state of "ease" or health and harmony.
WHAT MUST WE ADD
TO OUR LIFESTYLE?
| ADD | Good uplifting books, and magazines. |
| Devotiional, classical, enobling music - vocal or instrumental. | |
| Satsang of sages who teach the eternal values of truth, righteousness, peace, love, non-violence, compassion, tolerance, harmony - leading to fostering of brotherhood of man. | |
| Selfless service - Maanava seva is Madhava Seva - resulting in self purification. | |
| Moderate exercise - just one round of Surya Namaskara is a good starting point. | |
| Deep breathing taking care to breathe out deeply as well as breathe in deeply. |
THE LAST WORD
Right at the beginning of this note in the section entitled "Introduction",
we talked about the poor suffering from the diseases of deprivation and
the rich suffering from the diseases of plenty or excess. True harmony
will reign in this beautiful world of ours when the "haves" begin to look
at the "have nots" as their brothers and sisters. If even ten percent of
the rich decided to alter their lifestyles and eating patterns in a way
that they did not fall sick, we feel sure that enough resources could be
generated to completely eradicate diseases of deprivation in the whole
world.
Something to think about!
Each of us can start in our own way - taking care of one or two persons from the underprivileged classes in our very own homes. There need be no hunger, no deprivation, no disease.
We just need to shift our awareness from our own narrow lives and see
ourselves as a very small part of the beautiful "whole".
| " Practice silence. For the voice of God can be heard
in the region of the heart only when the tongue is still....Silence is
the speech of the spiritual seeker. Soft sweet speech is the expression
of genuine love. Hate screeches, fear squeals, conceit trumpets - but love
sings lullabies; it soothes, it applies balm."
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| "Without giving ear to patent lies born out of malice
and greed, I would advise you to form "satsang" where you will meet and
exchange truths and virtuous talk; where you will study holy books and
discourse on the glory of God. Why waste precious time in scandals about
others and criticism of others' behaviour? Cultivating envy, malice, hatred
and anger against others is an evil past-time that recoils on oneself.
In everyone there is resident the self-same Divine spark; so cavilling
at the neighbour is tantamount to cavilling at Divinity."
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