The Answers to Life - A Conversation between Krishna and Today's Arjun

Here’s a rare conversation between Krishna & Today’s Arjun:

1. Arjun :- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Krishna:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

2. Arjun :- Why has life become complicated now?

Krishna :- Stop analyzing life… It makes it complicated. Just live it.

3. Arjun :- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Krishna :- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

4. Arjun :- Why do good people always suffer?

Krishna :- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.
With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

5. Arjun :- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Krishna :- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons later.

6. Arjun :- Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading…

Krishna:- If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.

7. Arjun :- Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?

Krishna:- Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.

8. Arjun :- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Krishna :- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

9. Arjun :- What surprises you about people?

Krishna :- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

10. Arjun :- How can I get the best out of life?

Krishna:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

11. Arjun :- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Krishna:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

God Wants Only One Thing; Can We Give It? - Satsang by Gautum Baiji

"Graciela said she was reading a story where God was going to come down to the Earth.

Everybody was so happy!

'God is coming, let's prepare, let's go meet God!'

When he arrived, everyone was so happy. And they asked him, 'God, you came to visit us, what can we do for you?'

One person said I can do this for you, another person said I can do this... everyone offered something.

Please tell us what you want, they said.

God said, 'I don't want any of those things from you. I only want one thing, if you want to give it to me.'

They said, 'What is it? Tell us!'

God said, 'I don't need your things. I just want you to be happy all the time. Give me your promise that you will always be happy.'

They said nothing...

So we have everything else to offer, but we cannot be happy all the time, and that's the problem in our life. We are never satisfied with what we have. We always think about the things we don't have.

If we don't learn how to be happy with what we have, we will always want more and never be happy.

Satsang and good company brings us positive thoughts. Only positive thoughts can we be happy.

If our mind is unhappy, we are unhappy.

With satsang, we can enjoy our life the most."

"My Focus is Better" - Reasons People Come to the Ashram

Why do you come to Divine Art of Yoga Center ashram?

Xavier: "It's a way to offset the busy-ness during the week and pull myself together. There's the relaxation component, dealing with stress. I find that my focus is better, and I'm less distracted by the "noise" that we have in the big city. (Through yoga) my flexibility has improved, and I'm more focused on contributing to the things that make me happy."

In Relationships, Where Does Happiness Come From?

From a satsang by Gautum Baiji about "finding happiness":

When two people get married, they both think, “Now I will be happy.”

He thinks, “I am marrying her and I will get happiness from her.”

She thinks, “I am marrying him and I will get happiness from him.”

So who is giving all this happiness?

Moral: Only look to yourself for happiness. And when in doubt, you can get happiness by giving it.

Where Can I Find Happiness?

With thanks to Reena Patel

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.

So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.

The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors.

The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do is listen to her."

So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story:

"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody. I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months, I smiled.

Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, maybe doing something for people could make me happy.

So, the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.

Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.

Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do.

I've found happiness, by giving it to others."

When she heard this, the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; but on how happy others can be because of you...

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey. 

Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now. 

Happiness is not dependency, it is a decision. 
Happiness is what you are, not what you have.

Satsang - The Key to Happiness

Today, Gautum Baiji said:

"People say, I Want Happiness. How can they get it?

Start by removing the I. What is I? Ego. If ego is there, no matter how close you are, you can't see God.

Because I is the curtain. I is the biggest enemy. As long as the I is there, you cannot achieve your spiritual goals.

After you remove the I (the ego), you need to remove the Want, which is desire (whose non-fulfillment causes suffering).

Remove the I and the Want, and what you have left is Happiness.

Everyone says they want Happiness. But Happiness does not dwell at any permanent address.

It dwells in those who help others. Because if you help others, you do not need to ask for Happiness, Happiness automatically comes to you. You don't need to run after it.

The Kingdom's Secret - a Satsang

Dr. Ashok Modh, the Vice President of Divine Art of Yoga Center, gave the following satsang:

Once there was a king who ruled over a peaceful kingdom. There was no war ever, and the peasants were always very happy, even if they were poor. The whole kingdom was very peaceful and content.

One day a king from a nearby kingdom heard rumors about this happy kingdom and yearned to know their secret. So he sent his Minister to find out. 

When the Minister arrived, he did indeed discover that the town was quite happy. Then he happened to meet one of the king's daughters, and they fell for each other very quickly. When he asked her the secret to the town's happiness, she told him it was because of Neel Mahadev, a cave that possessed a powerful force for peace and happiness. He insisted he be able to see it. 

So she went to her father and asked him to meet the Minister because they wanted to get married. When they met, the Minister agreed to marry her, but on one condition, "I must see the secret in the cave. I must see the Neel Mahadev."

The king reluctantly agreed, but with a condition of his own. "You will be blindfolded to keep its location secret."

So he blindfolded him and led him through the forest until they came to the cave. 

When the Minister entered and removed his blindfold, he saw utter happiness among the townspeople there. They were singing, dancing and having a good time with each other.

The Minister turned to the princess and said, "I will deliver the message of this place to my king, and then come back and marry you."

So when the Minister returned to his kingdom, he told the king all about the wonders of the Neel Mahadev in the cave. The king was astonished and wanted to know more. "How can we find this place if you were blindfolded?"

The Minister said, "I didn't know if I would ever be able to go back or not, so what I did is put seeds in my pocket, which I cut a hole in. As we walked, the seeds would drop out and become planted in the soil. When you go, you just follow those plants and you will get to the cave." 

So this king gathered his forces and descended on the kingdom, conquering the whole town. Then they followed the plants... and found the cave completely empty. There was nothing there except the king.

Everyone is amazed. What happened here? Why is there nothing to be found? 

The king finally says, "Neel Mahadev is nothing but a state of mind. It's the peacefulness of the town that created Neel Mahadev. And when the peace went away, the Neel Mahadev went away."

It is the same with any organization, in any town or community: if we want Neel Mahadev, we need to develop peace, we need to develop harmony, and we need to help everyone work together. Then we can bring Neel Mahadev to help conquer the evil within us.

At the Divine Art of Yoga Center, we can allow the baijis to guide us as our spiritual leaders and help us find our bliss. 

Yin and Yang

Do yoga and be okay with all of it.

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