When Heart Disease is a Blessing

Doctors may have diagnosed some persons who suffer from occasional chest pain and discomfort as suffering from a heart condition that might one-day lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death. They may then worry about the condition and explore surgical intervention to correct the condition. However, there are some who do not worry about heart disease and consider that the disease may even be a blessing. Surprised?

The reasoning goes something like this. All persons have to die one day and when that time comes they shall eventually suffer a cardiac arrest. Now that final cardiac arrest can come in different ways that can be classified into two categories.

The first category of causes for the final cardiac arrest (death) is after some accident or serious illness such as the failure of some critical organ in the body, cancer or indeed any other number of different ways death takes place. The second category of causes is a direct cardiac arrest that takes place without any other illness or accident. It is usually sudden and may happen to a person who is in reasonable health prior to the attack.

Considering the two different methods of death if given the choice (a choice that only the Almighty can give), this author would definitely go for the second since it appears to be the route of least agony. Such a thing is more likely to happen to someone who suffers from a disease of the heart rather than another who suffers from some other disease. If the person in question is not very young i.e. well past the age of fifty, if the final exit from this world is not preceded by prolonged sickness, it is indeed fortunate. In that sense heart disease may be viewed as a blessing. If the person is a spiritual one who believes in life after death, then he may not worry about leaving this body when the time comes and feel relieved that such a moment is not preceded by extended illness and suffering.

Einstein and the Four Pillars of Happiness

In the post ‘ Happiness is like a Building’ it was described that the building of happiness stands on four pillars. One of these pillars was described as the love of God. There are many reasons why the love of God leads to happiness. One of them is best elaborated in the following description by the greatest of scientists - Albert Einstein:

“ A human being is a part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Elsewhere in this blog God was described as the whole of the Universe – everything that can be perceived by the finite mind as well as everything that cannot be perceived and must yet remain hidden from us. Thus, the love of God becomes a means to achieving the sort of unity described by Einstein. In such a state we are content to let nature decide the outcome of our endeavours and are freed from disappointments. It leads to contentment that is only a stepping stool to great happiness.

In fact, the description of Einstein helps explain the other pillars as well – service to mankind, all living creatures and nature besides working for one’s own self – two more pillars. The remaining pillar, that of self-improvement too leads to the same goal, because if we do not take care of the tools immediately available to us –our own mind and body – then we cannot get very far in anything. Can we?

Personally, I find spending time in natural surroundings, alone and away from the sights and sounds of anything that man ever built, an extremely energizing, joyful and peaceful experience. To walk or sit in a forest, besides a stream or on a wild mountainside does something special to the spirit of man. Such an experience is not available to modern humans who live in large cities and the number of such humans has increased rapidly over the last century. The better off amongst the city dwellers who have homes with their own private gardens get a small substitution of nature in their yards. There are very many others who do not have even that, living in apartment blocks or crowded homes set neck to neck on a street. There must result, as an outcome, some essential and fundamental differences between the two kinds of humans i.e those who have had ample opportunities to commune with nature and those who have not. I have as yet not put my mind to discover precisely what these differences are but feel that the city dweller that has missed nature has missed important dimensions of life. However, given the large population of humans on earth, living in small villages or towns set close to natural surroundings is not really possible for most, in the present century. As a philosophical person with full confidence in the doings of the supreme intelligence of the Universe, I believe it is He who is at the root of this tremendous explosion in human population. One may wonder at what the supreme wisdom is behind such a large population increase of humans. Could it be, it is because mankind is now near a natural catastrophe that will restore the human population on earth to a much smaller level? It certainly seems to be something like that. Perhaps it will be a welcome change for the planet and the survivors after time has dimmed the memory of the tragedy.

Happiness is like a Building

Happiness can be compared to a building that stands on four pillars. The first pillar is a belief and love of God. The second is work towards self-improvement. The third is work for a livelihood and the fourth is the work of service.

For some humans the structure of happiness stands only on one one, two or three pillars. It tends to be a weak structure. It may fall down on its own or with a gust of breeze. Persons who put up this structure on all four pillars build a strong foundation for their happiness that weathers most any storm.

The love of God implies that we try to do things that are pleasing to God and seek His blessings in any endeavour. It means that we spend at least some part of the day in communicating with him through prayer or spending time with Him in meditation. The particular religion that we approach God through is not important. God does not have any special religion that He belongs to.

Self improvement implies, cleanliness, honesty and moral behavior, being careful about diet and exercise, eliminating bad habits, improving our living space, friends etc. It implies eliminating lust devoid of sincere and reciprocal love, anger and greed from our deeds, speech and thoughts.

Working for our livelihood means working sincerely in whatever occupation we may be placed in and incase no occupation is available because of unemployment than to create our own by manufacturing and selling even some simple thing needed by others, trading, farming or repairing etc.

Service means helping others in whatever way we can, other humans, animals and nature. Just planting a tree on a barren land is service of nature. Helping the poor, sick and handicapped persons is another great service.

Once we have erected our building of happiness on these four pillars it will be a strong one. If it stands only on three pillars a strong gust of wind may knock it down. If it stands only on two it will not last long and if we attempt to erect it on just one then it will fall as soon as we erect it. If we attempt to make a building with none of these pillars then whatever we install will come crashing down on our head as soon as we attempt to put it up.

Once your building is up on the four pillars, carry out a regular review to detect any new or original weaknesses in any of the four pillars and take corrective action. May your building shine brilliant and strong for all time to come, in this life as well as any other that might follow.

A Spiritual View of the Recession and Economy

At various places in this blog I mentioned my strong belief in reincarnation. A question that has been asked often is – if humans are a result of reincarnation, how has the population of humans increased so drastically. There can be more than one source for that increase. First is the reduction of animals and insects on the planet that has taken place simultaneously. Another source is other similar planets. A third is souls that may have been waiting without bodies to be born at the right time. The state of humans really does vary from animal like to god-like on earth. The greatest variation can be seen in countries like India rather than a largely tribal African country or a well developed European one. At one time I use to be saddened and agitated at the near animal like behavior of some humans and human habitations. Many rural Indians still live in homes without a loo, using open spaces to do the necessary job, and this when private bathrooms were common in the same country some four thousand years ago( Indus Valley civilisation). It does not cost much to build a toilet and septic tank, provided one cared to. However I have reconciled to the sad state. This does not imply that one should not help others improve whenever an opportunity arises to do so. However this may be done in small steps only without much expectation. As regards what one might teach a human who lives poorly if the opportunity arose – it seems best to teach them the same sort of things as one would others who may be considered as highly evolved beings – shun violence, lies etc. in all its forms. However the most learning has to be directed inwards to one’s own self. There is something of an animal in all of us. Less developed souls may take to physical violence readily but other humans who have rejected that mode of behavior also resort to it at the level of speech and thought. To my mind a god-like human i.e. one who is ready to step out of human life into the next higher life form in the universe is one who has overcome jealousy, anger and lust. When I mention overcoming lust I do not imply overcoming sexual interests that are subservient to romantic love or a small part of it but sexual interests that are devoid of it i.e. purely physical. A far more common problem with humans is that of greed, and that too must be overcome before human attention can be directed to higher pursuits. Much human happiness lies elsewhere – in health, love, peace, freedom etc. that do not require money to acquire. In the ultimate analysis, humans need relatively little money for their most essential of material needs of food and shelter. True there are very many on earth that are deprived even of that. The problem is, as soon as a human is able to achieve the goal of basics he wants even more, so that usually it the most well off who appear to be the most greedy. My mind goes to rich corporate executives especially those in the banking industry with salaries in millions of dollars a month who appear to be agitated by a recent order of the US President, Barack Obama limiting the salary to half a million, if they belong to an organization that is being assisted by public money. Opponents to the move have said that this will lead to a loss of talent. To my mind any human who is greedy enough to be unsatisfied with a salary of half a million dollars (plus perks) cannot be mature or a talented but rather someone who will lead an economy into still greater distress. Such a person can not be mature enough to manage our money. He may have been mature at one time, but not any more. Greed blinds a human just as lust and anger does, rendering the wisest as imbeciles. All of us surely know instances of that from our own lives. The tragedy is that although there are safety valves to lust and anger that put a stop to it sooner rather than later there are no such safety valves to greed. Once it enters a psyche it takes an indefinitely long time to leave. In the ultimate analysis it is the cumulative effect of greed that has lead to the current economic down turn. This greed has not just been the greed of ordinary citizens but also that of persons at the helm in governments and private corporations. Over the past half a century greed appears to have grown faster than the economy in the most prosperous countries around the world. True to human nature - the greater the growth, the greater the increase of greed. The recession will end only when this greed has been knocked down to manageable levels, not before. There is no economic plan or stimulus that can restore prosperity that does not address the issue of human nature that eventually dictates how prosperous a nation is.

Photo from http://www.public-domain-image.com/

Gods and Humans

Persons who say that they do not believe in God mean that they do not believe in their understanding or definition of God. If someone were to define God as a holy man that lives in his locality, then obviously for him, God does exist. However, that is not what most people understand by God. The understanding of what God implies varies from one person to another.

In another article, this author defined God as everything that exists – that includes everything that we can perceive in the universe as well as everything that we cannot perceive. Scientists have speculated the presence of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. There can be much more that they have not even thought of yet in the universe and beyond. If God is defined as everything that exists, then there is no question in not believing in God. God then exists as surely as we all do. Differences will however arise in our views about the powers of God. Some regard the universe as dead matter with no intelligence of its own. In their view, living entities or perhaps computer like machines can possess intelligence but not any part of the universe or the universe as a whole. Others may believe that the universe as a whole also possesses life with its own intelligence and consciousness and that our own individual consciousness is only a small part of this Infinite Universal Consciousness. This author is an adherent of this latter view.

Our universe is inhabited by a variety of life forms. Some believe that life exists on earth only. That is not a reasonable view. Not only is that unlikely it is also impossible. Whether God or a universal natural process has created life, it may be created in the same manner elsewhere in the universe as well. Our sun is just one of the innumerable stars that populate the universe. Life must exist elsewhere in the universe if it can exist on our planet. There is nothing spectacularly unique about our planet dictating that life can exist on earth only.

Different life forms display different degrees of evolution. Even within a given species there are differences in the levels of evolution between varieties and individuals. At the present time, humans appear to be the most evolved of the various species that exist on earth. However human life is by no means the limit of evolution. In the past, when humanoid apes were the most evolved of species on earth, they probably presumed themselves to be the most evolved of beings in the universe (provided they were capable of thinking) just as most humans think of themselves at the present time. Life is encumbered with a bloated ego that leads humans to erroneous beliefs such as - life exists only on my planet, I am the most evolved person, my race is the most evolved, science knows everything, present day doctors know everything about curing disease (some persons believed that even a thousand years ago), my planet is at the center of the universe and life may exist only here, etc.

In the opinion of this author, human life is not the limit of evolution. It will continue to evolve and other beings already exist in other parts of the universe that are far more evolved. We may regard these latter beings as gods and goddesses since to the human mind a god is a being that is far more evolved than a human. It is a different matter that we do not run into gods and goddesses at the corner store every now and then. The universal intelligence, for a good reason, has sets the stars so far apart that travel between planets is no easy matter. The large distances between stars prevent a confirmation of such evolved beings through present day science. However lack of confirmation is not a proof of absence. It is only recently that science has been able to confirm the presence of other planets around stars. The presence of life on such planets is a far more detailed matter. In that direction we have presently gone only as far as another nearby planet in our solar system –Mars.

Amongst humans there are differences in the degree of evolution between communities and also between individuals within communities. One may regard the most evolved humans as god-like because of their enhanced abilities. However, we have to turn our attention towards the heavens if we wish to detect true gods and goddesses. Although physical travel is near impossible between inhabited planets, telepathic or psychic travel need not be so. Science knows little about this latter form of travel at the present time. It may be something that will be discovered in future. However mystics exist, who claim to have traveled to other planets psychically. An ordinary human being too may experience some such travel for brief periods under the influence of certain drugs.

A second method of travel from one planet to another is through the journey of a soul rather than a physical body. Those who believe in reincarnation believe that a soul may acquire new bodies after death. Such a birth may take place on a more evolved planet provided a soul has evolved beyond the general level of evolution on earth. Such planets are called heaven in spiritual literature. The reverse i.e. a birth in hell or a hellish planet is also possible provided one’s deeds dictate that. Anything worse than the worst parts of earth must indeed be a terrible place because even here on earth we have instances of hunger, mal-nutrition, violence, filth and every other conceivable form of human misery.

Ordinarily, most humans do not recall anything of the birth of their souls in previous lives. However there are evolved mystics who claim that they can recall their previous lives. Since the soul is not a physical thing restricted by physical laws, it should be possible for souls to take birth on other planets in the universe. The most evolved of souls may even do this by design. It is likely that persons like Jesus Christ who took birth on this planet by conscious design for a spiritual mission are souls from other evolved planets. Jesus said so in as many words even though different churches interpret his words differently. Many Hindus also believe in divine personalities or gods that take birth on earth from time to time in order to help its inhabitants in their evolutionary journey. They are known as Avatars in Hinduism. A second method that gods can use to bring about changes on earth is to seed the minds of humans with new ideas. The sudden appearance of scientific discoveries on our planet over a couple of centuries may be the result of such an occurrence.

The purpose of life appears to be a relentless journey of evolving into better life forms. Such an evolution takes place through the experiences and knowledge gained over millions of births. Normally, we do not recall the details of earlier births, but the knowledge gained through various lives shapes our habits, inclinations and intelligence. There may be temporary setbacks in the evolutionary process where souls fall to lower levels of evolution. The general trend however appears to be a journey forward. The reason for this is that all beings desire happiness. True and lasting happiness lies in developing the appropriate virtues. If some individuals temporarily adopt wrong methods for gaining happiness, their happiness is short lived. They eventually learn through suffering and correct their ways sooner or later, in this life or the next. That appears to be the purpose of suffering. It is a correctional mechanism that leads beings to improve themselves. The Universal intelligence is a benevolent and loving one.

It may take a human millions of years before he or she can evolve to a god-like species. However, because humans are capable of intelligent behavior, some individuals may hasten their evolutionary process through certain practices. Present day humans usually characterize these latter practices as spiritual processes since spirituality is concerned with improving the quality of life and since the claims of spiritualists largely fall outside the realm of present day science. That is not to say that some of the so-called religious or spiritual claims are not erroneous or fraudulent. However, not all of human spiritual knowledge is erroneous.

One mark of evolution of a being is the desire to serve others as opposed to serving one’s own needs. The basis of this desire is an understanding that one’s own welfare is best enhanced by the welfare of others. Animals do not think of philanthropy in any substantial manner. Some rudiments of philanthropy may be detected in animal herds that try to protect individual members from an external attack. However many humans do spend varying amounts of time and energy on serving nature, wild life or society. The very process of serving others assists a life form in evolving further. Contrary to this, selfish behavior usually leads to regressing into less developed states.

In spiritual literature or visionary descriptions gods and angels are shown as beings that are usually engaged in some form of service. In eastern scriptures, the foremost of the gods are said to play leading roles in the creation of life. That should not be difficult to conceive if we note that even modern humans have begun creating new life forms through genetic manipulation. Once a new gene is created it becomes available not just on our planet but elsewhere in the universe as well. The mechanism for this genetic transfer is rather involved. It is has been discussed in detail by this author in a blog entitled ‘ How Humans were created on Earth’ mentioned at the end of this article.

A characteristic of evolved beings appears to be their enhanced ability to bring about change. It is the most evolved who effect the greatest change even amongst humans. Indeed it appears to be a wise strategy on the part of the Universal Intelligence to grant the most powers to beings that are capable of using that power responsibly. Imagine what would have happened if monkeys had learnt how to build nuclear bombs. They may have destroyed much of earth by now.

Service or philanthropic activity does not imply an irrational sacrifice of one’s own peace of mind, health or life style. If one were to do that then one would loose the capability to do good. Thus evolved beings usually lead a comfortable life-style even though it may not be an ostentatious one. Many eastern spiritual monasteries exist in some of the most beautiful locations in the Himalayas where both the air and water are amongst the purest anywhere on earth. It is true that at these remote locations many of the sensory pleasures most humans cares for are missing. However, the evolved spiritualists who inhabit these monasteries are souls that have outgrown the sensory pleasures that an average human craves for. Instead, they have the things that matter most - fresh air, sunshine, pure water, natural beauty, security, peace, freedom and loving company.

In some cases we note that powerful evolved beings have taken to a path of evil and destruction rather than doing good. We have the example of Hitler in recent history. The reason for this anomaly is that although one becomes more powerful through good deeds and service, the freedom to choose one’s direction is retained at all times. Thus even an angel may choose to take to the path of evil. However this activity would not last forever since evil leads to a rapid fall in the level of evolution of a being as well as the enhanced powers associated with higher levels of evolution. It is because of this reasoning that in spiritual literature Satan is visualized as a fallen angel who eventually gets bound or thrown into a bottomless pit. That is where the soul of Hitler probably lies now. In the view of this author there is not just one Satan in the universe. There are many. Humans that rely on violence, hatred and lying are the followers of such satanic virtues. Truth is the handmaiden of Love. This is because non-loving activities must rely on the use of lies for their execution or concealment. Love needs no such device. Those who base their actions on love and truth as well as service are surely on the fast track to greater levels pf peace, happiness, freedom and evolution - a path to godhood.

For an account of ‘ How Humans were Created on Earth’ check out http://alienaccount.blogspot.com/

Lessons from a Dream

All of us dream every night while we sleep. As soon as we wake up these dreams are usually forgotten. Occasionally a dream is very pleasant or very fearful. It is more likely then that we might remember the dream a little longer in our wakeful state. Whenever we wake up suddenly from a fearful dream, the fear continues until we reassure ourselves that it was not real, just a dream, and then the fear goes away. Depending upon how fearful the dream was, we may continue to tremble with fear for sometime even after waking up. While we dream, the events of our imagination seem completely real. As soon as we wake up those events disappear. However our fear continues into the waking state until we are completely sure that the event was merely an imaginary one. While dreaming or awake, our inner self that feels the emotions remains the same. The sleeping mind plays out a picture in front of this emotional self. A person feels that the events are real and suffers the emotions he would have suffered in just the same manner, as he would have if the events had taken place in the real world.

Many persons, including this author believe that the self does not die with our physical death and that the emotional apparatus of a being belongs to the inner self that survives not just sleep but also death. It is the soul of living beings that experiences emotions. It continues after death to take many more new births. It is for this reason that machines do not feel. Although a lifetime is much longer than a night of dreaming, it is possible that when a soul is freed from a body after death, it feels that it has come out of a dreamlike situation that no longer has any reality. If it was a good life the soul may feel sorry to have lost it just as we sometimes feel sorry in being woken up from a pleasant dream. If the life were a painful one, the soul would be relieved that the pain is no longer real.

Through the various state of dreaming and living, one thing remains the same, our inner self that feels and experiences. In that sense it is a reality that is more permanent as compared to the other realties of dream and living that come and go. Once a person realizes this, then he would pay more attention to improving his or her inner self, the part that feels rather than the external world that comes and goes, as if in a dream. If we can make improvements in our inner apparatus in such a manner that it can exist primarily in states of happiness and free of fear, then it is far more valuable than any external change that we can make in our lives. External achievements are bound to vanish with time.
The primary concern of spirituality is the development of our inner selves as opposed to worldly knowledge that aims to improve the physical circumstances of humans. That is the reason why humans who realize this, including this author, turn to a study of spirituality. However that does not mean that we have to neglect our work and surroundings. If we did that the daily needs of life would become so pressing as to overwhelm us and leave us with no time for the study and pursuit of spirituality. However an understanding of spiritual concepts frees us from many unnecessary trappings of ego, desire and world that if not checked can overwhelm a person leaving it with no time or inclination for the study of the self. Spiritually inclined persons develop humility and simplicity because they realize that trying to become better or more important than others, or hankering after things that are not easily attainable, quarreling with opinions that differ etc. is something that is neither here nor there. It is mostly unnecessary baggage that leads to unhappiness in this world and the next.