A vain wife and a petrified husband

'Who do I remind you of? Sushmita or Aishwarya?' wife asks hubby.

'You remind me of Nutan.' he says.

'What! But Nutan's ancient! wife wails.

'No, I meant the Nutan of Mother India.' hubby says.

'There was no Nutan in Mother India. There was Nargis. I remind you of Nargis?'

Now hubby is even more scared.

'No, you remind me of Madhubala.'

'Oh I see. Which movie did Madhubala act in?'

'That I don't remember.' he finally stops lying.

'Do you remember my face at least?'

'Oh yes I do. How to forget ones most intimate enemy?'

being physical, is the new spiritual

breathe in and out through the twenty one points of your body: all the twenty fingers and toes, and the top of your head. feel the weight of your body, not the mind. It is the weight of the mind that tires, not weight of the body. Weight of the body refreshes you. (!).

all suffering is suffering. fullstop. do not make your suffering sacred, because then you will not be able to leave it.

all suffering is due to your stupidity. all you need is a little intelligence. ( ! )

here the process is like this: from bliss to bliss to bliss to bliss! fullstop,

whatever low mood you might have is because of you only.

all the techniques and meditations are meant to get you in the physical plane, so that it can be transmitted to you. thats all.

be physical. give up all your ideas of being a soul, light, and what not. relax.

all i need from you, is to sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. be physical. just be physical. be with the body. continuously breathe in and out through all the twenty one points. (I did this, it is fantastic!) be inside your skin.

visualization and fantasy is the same. humbleness is a refined ego. education polishes the ego.

this body is cooked, boiled and available in the physical plane.

I say this without humility or bragging. I am here to share Jeevan Mukthi.

Swami Nithyanandas latest video. Experience all dimensions of Living Enlightenment.

Whose dust is it?

Words from the Master

Posted: 27 Nov 2009 02:16 AM PST

Another story:

God and all the scientists of the world had a meeting and a competition.
Whatever item that God made, the scientists reproduced it identically out of some material. The scientists were able to reproduce things with no problem.

Finally, God made man out of dust and challenged the scientists.
The scientists started to pick up dust…
God said, “Wait! Make it out of your dust, not mine!”

Man has to understand that Existence is the creator, the created and the creation. Only then can he simply start enjoying things without a care. Only then can he relinquish possession and doer-ship.

So understand: When you change your attitude from seeking discontentment, worries and depression, to seeking the present with gratitude, you will automatically be able to harness the energy of Existence better. You will then be able to appreciate Existence better and gratitude will then become your attitude.

______________________
This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.

love vs non-violence

The only other time I have heard the sound of Pali is by S. N. Goenka, during the Vipassanna meditation binge.

Pali was spoken at the time of Buddha and Mahaveera. Both of them spoke in Pali, because they wanted to reach the masses.

I don't know if Swami Nithyananda understands Pali, but he utters it here as if it were his mother tongue. Something comes through and touches your core.

Swami translates from the Pali to English, and interprets the Jain sutras here, on non-violence as being better than love.

Love, at some point, can become possessive and may turn violent.

Non-violence, on the other hand, is a deeper promise.

"I will not hurt you."



We keep saying we love each other, and we keep swaying between caring and neglecting, between affection and shouting.

If only we could say, 'I will not hurt myself,' all else will fall in place.

If we start with non-violence, love will happen as a by-product. Because we start with love, we mess up.

....., etc,....

Bliss Bytes

Deep patience and the decision to wait is what I call surrender.

Don't control your body. Just trust its intelligence.

With pure love, you can awaken even a stone.

If you consciously relax your unconscious, you will transform.

All great shrines are resonant with the Existential energy.

Listening itself can lead to enlightenment.








~Paramahamsa Nithyananda

when will the saree arize?

This post is for the fashion dadas and dadis. Please consider my request, give it a thought, this might be the next fashion statement.

My grandmother always wore her saree six inches above the ground. My mothers sarees don't sweep the floor either. My uncle gets his trousers stitched six inches above the floor.

None of us ever wear heels, we prefer going barefoot, or as near the earth as possible. We love walking, and we like to walk with our hands free. We like to feel free. We love to run. We like to be open to the possibility of skipping down the stairs.

I like to be able to pick up a babe from the arms of an exasperated mom. I like to put my brat in the hand cart and run. He likes me to chase him around, even though he has proven it time and again that he is faster.

And, I also like the feel of a saree. I love the fact that a saree is an integrated attire, it does not separate parts of the body into fragments.

Then why do people, mostly women, keep telling me to pull down my saree? Do they want me to trip? No? Then why?

If everything else is arising, when will the saree lift itself a little from the shackles of fashion? Trust me, the saree will come back into fashion if it shows a little ankle.

the sound of atmapreeta

Last few days I have been struggling with a crisis that is superficial and deep at the same time. Changing my name, at this age, isn't as easy as I thought.

I have changed my email sign to Manju / Atmapreeta. I plan to change it to just Atmapreeta after six months.

Not many people get it, though. They still write, Dear Manju.

When I call someone on the phone, I momentarily forget the A name and give the M. Immediately, I bite my tongue. Then I say, Sorry, I am now Atmapreeta. Beloved of the being, I add, to emphasize that I am not joking. By now both of us have forgotten the purpose of the call.

Closer home, the kid never calls me by name, so he is out of the firing line. Papa calls me mummy. Mom hardly ever needs to address me by name, though she has very sweetly agreed to call me Atmapreeta. Mom is freedom incarnate.

Sister, the novelist, has flatly refused. I feel sad about it. A friend gives you the freedom to change your name, isn't it?

If you wake me up in the middle of the night, I would still say M. If you disturbed me during meditation and asked, I would say.....?

Shut up?

Yesterday, I faced another dilemma. I was gifting my book, A grasshopper's Pilgrimage, to someone who had come for dinner. Happy reading, I wrote, and then, signed, Atmapreeta.

Who wrote that book, though?

How deep is the attachment to the past?

How blue is the search? How red is the surrender?

These days I use a red kumkum powder to dot my forehead. I have to dab the powder two three times to make it as red as possible.

Swami, you gave me a new name. Would you please call me a few times, so that I can get used to it?

Or, the lady who called me Atmapreeta this morning, was she your voice?

Speech on Childrens day

I am to give a five minute speech on Children's day in a school. This is what I want to say to them:

Happy Children's day, all of you. And I mean, all of you, all of us.

I find children's day very very special. Do you know why? Because the child in me also celebrates. All of us, including grown ups, have the child within us. Childhood is common to all of us. We are still our parents children, and to God, all of us are his children, aren't we? From the youngest child to the oldest teacher, all of us here are God's children. On this day, let us say hello to the child within us. This day is an opportunity to deeply and truly connect with the child within all of us, and so I wish everyone a very happy children's day.

All of us have heard the phrase, Laughter is the best medicine, isn't it? So do you think it is true? Is laughter really the best medicine? If you go to the doctor for a stomach ache, does he prescribe laughter? have you ever seen a prescription that says, ten minutes of loud laughter, three times daily, followed by a glass of water? Laugh for ten days and then come back to report to me? He should, no?

The fact is, if you have a stomach ache, you will be too morose to laugh, isn't it? But seriously, have you ever tried to laugh off a sickness? Is there anyone here who has a headache or a stomach ache? Children are always getting hurt, no? No one has any aches or pains?

Ok, let us do this experiment. Let us see if laughter is the best medicine.

Once upon a time, there was a teacher in a school. The teacher asked her student,
'How do you spell crocodile?'
'Krokodile.' the student replied.
'But that is the wrong spelling.' the teacher scolded the student.
'Maybe, but you asked me how I spell it.' the student replied cheekily.

One day, the boy asked his teacher,
'Miss, would you punish someone for something he has not done?'
'Of course not.' said the teacher.
'Good. Because I did not do my homework.'

The school is gone on a Himalayan trip. They see a lot of sheep walking about in the mountains.
Then the teacher asks the students, 'How many sheep does it take to make one sweater?'
The student looks baffled. 'I didn't even know they could knit.' he says, wonder-struck.

'So, are you enjoying the scenery?' the teacher asks his students in the Himalayas.
'Yes, Sir, but the Mountains sometimes block our view.'

Now you are laughing at this joke. But if you laugh like this whenever you are in trouble, when you are fighting with each other, when you get hurt, if you include laughter in all your daily activities, it will keep your energy level high, it will keep your lungs clean, and, most important, it will keep you connected to God.

God has made this world for us to be happy. Imagine, if God looks down and sees his children laughing, how will He feel?

God loves laughter. In fact, god has given us the gift of laughter as a secret healing tool. If you laugh continuously for five to ten minutes, your sickness will go away. Always add laughter to your life, it will make you feel light.

There is scientific evidence that proves that regular, long spells of laughter can bring down your blood pressure. Deep belly laughter releases endorphins, the feel good chemicals in your brain.

How many of you have a small statue of the laughing Buddha in your homes? How does he laugh? He has a big belly, doesn't he? And his mouth is open. He has a bag flung over his shoulder. The bag signifies that he is a wondering monk. and how does he stand? With his hands in the sky, like this. What does this posture mean to you? Where else have you seen this posture? Did you know, what this laughing Buddha do all day? And why did he get the name, the laughing Buddha?

He walked from one town to another town, stood in the market place right in the center of the main square where everyone could see him, threw up his hands and laughed and laughed and laughed.

People stared at him, wondering if he is a mad man. But he laughed so beautifully, without any hesitation, without a care in the world, that they also started laughing. Soon the entire market place was laughing. The people who went back home couldn't get over the site of the laughing Buddha. Each time they would remember him, they would laugh. And, because they had laughed so much, the entire village was in a light, happy mood.

The laughing Buddha never uttered a word to anyone, he was in silence. His only job was to laugh.

A small story from a book called Guaranteed Solutions, written by my master, Swami Nithyananda.

Once, there was a conference of Buddhist monks on the meaning of true spirituality.
Each monk went up to the stage and gave a long speech. Finally, it was the turn of a zen monk to speak.
He went on the stage and simply started laughing. He laughed and laughed, from his being. The laughter just rose from his belly. he started shaking uncontrollably with laughter.

And his laughter was so infectious that all the others also started laughing, without even knowing why.
Without their being aware of it, the monks produced a huge wave of positive energy in the room. The monks reached a state of tremendous elevation.

Their thinking was shattered and their being was filled with bliss.
The zen monk finally spoke: 'This is true spirituality.'

Blissful Beloved of the Being

Mountain, Who am I? is what I called this blog till date.

I don't exactly know who I am still, but you can call me Ma Ananda Atmapreeta. It means Mom Blissful Beloved of the Being. Its a spiritual name given to me by Swami, Paramhamsa Nithyananda.

Basically, I am an attention seeker. Thats why the novel, thats why this blog. Attention is a form of energy, it is something we like to call, but isn't, love.

Attention seekers claim they have loved everyone and wail that nobody loves them back.

In the ASP (Ananda Spurna Programme), a two day meditation programme that deals with the different Chakras, they tell this story that stirred my heart painfully, for I knew it was written for me.

A woman grows old without her husband even knowing her name. She keeps serving him, as he is engrossed in... writing a book!

As he completes the book, he looks up and sees an old woman lighting a lamp.

'Who are you?' he asks.

'Continue your work. Never mind who I am.' she says.

'My book is done. Please tell me. Who are you?' he insists.

'I am your wife'. she says.

'What. You are my wife? And I never even knew? '

'Its Ok. I was happy to serve you, since I knew you are writing a great book.'

(I hope my hubby does not read this post. He is going to freak out. I am always disturbing him while he is writing.)

'It wasnt that the lady did not want to disturb him. She did not need to seek his attention.'

I did the ASP about an year ago, and since then this story keeps coming to my mind. Sometimes I have hated this great lady. And then I have been baffled by her. But mostly I have harboured an intense jealousy towards her. How did she manage such a feat? How did she remain happy with a writerholic who only wrote and wrote? Didnt she ever feel like drowning him in the well? Is she even a healthy specimen? Is theirs an ideal marriage? Whats so great about her? And, most important, why cant I get her out of my mind? Why do I have to compare myself to her, each time I feel my husband is not giving me enough bhav?

Yesterday evening, I finally got something I have been waiting for since a couple of months. I got a beautiful white paper with Swamis photo, a lotus, and a name. With an english translation of the meaning.

Ma Ananda Atmapreeta.

Blissful beloved of the being.

Tears of gratitude flowed down my face as I realized that this is my path, my goal, my sadhana. To seek and to get, attention, energy and love from within. To find the beloved within. To become the beloved, of the being.

I am going to change my legal and illegal names to this name soon. I would be really grateful if all of you who know me would call me by this name. You may break it up and call me by any of the short forms. Ma, Ananda, Atma, or Preeta. My favorite would be Atmapreeta.

Thank you.

barefoot, and bareheaded

Because I am yet to meet other barefooted souls in my neighborhood, I became a member of a barefooters group that shares their experiences with bare-footing online! You will be surprised to know how many people on the earth feel so passionately about bare footing that they need to type it down!

Here is one interesting mail I recently read in the SBL (Society for Barefoot Living) Digest that resonated deeply.

I am a religious leader, a priestess of the Craft.

Being barefoot is part of my connection with the Earth, not cutting myself off, not insulating myself. It's standard for us to remove shoes to go in sacred space, as in many other faiths.

I also value being bareheaded except when it's very cold or thick rain - light rain is nice. My head is touched by air currents, sky, the heavens, the Above of the sacred, mirroring the Below sacred of my feet on the deep Earth..


I once had a problem when talking of doing an interfaith talk at a mosque. To Muslims it is important for women to cover the head in sacred space. This comes from the submission of women to hide themselves, to cover the sexuality of hair, and contrasts with the bareheaded male whose head is open to the sky/ the divine.


Well of course I could not "cover my head in shame." Nor could I go in their sacred space and insult their faith by ignoring their idea of courtesy. I compromised by wearing a wreath of leaves which from all sides looked like my head was covered but from Above the crown of my head was bare.


I don't know of any religious space where it's a problem being barefoot. Though there are some dubious customs around footwashing which represent doing something filthy to express "humility" that is to crush or deny the self. Washing the feet of lepers, or the very poor was historically a symbol of humility for kings and I think the pope still does it.


Psychologically the feet are the furthest from the dominating brain. So they have the greatest degree of freedom from our controlling ideas of being 'proper' or 'correct.' Feet therefore sometimes express the inner self going against what we feel we "ought" to be/ think/ do. It would be nice of footwashing could be a revaluing of the gentle freedom loving feet.


In terms of the spiritual gates of the self, going from head down to feet, feet are the patient 'footsoldiers' the hardworking, simple side of the self. Which sometimes betrays surprising signals of the inner child/ freedom self.