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Just like for anyone else, for a spiritualist too, the brain matters …but the heart rules. This is primarily because, for a normal average gentle human, the soul lies in the Anahata chakra region. Whether we like it or not - We are more a soulful person than being a bodily person (governed by brain). What are the main functions of the brain? Please remember for a spiritualist, it is also the functions of the major chakras in this zone. Memory Management Enabling Thinking Signalling Connections Closer to Sahasrathalam What are the main functions of the heart? Please remember for a spiritualist, it is also the functions of the major chakras in this zone. Pumping Blood and Circulation Providing rhythm Maintaining Blood Pressure Blood pumped by heart - ensures Oxygen/Nutrient delivery and removal of metabolic waste Closer to Anahatham (seat of the soul for an average gentle human being) In an outside to inside manner, the brain works like a filter. It helps you to process the signal from the noise using the Karmendriyas and Gnanendriyas. It also stuffs memory (as long-term and short term) as appropriate. We referred to this as the “Cache memory” or temporary memory – valid only for this birth! In an inside to outside manner, the brain works like a control. It helps to process the impressions coming from the soul itself and the memories coming from the “Cache memory” and help translate into appropriate actions via the Karmendriyas and Gnanendriyas - including verbal and non-verbal actions. In an outside to inside manner, not all of the inputs to the brain are received from the soul and not all the outputs of the brain are sent to the soul. Yet some compelling and strong inputs are received by the brain from the soul and some “heart-felt” compelling and strong outputs of brain (along with other acting organs) are sent to the soul. Some of the cycles of thoughts/actions ends within the brain like for example the autonomous actions like the driving of a car- it is simply not a soulful experience! So, do you want to be a great orator? Feel at heart what you want to speak, before you speak. Do you want to be a great writer? Feel at heart what you want to write, before you write. If you do this, writer’s block will be a thing of the past. Do you want to be a great lawyer? Match the values of the case to your adopted value systems and for a high-probability win, pursue the case only if the value system match agrees. The same is true for any profession – sports, teaching, singing, acting etc., Passion is something that is felt at the heart. Performance is something engineered at the brain and implemented in the body. Focussing only on performance and ignoring passion will lead to sub-optimal results. There is a term in my native language – “நியாயத்தை நெஞ்சில் உணர்” (transliteration - "Nyayathai nenjil unar") which means “Feel Justice at Heart”. This is supposed to be a fundamental tenet of the Nithyasuris too. If your adopted value systems are super good and if you feel justice at heart supported by a blessed divine intuition, no matter what the contortions are, no matter what the distortions are, no matter what the theatrics are – you will arrive at the right conclusion. For this to happen, on our part we need to be in the act of acquiring knowledge religiously as a polymath - as much as possible, and be in pursuit of excellence. Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

Adi Para Sakthi, the divine energy manifestation is existing 4 levels deep – after the physical world, astral world and the MAHAT. I have always believed that the objects and processes in nature are in a way reminders to the ways of the working of the universe. What can be the order in nature that will continuously remind us about her? As part of our in-pursuit of excellence, we have to know/reach her eventually. I think there is 2 distinct sets of actions that continuously remind us about her. First, in a physical sense, the basic actions reminding us about the grand merge (EATING, SLEEPING, SEX) is also a 'subconscious' reminder about the supreme being. Besides this the act of meditation/transcendental meditation (the first step to meditate starts as an action in the conscious part of the mind) also remind/lead us to her. She has also provided us the mind/intelligence to contemplate on the state of affairs and decide about what is good or bad. The idea of goodness is reinforced in the group by adding the appropriate good valse systems ( https://www.mayoan.com/post/7-about-the-value-systems ). Thus, the divine Adi Para Sakthi – has provided us with not only the knowledge about her, but also about the means of knowing that divine knowledge and the ways for reaching her (baktha yoga, karma yoga, gnana yoga and kriya/kundalini yoga). She has also added reminders and guidelines in the natural order to reach her eventually! Secondly, in a cognitive/mental sense, she has enabled the principle of ‘subconsciousness’ to remind us about her presence inside both the Prakruti and the souls! We may not know how well this principle of subconsciousness is developed in all the forms of souls in the universe, but with a bit of Mendeleevian curiosity and by extrapolation, we can easily paint a picture of its existence inside a advanced being like humans. Thus, we can assume with a fair degree of confidence that this principle of ‘subconsciousness’ perhaps existing is various degrees of intensity in the various other forms of the souls in the universe. Let me list out the manifestation of the subconsciousness part in the various divine energy layers as how I perceive it. S.No Divine Layer Conscious Principle Subconsciousness exists? 1. Kriya Sakthi Actions Yes – Subconscious actions like driving a car 2 Gnana Sakthi Thoughts, feelings, emotions Yes – Subconscious thoughts, feelings and emotions 3 Iccha Sakthi Tanmatras Yes – Subconscious tanmatras 4 Iccha Sakthi (Soul) Impressions Yes-Subconscious impressions 5 Adi Para Sakthi Para Brahmam/Paramporul/ Supreme being/One-Reality/One-truth where the souls unite as part of the great merge to the infinite mode of the great divine energy. Yes – Subconscious Sakthi of Adi para sakthi where the subconscious part of the souls unite as part of the Great Merge   Thus, the new age Psychology, will have to understand the principle of subconsciousness along the various layers of the divinity. Besides the repressed thoughts and emotions, there may be other karmic load from the past births manifesting out of impressions of the soul that may drive a person to behave in a certain way irrespective of the value systems that have been taught to him/her.     Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

As a seeker, I wanted my readers to be aware of the inputs to their system. These inputs may be food, friendships, relationships, other interactions, media, books, music, movies, TV etc., Maintain top quality in all your inputs to develop not just intelligence and knowledge but also more sensitivity and humaneness which I think are fundamental traits of a good spiritual person. I want to write about the ‘FOOD’ as an input to my system. I am from India and hence I may be a bit biased in my food related writings since I come under the influence of food culture of India. But the idea is to take the learnings and interpret it in your own context. The first thing I want to emphasise is the idea of the ‘STAPLE FOOD’. Wikipedia definition for the term staple food is – ‘A  staple food ,  food staple , or simply  staple , is a  food  that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard  diet  for an individual or a population group.’ Let us consider the staple foods of India: Wheat Rice Pulses (such as chana or Bengal Gram) Lentils (dal) Whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa) Pearl millet (bājra) Vegetables Dairy products Spices   8 out of 9 of the above staple food is plant based. Let us consider the staple foods of a standard western economy:  In Western Europe the main staples in the average diet are animal products (33 percent), cereals (including wheat and corn) (26 percent), and roots and tubers (including potatoes and yams) (4 percent). From the 1st link, I extract the below text: Just 15 plant crops provide 90 percent of the world's food energy (exclusive of meat), with rice, maize and wheat comprising 2/3 of human food consumption. These three are the staples of about 80 percent of the world population, and rice feeds almost half of humanity. I am not an avid proponent who asks people to avoid meat eating. I think meat-eating is an experience that many people enjoy. But if you want to excel as a spiritual person, at least take some steps to reduce meat consumption. To this effect, the definition of the STAPLE FOOD should be changed after due consultations with experts representing different cultures of the earth. I, for one, believe that STAPLE FOODS are PLANT-BASED primary foods that are consumed in large quantities. Other foods like meat, and other animal produces are only supplementary to the primary staple foods. I can go through the Indian cuisine a bit to explain this concept. Primary Staple Food: RICE: I am quoting from the 3rd reference.               Today we still have about 6,000 different varieties of Rice in India, but environmentalists estimate that we have lost tens of thousands of indigenous Rice varieties in the last 40 years. Nevertheless, the variety of Indian Rice varieties is the highest globally. WHEAT: I am quoting from the 4th reference:               To cater the need of each agro-climatic condition and cultural conditions, around 294 varieties of wheat have been released and notified by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops (CVRC). Similarly, around 154 wheat varieties released by the State Varietal Release Committee (SVRC) were notified under section 5 of Seeds Act, 1966. So far, 378 bread wheat varieties, 59 durum wheat and 7 dicoccum wheat beside 4 triticale varieties have been notified (Table 1.3). So, we are essentially counting about 448 varieties of wheat . Similarly, we have an astonishing number of varieties in all the staple foods that are plant based in India including protein rich pulses, lentils and vegetables! Coupled with a deep immersion in spiritual realm as guided by their ancient masters/gurus, the food culture has evolved to be refined and sophisticated. And by the way, India has the highest number of vegetarians among its population. I am quoting from the 5th reference: The vast majority of Indian adults (81%) follow some restrictions on meat in their diet, including refraining from eating certain meats, not eating meat on certain days, or both. However, most Indians do not abstain from meat altogether – only  39%  of Indian adults describe themselves as “vegetarian,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The full course is laid out something like this – (Please refer to the 7th reference.) Main Course in a typical lunch (Breakfast and dinner may contain a host of many other varieties called ‘tiffin varieties’ - please refer to links below for more information): Rice based (boiled white rice, red rice, flavoured biryani rice etc.,) (Many more varieties) along with any currys/food-potions as given below in detail. Request for additional portions of boiled rice as necessary when the lunch is in progress. Rice is mixed with the varies curries/food-potions for consumption. Wheat based (roti, chapati, naan etc.,) (Many more varieties) Request for additional portions of above breads when lunch is in progress. The breads are teared and dipped in curries for consumption. Curry: Vegetarian: Any pulses/lentils based, or vegetable based (see below) Non-Vegetarian: Any meat based but primarily they are chicken, sheep, goat, fish and some sea foods. (Please refer to links about Indian Cuisine to know the types of meats consumed) Beside the main dish and curries, Vegetables, eggs, desserts, other food-adjuncts are also present. Sometimes mango (1500 varieties!) and banana (15 – 20 commercial varieties and many more!) are also included in the full course meal. I quote the below from a popular portal given in the 9th reference. A typical South Indian lunch might include: Rice : The staple of the meal, often served with ghee (clarified butter). Sambar : A lentil-based stew with vegetables and tamarind. Rasam : A tangy, spicy soup. Poriyal : Stir-fried vegetables with spices. Kootu : A thick stew made with vegetables and lentils. In South Indian cuisine, a typical meal is designed to balance six distinct flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent, and spicy. This balance is believed to promote overall health and well-being. Here’s how these flavors are typically realized in a South Indian lunch: Sweet : This flavor is often represented by dishes like payasam (a sweet pudding made with rice or lentils, milk, and jaggery) or banana slices served at the end of the meal. Salty : Saltiness is a fundamental flavor in most dishes, but it is particularly prominent in pickles and papad (crispy lentil wafers). Bitter : Bitter flavors are usually introduced through vegetables like bitter gourd (karela) or dishes like neem flower rasam . Sour : Sourness is a key component in dishes like sambar (a lentil-based vegetable stew with tamarind) and rasam (a tangy soup made with tamarind or tomatoes). Astringent : This flavor is often found in legumes and lentils , such as in dal (lentil curry) or kootu (a vegetable and lentil stew). Spicy : Spiciness is a hallmark of South Indian cuisine, with dishes like spicy chutneys , curries , and poriyal (stir-fried vegetables with spices). *The sources given above are raw foods. we have to also consider the cooked foods that is coming out of these raw foods. A typical Indian full course meal covers all the 6 types of tastes deriving from the concept that I mentioned earlier in one of my blogs – ‘Food as Medicine’. The 6 basic flavours identified by Indian food cuisine are – Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter, and Astringent. It is widely believed that a balanced intake of these 6 flavours daily will have a medicinal effect on the whole body. All the regional variants of cuisines of India tries to present these 6 flavours in a full course meal or by daily intakes by properly deploying the food-aids like spices, onions, ginger, turmeric, asafoetida, garlic, shallots, other condiments, etc., and other composite ingredients like curry/masala powders.  May be, food-experts can take a deep look into the Indian Cuisine and understand the philosophies behind it and how it is mentioned in Ayurveda. Then steps should be taken to spread the various staple foods seen in India but not seen anywhere. Together with less meat consumption, a high quality food input can do wonders to your body and soul! References: 1.    Staple food - Wikipedia 2.    Indian cuisine - Wikipedia 3.   Top Varieties of Rice in India: Hybrid, Types, and Production States ( agrifarming.in ) 4.    cover.cdr ( aicrpwheatbarleyicar.in ) 5.    In India, 81% limit meat in diet and 39% say they are vegetarian | Pew Research Center 6.    Banana varieties, Production, and season in India. | ABC Fruits South Indian Full Meals | Lunch Menu For Guests | Thalai Vazhai Ilai Virundhu | Chitra's Food Book ( chitrasfoodbook.com ) South Indian Lunch Recipes | What South Indian's have for lunch | ( tarladalal.com ) Six tastes of Food | Arusuvai Unnavu |Nithya's Nalabagam ( nithyasnalabagam.com ) Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

Have we ever wondered why we “Think” (fingers pointing to forehead as a gesticulation while speaking in that context) with our brain but “Feel” (fingers pointing to our heart as a gesticulation while speaking in that context) with our heart? It is believed in the spiritual science that all thoughts are part of the brain/cognitive processes, but strong feelings are part of the the soul (generally resting in the heart area) ! This is true for an outside-to-inside communication process (Karmendriyas to Gnanendriyas to brain to soul) or for an inside-to-outside (soul to brain to Gnanendriyas/Karmendriyas) communication process. It is generally believed that a strong idea immediately registers in the brain; may be multiple reinforced learning of a concept or a model may drive it into perm storage of the brain. But then, only when you sense it as a strong feeling (say a “aha” moment while reading a book!) at the heart, does this register in the soul as an impression! (please refer to - https://www.mayoan.com/post/39-chittam-or-the-impressions-of-the-soul ). Not all new inputs to the brain are sent to the soul and similarly not all past soul impressions are re-surfaced during a lifetime. So, sometimes, regression psychoanalysis during psychiatric treatments may bring forth soul impressions from past lives and may confuse the context! The natural resting place for an advanced soul (who is very sensitive about suffering, emancipation, mercy, repentance etc.,) is in the heart chakra area. A person who is insensitive (say an excessively rich person who is unkind or a person who takes pleasure in the suffering of the others) may have the soul located in one of the lower chakras (Similarly many animals have their souls in the lower realms- e.g. some snakes may show excessive cruelty while killing its victim or some seals may show excessive cruelty while hunting the penguins.) I think that the soul of the human is located inside the Pranamayakoshana (3 rd  sheath while the soul itself is the 4 th  sheath)- but the million-dollar question is - where in the 3 rd  sheath?! Say a soul has taken the human form (say our hunter/gatherer forefathers) for the first time in its life’s journey. The most likely place for this soul to rest in that human body is in the root chakra or in the Muladhara chakra. The instincts and behaviours are animalistic as expected! In Maslow’s hierarchy this matches with the physiological needs (breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep, other basic needs, responsibility of self, fear/fight/flight responses etc.,) If the soul gets a bit advanced in its lifetime or is reincarnated as a more advanced soul, then the likely place of resting for the soul is in the Swadhistana Chakra. This is where, the flight or fight survival instincts raise up. (We can also ponder about the influence of Prakruti or nature on the advancement of the souls – “survival of the fittest”!) In Maslow’s hierarchy, this position is about sexulaity, sensuality, creativity, health, family, social stability, other survival instincts and procreation. (Please refer this article for a comparison - https://www.mayoan.com/economy/23.-importance-of-micro-entrepreneurial-activities  ) And thus, the Maslow’s hierarchy can be mapped to the soul’s journey in a single or multiple life spans. The point is : universal love, belonging, sense of connection etc., happens in the Heart Chakra where the souls of good people naturally rest. The long-term storage is the soul itself – that is capable of storing infinite amount of soul impressions. Before writing the next few pointers, I would like to register a simple reminder to the readers that my knowledge in neuroscience is very limited and not advanced like that of a doctor's or a professor's. Through the Gnanendriyas and Karmendriyas, the inputs are sensed first by the brain and is committed to the brain’s complex storage system (short/long term etc.,). Thinking of the brain itself, it is for a reason, it is highly convoluted. The soul in a human form is supposed to reach its infinite capacity sooner or later. The cache storage (brain) and the permanent storage (soul) both are expected to handle this “infinite capacity” expectation in a reliable manner! One way the evolutionary forces push for this infinite capacity in the brain is to increase the surface area and thus force the brain to develop convolutions. Another mechanism of the brain might be something like storage density – that is if anyone ever runs out of brain storage, the brain may surprise us by increasing it storage density (imaging the snowflake design, given its size!). But fortunately, the life expectancy of a normal human is within 100 years and hence we never run out of cache storage! Similarly, the soul (the design and inner workings are completely not known) has capability to store a humongous amount of soul-impressions straddling several forms of births over a long period of times! (there are some concepts in the ancient scripts on the importance of the number 7 – something like storage/persistence changes after 7 Janmas or births in some way. I am not very clear on this aspect still.) At this point, I would like to point out 5 concepts of nature, which I think is true. 1.  If a soul goes to the next stage, it does not mean that all the traits gained in the previous stage will be over-written. In fact, it gets compounded! The qualities of soul in the higher chakras dominate the qualities of the soul that was acquired in the lower chakra realms.   2.  Will the soul ever regress? Does nature have any protection against regression or unwarranted progression? The answer seems to be “yes”. Scripts say that there are 3 granthis or knots available in the Sukshma Nadi or the main central traversal path of the soul inside the Pranamayakoshana, as the being advances in its life towards being a more matured soul.   1 st  Granthi (or knot) is between 2nd and 3rd chakra, i.e between the Swadhistana and Manipura chakras. 2nd Granthi (or knot) is between 3rd and 4th chakra, i.e between the Manipura and Anahata chakras. 3rd Granthi (or knot) is between 6th and 7th chakra, i.e between the Ajna and Sahasrathalam chakras.   These knots are unknotted by the positive and good mental condition of the practitioner for the soul to pass above. Once a soul unravels a knot, crosses it, then the knot is formed again stopping the sudden descent. Thus only a good person can use his soul as the key to unravel the knots to pass above! Precisely what qualities should a person possess at each of the 3 check points? The answer seems to be widely available in the literature around the chakras in the east and in the concept of Maslow's hierarchy in the west! (Please refer this article for a comparison - https://www.mayoan.com/economy/23.-importance-of-micro-entrepreneurial-activities )   Only the most deserving souls will ever unravel these knots while in its advancement! Similarly, sudden regression is avoided due to these knots (say for instance, a gentle human form soul suddenly performs a crime out of passion and is expected to be born as a Tiger in its next birth due to the incurred karma! But then, assuming his soul was in the Anahata at the time of crime and at his death, his rebirth as Tiger will be avoided by the knot that holds his soul still in the Anahata chakra area. This knot perhaps did not allow his soul to descend to the lower chakra realms after the crime of passion! This means he may be permitted to be born again as a Human, but his situation may have worsened due to his past bad karma– say he is born as human in a poor nation and in a poor neighbourhood instead of being born as a tiger. But, the 3rd knot near the Sahasrathalam allows descent upto Anahata chakra. This allows the practitioner to return to this gross world and resume his responsibilities from the samadhi state. It is assumed that a soul which has spent 7 years in the samadhi state is not likely to return.   3.  Kundalini Yoga is expected to unravel these knots and accelerate a human to reach his/her true full potential much faster. But for this to materialize, the mind has to be in a certain advanced/placated state – this is not like some quick shot energy drink that instantly propels a person despite his/her highly agitated state of mind! Simply put – No cheating possible in unravelling the knots and no known shortcut methods exist (except for some divine blessings)! Quoting from my article on "The Great Merge"- ( https://www.mayoan.com/post/5-the-great-merge ), This profound concept of self-realization (this for me is the real enlightenment) is encapsulated in the 4 grand statements or mahavakyias of the Upanishads.They are given below: 1. Prajnanam Brahma – Consciousness is Brahman 2. Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahman: 3. Tat Tvam Asi – That Thou Are/Art; 4. Ayam Atma Brahma – This Self is Brahman . The word Brahman has a liberal meaning - God'. If the above 4 mahavakyias are the hypothesis, then Kundalini Yoga is the proof. The beauty is that this proof is available only to the most eligible since the 3 granthis or knots are protecting the upward journey of the soul with its own demand on the quality of the soul !   4.  It is possible, that in advanced civilizations, due to general social setup/trainings and good surroundings/upbringing etc., the womb of the women of such civilizations may attract somewhat advanced souls and thus such new lives may start in an advanced state where the soul nests in the upper realms of the Sukshma Nadi and not in the lower realms.   5.  It is also possible that there are forms of lives where the chakra/Nadi system is not well defined and is without any knots; In this case, the soul is expected to take an appropriate place in a much simpler Pranamayakoshana. Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

I was going through the book mentioned in the references section just to understand the overview of subject content analysed in the past by various distinguished experts. I came to an understanding that the field of Psychology had indeed been blessed with great thinkers and achievers whose contribution, time and again, has led the various governments to frame groundbreaking and influential policies governing the population. With that great respect in mind, I would like to contribute some writings in this aspect. I reiterate that we are “inner” people, energy loyalists and as advanced souls in human form, an involutionist too. The field of Psychology is our attempt to trace the curve of involution! The beauty of our knowledge base and the educational systems, is that, even if a few path-breakers trace this curve of involution, many gain by that subject matter. To me, that is a quantum leap to the entire mankind! Ancient scripts talk about the methods of education or alternately referred as sources of knowledge (Pramanas or Alavais) to the soul as follows: 1.     Perception (Pratyaksa) – Reveals the reality of material substances. (e.g. Imagine how a newborn will look at this world and learn) 2.      Inference (Anumana)- Inference yields valid knowledge when it obeys the logical rules of correctness. (e.g. Sun is still in the east as the shadow is falling on towards the west) 3.     Comparison (Upamana) – Comparison is the knowledge of the relation between a name and things so named on the basis of a given description of their similarity to some familiar object. (e.g. “Deer” as a common name for a host of species resembling the common properties/attributes of the deer). 4.     Testimony (Sabda) – (e.g. voice of the Guru or the Teacher) This is the basis for our current educational systems. This is also the guidance system available to the newborn as – sensory perceptions and conditioning by the parents, neighbourhoods and communities. If we look at ourselves as the descendants of hunters/gatherers, we can identify the above 4 methods as our primordial gurus! The same is the root cause for the raise of “Philosophy” as a major field of study and for the raise of various religions and belief systems! This is the basis on which several ancient schools of thoughts aroused in India, led by great Rishis, as explained in my other article - https://www.mayoan.com/post/25-some-sytems-of-knowledge . After ‘Philosophy’ as a body of knowledge came the field of Geometry/Mathematics and then the exponential growth of the field of science. So even, we humans, as a group have already gone through several phases of involution in the past 3000 years from philosophy to geometry/mathematics to pure sciences etc. I hope the next stage will be the fusion of our understanding of the nature of this universe through the truthful spiritual platforms/knowledge-bodies and the progressive state of science as a major body of knowledge. A person can gain by gathering, wisdom or by experience (self or others’). It is much easy to go by the ‘wisdom’ route relying on truthful sources. This is because, “experiences” may not be always pleasant. It is also considered ‘wisdom’ if you learn from other people’s experiences. Hence, I believe that our (truthful as much as possible) histories and biographies need to be taken seriously. Not to mention the personal history of your families coming via the grandparents and parents! The learning of the soul is a bit deep and mystical when compared to what we generally learn as a human in an advanced system of education consisting of schools, colleges and universities. There is no doubt in my mind that our value systems are also strengthened by our proper schooling methods besides being a groundwork for better life. But I want to emphasize that the law of Karma looks at the belief system or value systems that we have adopted and persisted in the soul to judge us and in placing us in the right place in the universe in the right form for the expected karmic interactions. Perhaps the right way to express this value system of the soul would be to call it as sum total of our persisted/adopted value systems integrated over all the life forms that we individually assumed till now in our journey of life with destination as ‘Mukti’. Please remember that the value systems absorbed in soul changes based on the life experiences. This soul impressions, have a significant say in our subconscious state of mind . Please refer to - https://www.mayoan.com/post/77-subconsciousness . We are in the process of developing our intelligence through many births and forms (evolution and involution) and in using that accumulated and newly gained intelligence to evaluate our current position vis-à-vis the state of Mukti and decide our course of run based on our accepted/persisted set of value systems or beliefs. The persistence part is adequately covered in my other article - https://www.mayoan.com/post/39-chittam-or-the-impressions-of-the-soul . Our soul is a highly energetic, ball bobbing in a sea of dark matter and energy called MAHAT. It is the raison d'être that we are all existing. The soul evolutes/involutes into life forms and the stage for learning through experience and to gain wisdom is the “Prakruti”. Thus, the true trinity of life is – The soul in its learning journey The Prakruti that serves as stage and properties The Divine God and the provider of all and everything – the great Adi Para Sakthi! This bobbing ball of energy inside us will NOT let us be at our peace if we are not aware about it! This is a major cognitive dissonance! All our Gnanendriyas and Karmendriyas are creating a Cat-5 storm of externally focussed experiences that makes you believe that this ‘material’ world is the only truth! It is next to impossible to wean a poor soul that is drenched in these experiences and make him see his inner self! The field of Psychology goes one level deep and identifies our 2 nd Sheath – Manonmayakoshana (please refer to https://www.mayoan.com/post/26-the-panchakoshanas-or-5-sheaths ). Lot of meta rules or constructs have been identified by the field of Psychology that is helping us to understand the impact of this cat-5 storm on our mind, consciousness and our intelligence besides the memory management! The storage part or memory aspect is covering the brain aspects (which I refer to as cache memory) only and not yet pointing to the impressions of the soul, (which I refer to as the permanent storage)! We have to understand that a large part of a person as represented by his behaviour, expressions and conduct also derives from his/her soul impressions. No amount of regression analysis will lead to any conclusion as why a person his behaving the way he is, if his character is shaped by his past soul impressions. I hope that the field of Psychology will delve deeper with the help of spiritual body of knowledge in the coming times, to benefit all of mankind! References: 1.     Satishchandra Chattterjee & Dhirendranath Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy (Rupa Publications 2016) 2.     Multiple, 2011, 2018, Edition (ISBN 978-0-2414-5977-5), DK Penguin Random House, “The Psychology Book”     Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

Based on our previous writings, think about the complexity of this universe – There are 4 layers, the deep fourth layer being the supreme and divine Adi Para Sakthi herself and we will ignore this layer for now in this article and stick to our deep reverence and gratitude for Her! I use the term ‘dimension” and the letter “d” to denote the layers. The word “dimension”, extensively used in these writings, denotes the layers of this universe. There are possibly, several spatial dimensions (I use the letter “D” to denote this dimension) , especially in the Gnana and Kriya layers. This is probably, the dimension that is commonly used in the science fiction stories!   Each of these potential spatial Dimensions (D) has x, y and z – co-ordinates Each of these potential spatial Dimensions (D) has time differentials Each of these potential layer dimension (d) has x, y and z – co-ordinates Each of these potential layer dimension (d) has time differentials Perhaps, all the layer dimension (“d”-s) and the spatial Dimensions (“D”-s) seem to overlap without overwhelming our cognitive abilities’! Some may see this as our “limited” cognitive ability whereas some others may see this as a “blessing-in-disguise”. No body knows about these continuums – how the distribution is or where does it start or end or the properties of the transition layers! Despite all these unseen/unfelt complexities, our lives are seemingly in order and in goodness! Our senses are stable, and our cognitive abilities are not overwhelmed. We marvel at the creation; still, we are unable to link with the divine and blissful Adi Para Sakthi who is the root cause of this cosmic dance of creation, sustenance and obliteration! Consider the 4 margas or paths of devotion to reach her, that we discussed about in the past – the gnana, karma, kriya and bhakthi yogas’. Each one of the paths compels us to walk in our destined path while focussing on being in-pursuit of excellence. GNANA YOGA: This is about our acquisition of knowledge or Gnana that will remove the 3-malas eventually (mummalaas – Please refer to my blog at https://www.mayoan.com/post/the-3-imperfections ). Despite having numerous books and other mediums, we seem to be incomplete in our understanding of the cosmic design of our universe and about the divine forces operating in our universe. KARMA YOGA: This is about the adage – “Work is Worship”.  We are supposed to excel in whatever we do and that will help us be in sync with the in-pursuit-of-excellence principle. When we are in such a sync, the universe is expected to help us know more on its deeper secrets – one leads to other and all the combined good work of your life is expected to propel you to the next stage of your life’s pursuit eventually landing you at the feet of the divine and blissful Adi Para Sakthi! KRIYA/Kundalini YOGA:  It is very difficult, especially in the west, to find a proper Guru who can teach you the science of Kriya Yoga. This perhaps is the shortest path to know Her divine presence. And the knowledge of the processes of this yoga and the preparations required of the yogi who intends to practice this is incomplete or inadequate or not properly recorded in a way that can benefit a good lot of people of the public. BHAKTHI YOGA: This is the simplest path where you feel the Divine Adi Para Sakthi at your heart while you pray to her with your closed eyes and with reverence. Mellifluous divine chants about her helps our senses to stay focussed and be blessed. I hope, eventually all the spiritual endeavours of the good people of this universe, through any or all the four paths above, will lead them to the eternally blissful divine lady and ensure long lasting peace, stability and bliss.     Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

It took me considerable time to map the koshanas concept to the human form with all the functions. So let me explain the Panchakoshanas as I understand it. The 5 sheaths of a human existence are: 1.     Annamayakoshana - The physical sheath 2.     Manonmanyakoshana - The astral or ghost sheath 3.     Pranamayakoshana - The Pancha prana sheath 4.     Vignanamayakoshana - the soul itself as sheath 5.     Anandamayakoshana - The 'existence' (?) after the great merge or the bliss sheath Let us look at their functions briefly. 1.     Annamayakoshana: This is the external form of a human, this is manifested (also as eating action by mother - while the child grows in the womb) and maintained by the action of eating once the individual is born. Please note that it is said in some scriptures that, just before entering the birth canal, a new born experiences a special type of prana - called - 'Vaishnava Prana', that passes over the brain in a down to up manner, and completely erases any past memories. Thus the baby starts with a clean slate - ready for wordly inputs. It is sometimes thought that this is the same prana that causes the water to break, in a 100% natural birth. This body exists to expend karma in the external world. The below organs of actions (5 Karmendriyas) are used to expend karma through this sheath: Speech or Vak – Mouth Grasp or Paani – Hands Move or Paada – Foot Excrete/Expulse or Paayu – Anus/Rectum Fornicate or Upastha – Sexual organs In nutshell, this is the conveyor of actions to the external world. Food nourishes this sheath. Some where, I have read that some indian sadhus claim that they have practiced some stringent sadhanas by which they directly observe energy from sun or prakruthi or MAHAT. 2.     Manonmayakoshana: This is the astral or ghost body of a human. This is manifested at conception and grows as the body grows. Sometimes they may stay for some additional time after the physical form is destroyed. In the ordinary souls, the Annamayakoshana and Manonmayakoshana, together act to feel the effects of internal sense organs or the 5 Gnanendriyas. They are as given below: Sight or Chaksu – Eyes Hearing or Shrotra – Ear Smell or Ghraana – Nose Taste or Rasaana – Taste Touch or Sparshana – Skin Please note how the senses are sensed by our brain/mind complex to produce the intended effect. In nutshell, this is the conveyor of senses to the internal organs. The related astral body is a transient state and hence there is no ability to eat, sleep or have sex. 3.     Pranamayakoshana: This is the third sheath consisting of 5 main and several sub Vayus. You may imagine this to be a flexible/fluidic sealed bottle containing 5 primary gases each maintaining their individuality/functions by flowing through the Nadi systems (like the great barrier reef of the human body !. I tend to imagine that the complex personality of each human is being reflected here as a multi-facetted arrangement of fluidic-sealed bottle and perhaps the multi-colored reef occurring naturally is reminding us this complexity). They convey the senses from the first two sheaths to soul as effects of tanmatras. The five pranas or Pancha pranas are listed below with their auxiliary functions. The auxiliary functions are adequately explained in the link provided in the reference section. Prana Vayu – Vayu flowing and operating in head and thoracic region. Apana Vayu – Vayu flowing and operating in lower abdominal region. Samana Vayu –Vayu flowing and operating in the upper abdominal region. Udana Vayu – Vaya flowing and operating in the throat, head, and face regions. Vyana Vayu – Vayu flowing, operating, and permeating the whole body. Please note that some Gurus consider the process of death as compete, only when the Vayus are completely withdrawn by the MAHAT. When the accounted/set karmas of the life are exhausted, MAHAT withdraws these Vayus and completes the process of death. There is more to these Pranamayakoshana and perhaps when the time comes, I may write another blog just on this third sheath. 4.     Vignanamayakoshana: This is the fourth sheath – the soul. (also called as causal body or 'Karana Shariram') This is indestructible till the great merge happens. When the pranas convey the senses (while performing the karmic activities) as tanmatras to the soul, it faithfully transfers the sensations to the great divine energy. This feedback required by the divine energy is caused by the primordial question that originated in the divine energy – “Who am I?” Imagine the infinite commits (of sensations) by the various life forms to the divine energy – all culminating finally in the great merge after its journey through many types/forms of bodies-thus committing/reinforcing the answer to the primordial question as “I am God”!! Please refer to my other related blog at - 5. The Great Merge ( mayoan.com ) 5.     Anandamayakoshana: This is the divine energy itself – the final “Mukthi” state of an individual soul. This is bliss itself as existence. Another important consideration is how the actions of Karmendriyas can impact pranas and how it is consequently converted as tanmatras and transferred to soul and then to the divine energy. Similarly, the sensations of Gnanendriyas too are imposed upon soul as tanmatras. And the thoughts/free-will, themselves, from the mind/intelligence complex are imposed as "Chittam" right into the soul itself - and they become the locus of all impressions for that soul. They remain as impressions affecting several forms that the soul may take in its journey through countless life-death cycles, or such thoughts cleansed in hellish situations as part of dispensing justice or expending karma. But note that our regular physical breathing is not the same as these Pranas. Controlled breathing, a smaller number of breathing cycles leads to- (means -less activities), less agitation in the koshanas and hence less agitation in Chittam. The reverse is true too - a smaller number of thoughts (alpha state of mind - say for example, 4 thoughts in a minute), leads to less energy consumption and helps us present a calm disposition. Please note the act of brain too as part of mind-body complex. The sensations from the sense organs are felt by brain, processed, and then transferred to the pranas by mind. On the inside-to-outside transfers, the Chittam presents thoughts relevant to current context to the mind, and it is the brain that converts these thoughts into actions by activating the Karmendriyas. Also, note that the mind as captured in statements like - "love felt in the heart", "a hearty laughter", "a brave heart", etc., is centered in the heart but the intelligence is centered in the brain (when someone emphasizes advanced concepts to their students and ask them to think, they unconsciously point to their head while speaking about it). Thus, intelligence acts as an effective filter to mind in an outside to inside manner (have you heard 2 people verbally fighting, and at the end when they make up- they sometimes say - "I hope you have not taken it to the heart !!"). And it acts as effective filter to control actions in an inside to outside manner. In a cosmic sense, thus, mind dominates over intelligence and the purpose of intelligence is to generate super refined higher thoughts in mind - in an outside to inside manner. Conversely, when mind processes only higher intelligent thoughts, in an inside to outside manner, the resulting actions, become great and commendable! Please note the mind itself acts as an internal sense organ - that passes, unexpressed thoughts (through Karmendriyas), and feelings such as jealousy, greed, rage etc., to the "Chittam" and as the same as tanmatras to the divine energy. So, we can consider our brain (intelligence/thinking) to be our tool that is essential for survival. But mind(feelings) is some part of you - yourself!! Having said that and since we are constantly fighting for justice/freedom/success etc., we cannot underestimate the importance of our tool- the brain, since it, the intelligence, is a fundamental requirement when we are in pursuit of excellence. After the Great Merge, it is said that we FEEL bliss for eternity, but as long as the brain of a soul, as part of survival instinct, differentiates the divine energy and THINKS it as a separate God, Great Merge may not happen for that soul.   I presume that for the last 3 koshanas, the energy comes directly from MAHAT. When the intake of this energy stops, (a related term is 'Pranan left the body)', death happens- this is the real death and not the medical death observed in the 1st and 2nd koshanas. We also must think about how the 3- imperfections (Please refer to my other blog - 20. The 3-Imperfections ( mayoan.com ) ) operate in these sheaths. The first imperfection, ‘Anavam’ – operates in the soul itself. The second imperfection, ‘Maya’ – operates in the first two sheaths. The third imperfection, ‘Ganmam’- operates in the first sheath. Sage Patanjali has similar classifications called Kleshas which are five in number. 1.     Avidya or ignorance – I consider this as Maya as above. 2.     Asmita or I-am-ness – I consider this as Anavam as above. 3.     Raga or Attachment – I consider this as Maya as above. 4.     Dvesha or Repulsion – I consider this as Maya as above. 5.     Abhinivesha or Will to live or survival instinct – I consider this as Anavam as above. Thus, we can see how Sage Patanjali considers the Ganmam to be a by-product of Maya and Anavam , and thus has treated it as such.                                                 Reference: 1.       Pancha Prana Vayu - The Five Energy Flows in the body ( yogicwayoflife.com ) 2.       https://www.yogabasics.com/learn/the-cause-of-suffering-the-kleshas/   Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

Before we start this topic, it helps if we understand that philosophy and maths are considered to be fundamental to any human inquiry through a formal system of knowledge like the modern science. Short Note on the field of philosophy: The main branches of philosophy are: 1.       Metaphysics: The study of the fundamental nature of reality. 2.       Epistemology: The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. 3.       Logic: The systematic study of the form of valid inference and reasoning. 4.       Ethics: The study of value and morality. 5.       Aesthetics: The study of beauty and taste. 6.       Political Philosophy: The study of government, justice, and rights Short Note on Enumeration (Mathematics): Let us assume a simple thought experiment. When the first man (let’s call him ‘Adam’) woke up for the first time, he saw a deer. He was bewildered. A little later he saw a pack of deer. He was again bewildered, but this time it was different. Why? Perhaps, because he, for the first time encountered the sense of one and many or the need for enumeration. Perhaps, he was not able to explain the difference and his left-logic part of the brain co-related it to a group of sticks seen thrown on the ground. This sense of ‘numbers’ is what is called as ‘Sankhya’ in the Vaisesika philosophy, an old school system of knowledge. In this system, this sense of enumeration is recorded as one of the 24 fundamental- ‘Gunas’ of the real world. (Please refer my article on the trigunas - https://www.mayoan.com/post/24-the-trigunas ).               On the question of why just 24 fundamental gunas and why not more or less, the answer given is as below (excerpts from the book given in the bibliography section):               Why should we admit just this number? Can it not be more or less than that?               To this we reply that if one takes into consideration the numerous subdivisions of these qualities, then their number would be very great. But in a classification of objects, we are to reproduce them to such kinds as are ultimate from a certain standpoint, i.e., do not admit of further reduction. So, we come to the simplest forms or kinds of qualities. Thus, while one compound colour like orange may be reduced to red and yellow, or a complex sound may be shown to arise out of the combination of other sounds, it is not possible for us to reduce colour to sound or any other quality. It is for these reasons that we have to recognize colour, sound, touch, taste and smell as distinct and different kinds of qualities. The Vaisesika classification of qualities into twenty-four kinds is guided by these considerations of their simplicity or complexity, and reducibility or irreducibility. The gunas are what the Vaisesikas thought to be the simplest, passive qualities of substances.   A thought on the act of creation itself: I believe that the divine energy prefers order, symmetry, geometry, balance, repetition (just not in the shapes but also in designs/models/processes such as in how the planetary system is set as compared to the way how atoms/sub-atomic particles manifest) etc., in the act of creating the real world called Prakruti, on an infinite canvas called MAHAT. This is evident in the way a leaf or a snowflake or the planets are shaped or by the fact that we have a whole body of knowledge called Geometry as part of the Mathematical field of study. The special shape of human species or any other species can then be defined as additional work by the divine energy, to gain functional efficiencies and to enable activities (to generate karma) and to support the act of perceiving and therefore setting the stage for interactions (thus life happens!). Again, to generate motion/karma (to answer questions such as – Why something and not nothing?)  and to disturb the inertia (from initial equilibrium) the divine energy might have created several sub-designs and adjustments, on both Prakruthi (the stage – including the great forms of forces) and the actors (all the living forms) anticipating and enabling all the interactions needed to resolve their respective karmas. The field of modern science probably has not yet discovered all the puzzles, that the divine energy, has thrown at us when it has implemented this grand design.   Looks like the purpose of this creation is to also unravel the mystery behind the creation itself ! Please refer to my other blog too - 5. The Great Merge ( mayoan.com ) . We should also try to remember the scientific method of investigation as followed by modern science: 1.       Make an observation. 2.       Ask a question. 3.       Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation. 4.       Make a prediction based on the hypothesis. 5.       Test the prediction. 6.       Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.   I think that the problem with modern science is that it is limiting itself to the manifested world of the human species only - mostly! Please refer to my blogs titled as the construct of the humans ( https://www.mayoan.com/post/11-the-construct-of-a-human ) and as the construct of the universe ( https://www.mayoan.com/post/8-the-construct-of-the-universe-part-1 and https://www.mayoan.com/post/10-the-construct-of-the-universe-part-2 ).   Now, have such an inquiry covering all the dimensions of the universe been undertaken in the past? Maybe yes, and maybe we have lost some of them in the tides of time!   But we could see that some systems of philosophies are still existing at least in an academic sense. I have created the below data of such systems of philosophies for consideration. We can see the natural human interest to know nature and the purpose of life behind all these intense inquiries. Some of these principles and philosophies went on to become great religions later on. Eventually the ideas around the protagonist and the antagonist too emerged. S. No Name of the system Some highlights: Founder(s) Other Related Eminent persons Remarks 1 The Carvaka system 1.       The word ‘Carvaka’ means a materialist. 2.       Says perception is the only valid source of knowledge Sage Carvaka   This is straight hedonism 2 The Jaina System 1.       The Jainas admit, in addition to perception, inference and testimony as sources of valid knowledge. 2.       Perception reveals the reality of material substances. 3.       Perception, as well as inference, proves the existence of souls in all living bodies 24 -Tirthankaras Sage Vardhamana or Mahavira – a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and the last Tirthankara Mahavira’s time was 599 BCE to 527 BCE 3 The Bauddha System 1.       There is misery. 2.       There is cause of misery. 3.       There is cessation of misery. 4.       There is a path leading to the cessation of misery. 5.       The Madhyamika and Sunyavada school, The Yogacara or Vijnanavada school and The Sautantrika school discusses some metaphysical concepts. 6.       First 2 schools belong to Mahayana Buddhism and the last form to Hinayana Buddhism Gautama Buddha   Buddha’s time was 563 BCE to 480 BCE 4 The Nyaya System 1.       It admits 4 separate sources for true knowledge viz. perception, inference, comparison, and testimony. 2.       It talks about objects of knowledge such as the human body, mind, intellect, senses, and soul. 3.       It also talks about ‘mukthi’ or liberation Sage Gautama   Set in prehistoric times.   5 The Vaisesika System 1.       Allied to Nyaya system. 2.       It brings all objects of knowledge under the 7 categories: Substance (Dravya), Quality (Gunas), Action (Karma), Generality (Samanya), Particularity (Visesa), The relation of Inherence (samavaya) and non-existence (abhava) 3.       The atoms are made to compose a world that benefits the unseen moral deserts(adrsta) of individual souls and serves the purpose of moral dispensation Sage Kanada (or Uluka)   Set in prehistoric times.   6 The Sankhya System 1.       Supports dualistic realism – purusa and Prakruthi. 2.       Prakruthi is the cause of the world. 3.       Talks about karma and Karta (action and doer) 4.       Talks about Karmendriyas, Gnanendriyas, Mans, Ahamkara (ego) etc., (totally about 25 principles) Sage Kapila   Set in prehistoric times.   7 The Yoga System 1.       Accepts the epistemology and metaphysics of Sankhya system with its 25 principles. 2.       Talks about the system of yoga leading to discriminative knowledge. 3.       It talk about the 8 steps of yoga – Yama (Don’ts), niyama (Do’s), asana (Postures – popular in the west), pranayama (Breath-control), pratyahara (Withdrawal of senses), dharana (Attention/Concentration), dhyana (Meditation) and samadhi (Transcendental) leading to liberation.       Sage Patanjali     Set in prehistoric times.   8 The Mimamsa System 1.       Based on Vedic ritualism 2.       Espouses the theory of knowledge. 3.       Mentions that the soul is immortal. 4.       It identifies the 5 outer senses and mind as the organs of knowledge. 5.       It identifies 5 sources of knowledge – perception, inference, comparison, testimony, and postulation. 6.       Talks about law of karma Sage Jaimini Prabhakara Set in prehistoric times.   9 The Vedanta System 1.       Arises out of the Upanishads. 2.       Talks about unqualified monism and the liberating knowledge. 3.       Subsequent commentaries were written by Adhi Sankara ( Advaita  principles), Madhvacharya (Dwaitha principles) and Sree Ramanuja (Vishistadvaita principles) Sage Badarayana Adhi Sankara (c.700 – 750 CE), Madhvacharya (c.1200-1278), Sree Ramanuja (c.1017 – 1137) Reference: Epistemology | Definition, History, Types, Examples, Philosophers, & Facts | Britannica Metaphysics - Problems in metaphysics | Britannica The philosophy of science - Understanding Science ( berkeley.edu ) The scientific method (article) | Khan Academy Bibliography: 1. Satishchandra Chattterjee & Dhirendranath Datta , An Introduction to Indian Philosophy (Rupa Publications 2016) Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

When we are wishing others, we intend to do it heartily. I have found the below Sanskrit blessing to be very soulful! Greetings: 1.      Namaskaram – I bow to you! / I pay my respects to you! 2.      Namaste – I bow/honor to the divine in you!   For the group or individual: 1.      Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu - May everyone, in the whole world, be happy! 2.      Kalyanamastu or Bhavtu sabba mangalam or Sowbaghyamprapthirasthu – Be happy and prosperous! 3.      Ishta Kamyardhi sidhi rastu or sahala Kamyardhi sidhi rastu – to be successful in a task/exam/venture/job/interview etc., 4.      Ashta ishwarya Prapti rastu - May you obtain all 8 types of wealth 5.      Laxmi kataksha prapthirasthu – May you obtain the blessing of Laxmi (to gain wealth) 6.      Sarva kale sukhino bhavanthu – Be happy all the time! 7.      Eshwara karuna prapthirasthu – May all your suffering end by God’s grace!   For Kids: 1.      Sarva Siksha Prapti Rastu – May you gain complete knowledge and learning! 2.      Sukino Bhavanthu – May you/all be Happy!   For men/Women: 1.      Sadaiva Sukhi Bhava – May you always be happy! 2.      Dirghayu Bhava / Ayushman Bhava – May you live long! 3.      Chiranjeevi Bhava – May you be immortal (long-lived! 4.      Yashasvi Bhava – May you be glorious and successful! 5.      Shubham Bhavatu – May there be auspiciousness! 6.      Sarvam Shubham As tu– May everything be auspicious! 7.      Abhishtasiddhirastu – May all your wishes be fulfilled! 8.     If it is fine culturally, to bless someone to get married, then use- Kalyana Prasptirasthu or sheegramey vivaha prapthirasthu – May you get married soon! 9.      If it is fine culturally, to bless someone to get pregnant or to bless if pregnant- then use - Puthra Labam prapthirasthu or vamsa vridhaya prapthirasthu – May you beget a heir! or May your lineage prosper!   Occasions: 1.      Janmadinam Shubhamastu - Wishing you a blessed birthday! 2.      Vivaahika Jeevanam Shubhamayam Bhavatu – May your married life be full of happiness and auspiciousness! 3.    Sheeghram Swasthatam Praptum Shubhakamana- Wishing you a speedy recovery! 4.      Swastha Bhavatu /Arogyam prapthirasthu  – May you be healthy! Divine blessings: 1.      Bhagavan Apko Ashirvad Dein – May God bless you! 2.    Bhagavan Aapke Upar Apna Ashirvad Banaye Rakhein – May God keep bestowing blessings upon you! 3.      Ishvara Tumhein Khush Rakhe – May God keep you happy! 4.      Bhadram te – God bless you!     References: 1.      https://brahminsnet.com/forums/forum/iyer-iyengar-rituals/1991- 2.     Note: I have also used popular search engines to fetch some of the above details.     Hari Om!

When we, the humans, are into realms of creativity, even then, we tend to give much importance to money matters – ROI, Cash Flow, Net profit etc., This results in sub-optimal use of the universal resources and creates a disorderly wake/shudder and wasteful motions in the general direction of progression! Consider this in the logical and physical sense of our efforts towards in pursuit of excellence: 1.   Human settlements such as cities – We see imperfections all around us – city plans, infrastructure, road plans, ring roads, transportation centres, living centres giving rise to inferior quality of lives for not just humans but also to other species, exploitation of resources, decadence related to singles and groups etc., Coupled with suboptimal quality of life, other issues such as corruption, irregular processes, job market conditions for new and experienced, a general sense of being lost etc., show up on all sides.   2.    Knowledge related: Patronage to arts, crafts and creative talents is relegated to the back. Even if the student is from STEM background, securing a matching and just job is a challenge. This along with the state of affairs where the entry to job market is stiff (education is expensive) and exit from job market is also stiff (ideal retirement remains a pipe dream) creates frustration and impacts the very foundations of having faith in good things like God, religion and in being a good Samaritan.   3.   Impact to in-pursuit of excellence: Since the overall quality of life is affected, the state of all humans in-pursuit of excellence is not good. Any thing goes! Quality of exertion, learning, outcomes, remuneration, great commits, faith, kindness, sympathy, empathy erc., are greatly affected. There is a great deal of insensitivity in the group population. Insensitivity leads to sub-optimal selection of choices and related overall suffering. So, when we integrate the singles as a group population, metrics like that of the NGO transparency international is quite appalling and creates a sense of dejection and despair!   4.   If a great percentage of population is insensitive and untruthful, the antagonist begins to win and hence only those in control of wealth or power or position or similar will be part taking of the happy fruits of life!   Some areas of chaos in humans’ lives are as follows just to shift our focus in the right sense: Designing and implementing internet (grids/networks/junctions) Alignment of education to job markets Designing and implementing power grids Our lavishness with entropy, waste, disorder, heat etc., Traffic management Citizens being not aware that they are subconsciously supporting rampant consumerism and completely avoiding the principles of just (not minimalist but just) living. Flow of money is haphazard Flow of resources is haphazard Species other than humans are getting a raw deal More number of relationships are awkward Faith is a business commodity Getting rich quick is everyone’s objective Everybody wants a luxurious life without being mindful about the concept of ‘Praptham’ Trust is hard to find Love is a convenience Increase in layoffs, M&As, rampant outsourcing/off-shoring without thinking about people and their families and the related state of shock of those who were laid off. Food security is relegated to a secondary or more positions as compared to business opportunities and import/export business returns Etc. On the contrary see how the divine Adi Para Sakthi handles the canvas of creation, stages and actions: A place for everything and everything in its place Everything, like water, finds its balance Every flow of energy is a stroke of genius (snowflakes, rainbows, rains, light, reflection, spheres and spheres all the way down and up in the cosmos, nature, Prakruti, soul and its purpose, law of karma, in pursuit of excellence of all living things!) Efficient use/reuse of concepts, colours, frequencies and constructs Her ecstasy in applying the concepts of geometry, colour, symmetry, balance, motifs, patterns, science of lean is mind boggling and educating experience Universally enforcing the concept of ‘Vashudevakudumbakam’ Universally enforcing that everything has a reason and everything happens in time Her rewards and recognition program and the corollary programs of remorse and retribution! Establishing a unshakable faith in all of us that – ‘SHE IS THERE’ for us!   We need high quality political (prime ministers and presidents etc.,), social (kings, governors, queens etc.,), business (CxOs, boards, committees etc.,) and spiritual (Gurus, popes, acharyas etc.,) leaders to the reach the efficiencies and effectiveness of the divine Adi Para Shakthi in our own sphere of influence. Not only that, but the citizens of the world will also have to think outside the box to separate the noise from the signals of life and we need to remind ourselves that change is the only constant and that both the interests of a single life and the various groups depends a whole lot on our collective endeavours!     Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

I came across a fact that I read about in media which states that an average person may need more than one lifetime to finish viewing all the videos present in youtube.com . We have to put such a platform to good use. From where I come from, and which is considered generally true, In the past, grandmothers used to recount fantastic stories to the grandchildren. While ‘listening’ to stories, the young children vividly imagine the scene on their own terms. This helps in visualizing abilities and build their imaginative and creative traits. Nowadays, the parents quickly click a link and show the story as animations. The creative activity inside the child’s brain is content enough to accept what the animation director visualized! As the trend goes, if grandmothers are not part of ‘nuclear’ families anymore, I prefer the class teachers to tell these stories in an slow and expressive manner. We have to encourage simple meditative techniques to our children. These meditations should not be stressful and should not be more than 10-15 minutes in a single sitting. These need not be done on an everyday basis too.  If possible, as teachers, create a scoring program during the meditation sessions, so that not only progression but any hurdles and blocks can also be tracked. I hope, you get the full picture as you read and complete this blog and can improve to include many other things too that you are aware as a child psychologist or as a mindful teacher or as an intelligent concerned good samaritan.   1.      Meditation to increate focus By constantly chanting mantras, like ‘Om’, (long duration, deep bass and slow as in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sYK7lm3UKg&list=RD8sYK7lm3UKg ), the mind learns/starts to stay focussed.   Another technique is ‘flame watching’. (as in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj2OgVEJe8M ) . Please note that it is ok for the child to blink once in a while if he is unable to watch the flame in an unblinking mode). But the flame has to be from a candle or oil lamp and definitely not the electric ones. Use a scented candle if possible to improve the experience and make sure the child is not stressed.   2.      Meditation to increase listening abilities Focussed story telling sessions can help in improving the listening abilities. Also use music with lots of sweet intonations. From the many tones from several instruments used in the music composition, ask the child to detect the sound of a particular instrument. Introduce the tone from that instrument before the session starts. You can also have a scoring system (like the child presses a key every time he/she hears the tone in the composition) to track progression.   Also, listening to music is soul healing exercise. I still remember the tunes that positively affected me when I was a kid. But make sure you use a very hi-fi music system with high clarity and resolution.    3.      Meditation to increase sensation of seeing There are videos with fractal patterns supported with music that can kindle the visual part of the brain of the child. But this should be subtle and gentle and should not create aggressiveness or agitation as in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ouG6L-2L3Q . The fractals should be developing very slow and this exercise should be for a very brief period and should not cause dizziness or discomfort or pain.   Also, there are large, puzzling arts that hide definite shapes and objects in it and the child can be tasked to find them.   4.      Meditation to increase perception and 3D Watching a live drawing session with light and shades of a room with sharp perceptions/projections is a meditation too. This should increase the perception of 3D objects, guessing distances between objects and in understanding the play of light in generating shades.     Also, the kids can be taken to places like fairs and museums that have things like convex/concave mirrors to produce distortion (and laughter too), mystery room that apparently increases or decreases the size of objects or persons etc   5.      Meditation to increase the sensation to smell Scented candles, incense sticks used during meditation session definitely helps in this effort.   Besides, kids can be introduced to different kinds of acceptable smells within limits as a classroom exercise. I wish there are classifications like that of taste to classify smells. As a corollary, the kids can be introduced to the 6 types of tastes and may be made to know about common foods that carry them (please refer to https://www.mayoan.com/post/48-food-as-a-sattvic-constituent ). Please remember that as a cognitive trait, we may close our eyes when we try to detect sound, smell or taste. Let the child appreciate this trait which is nothing, but nature induced focussing or meditating on a particular sensory perception. The children can also be shown pictures of food and ask them to identify the flavours of each food items.   6.      Meditation to increase the speaking abilities Ask the students to read aloud in the classroom sessions. Classic literature carrying popular stories can be used for this.   7.      Meditation to increase the sensation of touch The students should know the shapes (2D and 3D) by touching it and made to talk about it briefly. They should know properties like fine, coarse, rough, smooth etc., They may see a portrait in 2D and can made to close the eyes and feel the bust in 3D and compare the 2D perception to 3D. As a corollary they can be shown pictures of shapes that is present in nature or about videos of men/machineries producing those shapes.    8.      Meditation to increase creativity Ask the students to tell the stories from their minds in an expressive way. At critical places, aid in visualization by showing pictures to them in a subconscious manner. They can act too, as they tell the stories. The good old drawing/colouring sessions can aid in this effort. They can also be introduced to colouring wheels. The children should be shown pictures of plants and trees, and they should identify the name. They should also identify it when they see it in real. (Eventually the kids should be well versed in picking medicinal wild plants if they go to picnic in a park!) Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved

We know that the body has a place for the soul. For those animals, with a spine, the seat of the soul can be anywhere from the base of the spine till the crown. The chakra system may also vary from being rudimentary to advanced. For unicellular beings, the soul can be inside the nuclei and for the tree, soul can be somewhere in the main trunk possibly near the base and so on and so forth. For humans, there are 7 major chakras where the soul can be positioned. Out of the 7, the top 3 are temporary locations for humans engaged deeply in the worldly affairs. In humans the ideal place for the humans for the soul to reside is in the heart chakra. Some transcendental meditation practitioner may move his soul along with the Kundalini sakthi into the temporary locations, viz the top 3 chakras. This may be part of his mediation routines to perfect his spiritual experience or as a sadhana to develop new capabilities. When such a person is ready to leave the world or when is ready for the grand merge, the soul and the kundalini sakthi together may exit his human body through the crown area. A super soul is born if the soul exits the human body, at the time of the death, from any of the top 3 chakras. In fact, if the intent to merge was predominant, the soul exiting via the crown experiences the grand merge and is not coming back! Another important observation about the seat of the soul is on the form itself. If the soul is powerful enough to require a large body but is basal and rudimentary, residing somewhere in the basic chakras, the form taken by the soul can be that of a wild animal. On the other hand, a powerful enough soul capable of taking a human body but with impressions matching that of an aggressive person, may take the human form with his seat of soul being in the lower chakras and this person, born thus, is likely to be aggressive with lot of insensitivity and lacking empathy. When a human soul is connected to the higher chakras, we get what we term it as 'Aathmadehavathigal' (energy loyalists) or something similar to the term 'holy ghost' where the chakra system is in advanced and well developed state. On the contrary, if the human soul is connected to the lower chakras, we get what we term it as 'Dehathmavadigal' (mass loyalists) or something similar to the term 'zombies' where the chakra system is not advances and is in a rudimentary state. The strength of the bond between the soul and the body leads to other important observations. This bond is the strongest when the soul is connected to the body in the basic chakra areas. Such a body (like that of the wild animals) possesses qualities like size/speed/strength and attributes like ferociousness/being territorial/being self-centred etc., For a good-hearted human, this bond between the soul and body lies at the heart chakra and may not be that strong like that of the soul of the wild animal, and this makes his core strength lie in the intellectual space and not in the physical space. His well developed manipura chakra can also lead to the development of strong will power to learn and excel. A studious student is expected to have a strong well-developed manipura chakra. Alternatively, a dull student who can meditate and strengthen his manipura chakra can become studious eventually! A human with the soul in the heart area, may be warm to others exhibiting qualities like love,mercy, kindness, empathy and more. He may have other attributes like inviting others to share his territory and his joyous life styles, playing music just to make others happy or being delighted to cook dinner for others! All these observations are a very generalized empirical observations and we may easily note the exceptions. For example, we have intelligent animals like dolphins and dull headed humans with rudimentary intellectual capability. We may have animals that love us and birds/insects that hate us! What is evident by this is that the various permutations can combinations of souls, soul qualities, residual karmic loads, runanubandha, divine interventions, favourableness of eco-systems with some matching species (not to mention Her eagerness to reuse, to repurpose, to create motifs, to recycle, to use patterns, to use symmetry, to use balance etc., ), the urgency experienced by souls to take births, etc., present us with a bewildering range of enormously diverse set of species just in this earth realm! Multiply the above complexity with 3 of the 5 Panchabhootas - earth, water and air - we have additional life forms with new capabilities. Since "Fire" is considered an ultimate purifier, no life form may exist inside it. Thus the Panchabhoota that is considered much more subtle than fire - 'Space' (where in even the ultimate purifier is not existent) in its purest form may not have life forms inside it. Thus, it is an interesting hypothesis that any life form may need earth, water or air or any combinations and permutations of the above mentioned 3 Panchabhootas only. Hari Om! Copyright © 2023-2048 Vijayabhaskar Natarajan. All rights reserved