A HAPPY HUMAN COMMUNITY

An extract from a divine discourse by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

This country's youth are makers of tomorrow's India. The fortunes of India, good or bad, are dependent on them. On their skill, on their character, on their eagerness to learn and to serve, are based the progress of India. They can also bring about, by their conduct and character, the disintegration, the decline or the debilitation of its culture and fame. The poverty and misery that the country suffers from at the present time are the consequence of our youth ignoring their duty. India, which was for centuries the ideal land for many people following many faiths is today struggling to provide a mouthful of food for her children! How has this tragedy come about?

The reason is the attitudes, the desires and the acts of the youth have become unholy, impure and polluted by selfish and greedy motives. They are not seeking the education that can implant and develop qualities befitting mankind such as tolerance, humility, and the spirit of sacrifice. How are thieves able to steal flowers and fruits from a garden? Because it is not fenced in; there are no watchmen. In the Brindaavan of the heart of youth, fresh, fragrant and green, holy emotions, impulses, feelings and desires bloom and fructify, but before they ripen into goals which are pursued with determination into projects and programmes implemented in daily life, thieves like evil habits and vices invade the hearts and overwhelm the youth. Therefore, the first requisite is to erect the fence of discipline and to foster the practice of virtues in the Brindaavan of each heart.

Whatever has a form and name, definite and distinct, has also a cause, a creator, a maker. Every deed involves a doer. But there are among men both optimists and pessimists, the hopefuls and the depressed. The optimists keep their eyes always on higher values; the pessimists slide down into dispiritedness and despair. During nights the optimists look up at the starlight; the pessimists look down and grumble at the darkness around them. The optimists draw confidence and courage from the twinkling of a myriad lights on high. The optimists have eyes only for the flower on the rose plant. The pessimists see only the thorns underneath the flower. So fear of thorns results in rough handling and the petals of the lovely rose fall off.

Faith is essential for human progress

Seeing a glass half filled with water, the optimist is glad that it is half full, while the pessimist is sad that it is half empty. Though

both statements are correct, the optimist hopes to fill the other half too, while the pessimist gives up in despair. The one has faith; the other has no faith to sustain him. So, we must develop faith by steady effort. Faith must lead to effort. Faith is essential for human progress in every field. Knowledge, and through knowledge, wisdom can be earned only by means of faith and effort. Equipped with these, man can venture into the heights and emerge victoriously. Of course, one has to be warned against cultivating too much faith in things that are merely material. One has to develop it deep in the eternally valid Truth, God. Faith is power. Without faith, living is impossible. We have faith in tomorrow following today. That is what makes us take up activities and projects that extend beyond this day. People with no faith cannot plan; they court misery by their want of faith.

A rich man in South Africa once heard a divine voice which promised him a gold mine, if only he would dig at a certain place. He dug at that place to a depth of 200 feet and failed to discover any vein of gold. His faith waned. He doubted the authenticity of the voice. He talked to others how the voice had played false. When another rich man heard his story, he developed great faith in what he believed to be God's command. He dug in the same areas and laid bare a rich gold mine barely three feet below the surface of the earth. That became the richest and the most famous of the gold mines of South Africa. The most desirable subject for study is the secret of the soul which is immortal. Do not be satisfied with the education that helps you to eke out a livelihood during your sojourn on earth.

Even birds and beasts eke out their livelihood somehow. You have come to the world as humans in order to manifest fully the special human endowment, of intelligence and intuition. This is the goal which Prashaanthi Nilayam is seeking to realise through the schools, colleges and university.

Live for the progress of the country

You should not confine yourselves to the study of books. You should expand the love latent in your hearts and translate it into service to man. Service to society is the worship you offer to the Lord. Do not lead barren lives, concentrating on your own advancement. Live for others, for the promotion of the welfare of society, for the progress and prosperity of the country. It is not as if you are not aware of the conditions in this country. They are serious and ever frightening. Wherever you turn, people are anxious and agitated. Peace and security are not available for them. Your responsibility is, therefore, tremendous, for you have to lift India out of this morass of poverty, hatred, ignorance and violence. By the example of your lives, you have to restore confidence among the' people in the higher values of life. Do not neglect the great lessons embedded in Sanaathana Dharma, which have sustained countless generations in this land for many centuries. "May all the Worlds be happy"---this is the goal towards which Sanaathana

Dharma is leading us. Welcome within the fold of your love all men without distinction of race, religion, colour or class. Have the picture of the happy, united, love-filled human community in your heart. That will give you enough encouragement in your mission.

Atma Jyoti- The Eternal Light of SatChitAnanda

Self Enquiry

 An article by Shri Lakshminarayan Aithal

(Shri Lakshminarayan Aithal has served for over 3 decades in Swami’s institution and is the former Principal of the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Institutions at Muddenahalli. Inspired by Swami’s direct message to study the Upanishads, he first learnt Sanskrit and then studied the direct works of Adi Shankaracharya and Swami. Sincere perseverance led him to the reality of Aham Brahmasmi and He realized and experienced Swami’s words: “I am God and so are you”. He shares the import of the Upanishadic teachings with us in this series of articles.)

(In the last edition, we had discussed about the need to deliberate on all the three states of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep. We had concluded that this Self appears as in the form of awareness (Jnaana Swaroopa). Therefore, He is in the Form of Existence (Satya Swaroopa). Awareness automatically implies existence of the knower. We carry forward this discussion to understand the nature of the Self further).

17, 18 Qs: Here, Jnaana means the action of knowing, isn’t it? This is action of the mind; then, how do we

tell that this is the Form of the Self?

A: Those objects   appear in our wakeful-state, can not appear by themselves. Hence, they appear in connection   with the mind. Therefore, some cause should exist because of which all objects appear. We cannot tell that they appear because of the nature of the mind. This is because, even the mind has different forms; in order to know these forms some light should be needed. This cause   (the Light) itself is the Self.

Q: I don’t think that is the right explanation. This is because, all objects except the mind don’t illumine by themselves; therefore, the mind should illumine them. But, the mind is a pure real substance; it is well-known that mind knows everything. In order to know that mind why do we require the assistance of anything else? You have given the example of a burning lamp. Do we need any other light to illumine the mind?

A: Then, eye, nose, etc.  Themselves know their respective objects .Therefore, the eye should know itself or the nose should know itself. Or, the eye should know the nose or the vice-versa. But such a   procedure doesn’t occur anyhow.

Q: This objection can be attached to the Self too, isn’t it? If you accept that the Self has the nature of awareness, how does the Self know Himself? In order to know the Self if you accept some other self; to know that self still another self should exist. In this case, there is no cessation at all.

A: It doesn’t happen so. Eye, ear, etc. are useful for the mind which is different from them. Similarly, even the mind has many forms according to different objects; and these forms of objects in the mind for the use of the Self. But the Self is One alone; and He is not associated with anything else. The eye, the nose, etc. know their respective objects; and each organ cannot know the object of the other organ. But the Self knows everything simultaneously. In the case of the mind, it knows its objects one at a time; it doesn’t know all its objects simultaneously; and the mind takes the form of different objects.  Though the mind knows different objects, it doesn’t know the Self. Not only that, even   when we tell that the mind knows everything; it is the Self alone that knows it. A person who is having the capacity to see alone can see the objects through his spectacles; the spectacles don’t have the capacity to see. Similarly, the mind doesn’t have the capacity to know. The Self, himself, knows through the mind. Therefore, the nature of knowing belongs to the Self, himself.

Q: Then, how do we explain the experience that the mind has understood such and such things?

A: The mind takes the form of   respective objects through the organs of sense. These forms are called   conditions (Pratyayaas, the expositions or, the notions). Through each condition the Self knows the respective object. In this manner, different conditions appear and disappear in the mind; in spite of that, the Self doesn’t give up His Form of Awareness (Jnaana Swaroopa). Due to this constant   awareness of the Self, the mundane conditions like: “then, I understood that; now, I am going to understand this “- are possible to hove.  If the conditions  understand  themselves , because  each one is different  from  the other ; the mundane  conditions  like :  ‘ I  myself  knew ; the very  same  myself , am   understanding ; and I will understand  in the future ‘ –cannot  appear . Therefore, in the statement: ‘I understand this ‘, here, the action of understanding is that of the mind; and the action is to have a condition in the form the object in the mind. And the knowledge  or  the real awareness  is  the  Form of the Self; and this   Awareness is always  the same  unlike the different  forms  of  conditions. Objects  may be  seen  in different  colours  according  to  the  colors  of   the  spectacles  of the  wearer . To show different  colors in the objects is the duty of the respective  colors of  the  spectacles , and  the capacity  to  see  is the power  of  the  eye ,  itself .Similarly , the conditions are  the changes  of the mind;  the awareness  alone  the nature of the  Self, itself.

Q: Agreed. What conclusion is drawn out of this type of deliberation?

A: It is concluded that the Self remains to exist always in the Form of Awareness in the wakeful-state though the mind obtains different changes. The Self is the Truth and He is of the Form of Awareness.

19. Q: Yes, sir!  How does the Self become    the Aananda Roopa, the Form of Bliss?

A: The mundane and routine activities of ours prove that everyone of us is in the Form of Bliss. People wish to have wife and children; wealth and money; and land and house-for the sake of their Self. Similarly, they use their body, organs   of sense and mind etc. for the sake of their Self alone. People are ready to give up any thing if it is adverse to them; and if it is favorable they are ready to acquire it. By this we understand that they love their Self more than the objects.  None loves anything that creates sorrow. Therefore, people always love their Self; hence the Self is of the Form of Bliss.

20. Q: Some people are ready to loose their life and suicide themselves. If the Self of the Form of bliss, how is it possible?

A: Some people are ready to loose their life and they try to give up their body and life thinking that these non-self – objects have created sorrow. They imagine that if they get rid of their troublesome body and life, then only they can take rest; and then they commit suicide. Therefore, let their life and body be sorrowful; and these non-self –objects are not the Self at all. Therefore, for the sake of their Self, they are ready to give up their much attached body and life. Hence, it is proved that they have much more love towards their Self.

Different Strokes-Astrology and Spirituality KVRKBhargav

Different Strokes- Astrology and Spirituality

By KVRK Bhargav

(Bhargav is a student of Swami who after completing his B.Tech in Textile Engineering graduated with an MBA from the the Sri Sathya Sai University in 2001. Ever since, he has had the great fortune of waiting for Swami’s direct guidance. He has been blessed with many interactions with Swami and he pursues astrology as a hobby to understand how it complements and dovetails spirituality. He shares his insights on how the planets are not causes of fear; rather they all serve the common goal of prodding man towards his spiritual destiny of Self Realization).

What controls the life of an individual, Free will or destiny? The debate continues. Astrology tries to answer this question. Astrology or jyotish is considered the eye of the Vedas and the highest limb that was taught in ancient India as a preparation for understanding the Vedas from a scientific point of view. The blue print of the life of an individual in a particular lifetime is carefully preserved by Almighty in a horoscope which comprises destiny. This can be understood in three ways.

The first approach is that destiny is what we come into this world with, and how we shape it is our free will.  Swami explains this with a beautiful analogy. Consider a chain of ants moving on the ground; by seeing their movements, we can ascertain their position after some time depending on their speed and direction of motion. But if they decide to change their direction in the middle then it will change the destination of the ants. The initial movement of ants is the destiny and change in the middle is free will. The individual in this approach tries to know the hurdles and bottlenecks in his horoscope and tries to take corrective action like worship and charity to mitigate the ill effects of the planets. In this approach the individual is myopic and concerned only about the short term gains, forgetting the real purpose of life.   

The second approach throws light on our purpose in this life. The individual consciously exercises his free will to fulfill the purpose of life trying to align himself with his destiny. Now let me explain the nitty-gritty of this approach with an example. We get a clue of what we are good at or what we have developed in previous births by seeing the placement of planet ‘Ketu’ and, the purpose of our incarnation by using these skills developed in the previous births from the placement of the planet ‘Rahu’. Mahatma Gandhi was born with the innate strengths of assertiveness, pioneering nature, initiative and leadership as in the sign of Aries, the ram, but his purpose was to create harmony, balance, truthfulness and justice as in the case of Libra, the scales.   The remaining planets fine-tune our nature and character to achieve that purpose.

The third perspective takes the standpoint to the highest level. It states that whatever happens to us in this life is destiny but it is purely in our control (free will) to be affected or unaffected by it.  As Ramana Maharishi puts it beautifully: he says that pain is inevitable, but suffering borne out of the pain is optional- which according to him, is the only free will which we have. Bhagwan Baba puts it very aptly as: Navagrahas cannot affect you if you have Anugraha(grace of the lord).We get a deeper understanding of our strengths and weaknesses by studying our horoscopes. We also understand that whoever behaves in whatever way is due to the placement of planets in his horoscope. A strong Mars makes a person short tempered, a weak moon results in fickleness and timidity. A strong Venus gives a pleasure seeking nature and a strong Saturn makes a person altruistic and austere. This understanding gives us a sense of freedom and purpose as we learn to forgive ourselves and others. We are at complete peace as we realize that everything happens by the will of God. Astrology helps us to understand the grand design of God. Astrology allows a deeper tolerance of circumstances and allows us to understand the unity of life through reading the beauty of God’s laws and oneness of consciousness. It is a science based on nine planets and twelve zodiac signs and a complex tapestry made out of them.

(…..To be continued in the next issue of Venugaanam)

Journey to a Healthy Life

By L. Abirami

(Abirami joined as a student of Swami in Class 4 in 1995 and has been fortunate to graduate with her B.Sc. in Home Science and her M. Sc. in Food Science and Technology under Swami’s direct guidance. She also has a specialization in dietetics and food service management. She combines a loving heart and genuine care for patients in her current role as dietitian in the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital. In this article Abirami shares her expertise and tips on simple changes to our food habits and vindicates it with Swami’s instructions. So go ahead and follow these straightforward prescriptions from Swami and His dietitian to effect dramatic improvements in your overall constitution)

Swami says: “Our body is the temple in which God resides.” Only a healthy body and healthy mind will allow one to strive for Self Realization. We hear a lot about leading a healthy life style, but what does it mean? In general a healthy person eats healthy foods, right amount, is at a healthy weight and exercises. It sounds very simple doesn’t it? The trick to healthy living is making small changes, taking more steps to be conscious of what’s going in!

Here are a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.

·                  Start your day with pranayama

  The benefits of Pranayama have been espoused by a number of people. It is the ultimate health guide for the masses that can be practiced anywhere by anyone. What the ancient yogis instinctively knew - and modern science has since proven - was that regular practice of controlling the breath increases the intake of oxygen into the body, properly nourishing the organs of the body. It also helps to develop concentration and clarity of thought. 

A steady breath leads to a steady mind, so it is excellent preparation to deep relaxation or meditation. Pranayama is a practice you can take with you anywhere, slotting easily into your day. It can calm, cleanse or energize, depending on the practice you choose. You can incorporate breathing techniques into your regular asana practice or take five minutes out of your day to sit with your breath.

·                     Six small meals per day

       A diet plan focused on eating six small meals per day is based on the idea that decreasing the amount of time between meals increases metabolism. In addition, and perhaps more importantly for some, eating more often helps keep you from getting overly hungry. This type of eating program takes some planning, but it has proved successful for many when it comes to weight loss.

Determine an eating schedule for your small meals, and stick to it as much as possible. For example, have your first meal at 7 a.m., your second meal at 10 a.m. and your third meal around noon. A schedule such as 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. is good for the evening if you tend to go to sleep between 10 and 11 p.m.

Swami has expounded on this saying “mind is the eleventh sense and like the other ten, one must reduce it to the status of an obedient instrument, in the hands of the intellect. Eat at regular intervals, according to a well-established time table”.

·         Snack smart

A 2005 study published in the International journal of obesity found that people on a weight- loss plan who snacked lost as much weight as those on the same weight-loss plan who didn't. Bet you can guess which group of people felt less restricted.

But that doesn't mean you should go and have a free-for-all in the aisles. Choosing the right snacks is essential to maintaining good health, reaching your goal weight, and having more energy.

Don’t snack if you are not hungry. Go for high protein snacks (sprouts, energy drinks) than a high carb snack (deep fat fried foods) .Go for a raw food than a processed one. For instance, prefer a whole fruit than a juice or sprouts than a roasted or fried snack.

As Bhagawan clearly explicated “plant a boiled pulse in the soil; it won’t sprout. How, then, can it contribute life to the living? The vitamins and proteins are destroyed to please the palate! Uncooked food, nuts and fruits, germinating pulses are the best. Use these at least once or twice a day in the meal or in-between, this will ensure long life. And long life is to striven for in order that the years may be utilized for serving one’s fellow-beings.”

·                     Balance your food choices

Food is made up of a vast range of different nutrients – proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber – and natural plant chemicals known as phytochemicals (many act as antioxidants and help to protect the body against disease). We need a healthy balance of all these to provide energy, to fight off infection, keep in shape and reduce our risk of long-term health problems.

The easiest way to get the optimal fuel mix is to eat a variety of foods each day from the 5 food groups from the healthy eating plate. When you are planning a meal, consider whether you’ve got most of the food groups covered.
The Food Guide Pyramid is an outline of what to eat each day based on the Dietary Guidelines. It's not a rigid prescription but a general guide that lets you choose a healthful diet that's right for you.

The Pyramid calls for eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need and at the same time the right amount of calories to maintain healthy weight.

·                     Will power

As Mahatma Gandhi rightly puts it “strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will”.

So how does this apply to a diet?

A situation which most of us face is the difficulty in turning our wheels away from a pizza hut or any other delicacy store for that matter. That’s where the will power is put to test. This does not mean that one must refrain from consuming them, but too much of anything is not good. If you crave for a fried food, have it but have the will power to stop instead of over eating, and most importantly have a very light meal after that.

For a healthier and happier life, have the will power and make wise choices from the variety of foods offered. This ultimately leads to a new you, a healthy you!!

Nurturing Nature Nurtures Us

By Pallavi Muruganant

(Mrs Pallavi K Muruganant is a doctorate in Microelectronics from IIT Bombay. She is a faculty in James An College, Wollongong, Australia and 'Education Coordinator' of Sri Sathya Sai centre, Wollongong, Australia. She enjoys handling SSEHV classes in Wollongong and can't thank Swami enough for giving her this opportunity. Pallavi is also a very soft spoken and she truly embodies the spirit of ‘Humility is the hallmark of true education’. Here she shares her insights on the intricate inter-relationship between mankind and nature and how Nature is our best teacher and role model).

The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura which means "essential qualities, the innate disposition”. For example if a person loses his temper very often, we call him a short-tempered person. Hence we attribute his nature to what he exhibits. If someone always loves everyone, we say “to love” is his nature.

But wait! Don’t we also call trees, rain, sky, mountains....as nature. So whose nature is this? God’s? ...............Could be? Because all of these: the trees, rain, the sky, mountains.... follow their duties in perfect order. The sun never fails to rise; the earth never stops its revolution. They adhere to a Universal code which is their dharma. They do not judge. They just perform their dharma.

We often hear Baba telling us our dharma:

“To acquire the grace of the Lord, man has to offer worship at the outset to Prakruthi (Nature). Abusing the resources of Nature and forgetting his own basic human nature, man is going against the purpose of Creation”.

Let us try to ponder on the word “Worship”. Literally it is to adore, admire, respect and love something or someone very much. As our beloved mother Sai emphasises will we not appreciate nature once we love it nay once we worship it?

So, only when we love something can we worship it, Isn’t it? And what is the purpose of creation according to Bhagawan?

“I separated Myself from Myself so that I can love Myself.”

Hence it is Him and only Him in my family members, relations, people whom I interact or even the ones with whom I do not, in the living and non-living creation of His. For, He has separated and assumed all this forms to prove His existence and love Himself. Now, if that is getting too philosophical or theoretical let us find ways to experience it.

Most of us need and look forward to vacations so as to unwind ourselves from the everyday stresses.

Each one of us seems to be stressed and lost in our worries. What is that which keeps troubling us? Problems relating to health, finance, relationship; worries due to unfulfilled desires, irrational fears, natural catastrophes (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions) and manmade problems (wars, terrorism). Almost all of these are avoidable as Swami points out. Through a proper understanding of the value based system through EHV and by placing a “Ceiling on Desires (CoD)”. Now, what about natural catastrophes; like the recent floods in Pakistan and Merapi volcanic activity in Indonesia? Sai says:

“Many natural catastrophes are entirely due to man's behaviour. Earthquake, volcanic eruptions, wars, floods and famines and other calamities are the result of grave disorders in Nature. These disorders are traceable to man's conduct. Man has not recognised the integral relationship between humanity and the world of Nature. In the human body, all organs like eyes, ears, mouth, etc., are integrally related to each other. Just as these organs are important for man, man is equally important for society as a limb of the social organism. Man is a part of the human community. Mankind is a part of nature. Nature is a limb of God. Man has not recognised these inter-relationships”.

Some of the environmental problems that we witness today are due to man’s greed for more and more comfort:

·  Soil salinity and dry land salinity are the two problems degrading the environment of Australia.  Groundwater levels earlier used to be in equilibrium; the salt water of the underground tables never rose to ground level due to absorption by native flora growing on the surface.  After the clearing of the native vegetation for European-style agriculture, excess water leached down into the saline layers of soil, and allowed them to move, sometimes into waterways or to the soil surface. Over time this process caused the thin top-soil layers to become irreversibly salty, and no longer suited for agriculture.

·  Phosphates are used in laundry and dishwashing products because they help soften hard water and break down dirt, but once released into the environment in waste water they can cause algal blooms that starve aquatic life of oxygen.

So should we not infer that “Our desire for comforts is in fact betraying us of our life”. We draw more from nature than we need to satisfy our greed and nature leaves us barren. It is just our action that has invoked the reaction. Swami always points that there is “reaction, reflection and resound” (3Rs) of every act, thought and word. How true? Instead, if we expand with love for nature and worship it, I leave it to the readers to infer nature’s response as per the simple formula of 3Rs.

During one of the festive occasion (Navarathri) and celebration at Puttaparthi Swami said:

”The Navarathri celebration is an occasion for revering Nature and considering how natural resources can be used properly in the best interests of mankind”

In fact at every available opportunity Swami emphasises the importance of revering, loving and nurturing nature so that it helps in nurturing our true self.

It is something like a tasty dish kept before a person. If you are a food lover, you go, taste it and you love it. Then you try to find out what the name of the dish is, who made it, so that you get the recipe or where you could get this dish from! Similarly when one finds the unison with nature; that admiration, love, awe directs itself to the creator. We should clearly understand that this is a process. This process either happens now or later; but it shall never fail from happening and that is the whole purpose of this game of life. All that we seem to have in our hands is the effort to surrender and keep away from digressions and distractions which make this journey a long one. Do we now understand the statement “I separated Myself from Myself so that I love Myself” better?

So, we were talking about wanting to take a vacation. People around the world go to hill stations to be with nature. One who wants to meditate secluding away from the hustle and bustle of this busy world, goes to the mountains to be “one” with nature. Why?

Have you ever wondered why we feel at ease and peace when with nature-the mountains, the rivers, waterfalls, and the flowers? Because we lose our smaller judging self in nature’s beauty, majesty and stand accepting all of it un-judged. All that remains is an experience of peace.

When we stand in front of mountain ranges, they look so huge and mighty, that all our troubles look small. God whose might and vastness when we ponder on, all the trials and tribulations look smaller or even get washed away.

When we see the sky, it seems to be so full of emptiness, it transfers some of its emptiness into us and we feel light. It seems to have the ability to suck out all our sorrows and give us peace. If the nature we observe is so vast and mighty, the one who permeates it all over (God) is even vaster and mightier. Our narrow outlook (directed outside through senses) cannot see him.

Flowers which have been created with their intricate designs, the beauty and the fragrance keep each one of us enraptured and we forget everything else at that moment of oneness. Bhagawan, our creator is beauty Himself and that is the reason we lose our smaller-narrower self in His physical presence which am sure many of us would have experienced.

Being with nature fills us with that vastness, that detachment and connects us to the beautiful-pure inner self which is a beautiful sadhana path in itself.

When we worship, love, adore and respect nature Ceiling on Desires need not be consciously practised, for, the reverence of nature has placed this moderation in us already.  We don’t need to be told about COD then; about closing the tap and not to waste water etc. Feeling of oneness with nature makes us feel one with all His creation, and that respect and love for everything becomes natural. Ceiling on desires happens. We will not, we CANNOT waste anything in His creation. We stop desiring for anything that is beyond the need. Hence the greed too loses its feed.

Just being with nature and listening to the voices of it will make us more resonant with the voice of conscience-the God inside-the real me - “I”!

Let us learn to be with nature, to listen to it, nurture it, which will eventually nurture us. If I take this one beautiful step it is sure to lead me to myself; My true Self. Let me be myself then. Just be!

Death is Life's Greatest Invention

By Steve Jobs, former CEO, APPLE Inc.
(Steve Jobs has arguably been the greatest innovator and imaginative CEO of our times. He has been an exemplar of creativity, undying zeal and excellence as evinced by the outstanding products from Apple Inc and Pixar Animation Ltd. This is part of a speech he delivered at Stanford University in 2005 when he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He ended his earthly sojourn a few days ago at the age of 56, leaving an indelible impression of an Apple that has equal, if not more, importance as the one that dropped on Newton’s head).

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.


Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.


About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.


This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.


When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.