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Dr K K Aggarwal

Mar 12

10

Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow on Science vs Spirituality

By Dr KK
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Evolution of science is based on logics earlier and experimental science later. Science is about the one which is observed. It is objective and not subjective.  Science considers that brain secretes consciousness like pancreas secretes insulin. In science the outcome is predictable. It provides knowledge. Science is based on subject object split.

On the other hand the spirituality is about the observer, is subjective and unpredicted.  It provides wisdom. A scientist will make a plane but a spiritual scientist will all the time think of making  plane that does not harm.

Science and spirituality will be complete only when it can explain the observer, the process of observation and that which is being observed.

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Feb 12

29

Am I The Same Every Time You Meet Me?

By Dr KK
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No if you listen to Dr. Deepak Chopra who says that you make a new liver every 26 weeks, a new skin every month, a new skeleton every 3 months, a new brain cell every year and a new DNA every six weeks. If you watch the account of every atom in the body, it is replaced in less than 2 year.

Every second, one is renewing one’s body more easily than before. The physical body you have now is not the same you had an hour before. With each act of breathing, you inhale 1.022 atom from the universe.

It is a raw material that comes from everywhere and ends up as renewed cellular structure in the body. Similarly, with each exhale, you breathe out 1.022 atom. You are literally breathing out, pieces of organs and DNA structure.

Therefore, we are intimately sharing our internal structure with each other all the time. You cannot claim exclusively over your body and now the entire physical body you have has millions of atoms that were once in the body of Christ, Mohammad Sahab, Mahatama Gandhi and everyone else, everyone that has ever existed. A part of their raw material is there in your body. In just the last three weeks, quadrillion atoms have gone through your body that have gone through the body of every other person.

You replace your almost entire body once in a year. 98% of all the atoms in your body are replaced in less than 1 year.

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Feb 12

23

Four Ways Of Combating Negative Thoughts

By Dr KK
Filed Under Spirituality - Science Behind Rituals | Tagged With: , , | | 3 Comments»

Darkness is absence of light so are negative thoughts which are absence of positive thoughts. As per Deepak Chopra Negative thoughts can only be removed by inculcating positive thoughts. Vedanta has described various modalities regarding the same.

1.  Adi Shankarya in his book Bhag Govindum described that the negative thoughts can be modified (think differently) . He said that once a monk encountered a female with no cloths over the chest, instead of closing the eyes, he looked at them and imagined them as the organs from where he drank the milk while he was an infant. The initial vitiated thoughts vanished there and then.

2. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali has described that for negative thought one can willfully originate opposite thoughts (think opposite). For example if one is having a thought of stealing he or she can silently pass on the thoughts of charity to someone.

3. Buddha on the other hand said that to resolve negative thoughts one should think of any positive thoughts or do any positive acts, even if they are unrelated. (think positive)

4. Face and be aware of the negative thought as it will be only transient (do not think at all, let it happen): There’s a classic Zen story about two celibate monks who are walking on a pilgrimage. They come across a girl who is very lovely and beautiful who wants to cross the river. The young monk gets attracted to her, offers help and says, “I’ll take you on my shoulders and carry you across the river and drop you off on the other side.” He does that, and the two monks continue on their pilgrimage until after a while the old monk starts to have a frown on his face.

He’s upset. Six hours, seven hours go by, and finally he looks at the young one and says, “I can’t believe you did that.” “Did what?” the young monk asks. “You carried that woman on your shoulders.” “I dropped her off six hours ago,” the young monk says. And to the old monk he further responds, “But you’re still carrying her.”

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Dec 11

5

Ecstasy or Permanent Bliss

By Dr KK
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Dharma, artha, kama and moksha are the four purposes of life with which all of us are born with. Most of us think that one attains moksha only at the time of death. It is said that a person who achieves moksha goes to heaven and the others take a re-birth and come back. Read more

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Nov 11

21

Why is Gayatri Mantra one of the Main Mantras in any Pooja?

By Dr KK
Filed Under Spirituality - Science Behind Rituals | Tagged With: , , , , , | | 1 Comment»

Any activity should always engage the 3 H model – of Heart, Head, and the Hand. The same has been advocated by the western scholars of today. The concept means that while doing any work one should ask the head for choices and then refer these choices to the heart to choose one and finally order the hands to do the action.

Deepak Chopra also talks about this in great details in his book ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’. He writes that conscious-based decisions are the best decisions. Before taking any decision he recommends asking the body for the signals of comfort or discomfort and if the signals of discomfort are perceived, then one should not indulge into that action.

All the above concepts come from our ancient Vedic knowledge. The two main mantras are the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra and the Gayatri Mantra.

The Mahamritunjaya Mantra comes from the Rig Veda. This is the greatest reliever from all evils and reads as under: Aum Trayambakam Yajamahe, Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam, Urva Rukamiva Bandhanan, Mrityor Mokshiye Mamritat. It means we worship Shiva – The Three-Eyed Lord; who is fragrant and nourishes all beings; May he protect us (bandhan) from all big (urva) diseases (aarookam). May he liberate us (mokshiye) from death (mrityor), For the sake of immortality (mamritat, amrit); as the cucumber is automatically liberated, from its bondage from the creeper when it fully ripens.

The meaning of the manta is the importance of the third eye and the benefits of its opening. The two eyes are at the level of the physical body. The third eye means the eyes of the mind and the eyes of the soul. It also indicates that in difficulty one should look inward from the eyes of the mind and ask for the choices. Like the cucumber, one should chose the good ones and drop the bad choices. (Jo acha lage use apna lo; Jo bura lage use jaane do).

The mantra for the conscious-based decision comes from Gayatri Mantra. The same reads as Om Bhur Bhuva Svah Tat Savutur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayaat. It means that we meditate on the glory of the Creator; who has created the Universe; who is worthy of Worship; who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light; who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance; may He enlighten our Intellect. It talks about the importance of conscious-based decisions and its directions to the intellect to choose the right and not the convenient actions.

The Gayatri Mantra is the Vedic prayer to illuminate the intellect. Gayatri is considered as Vedasara or “the essence of the Vedas.” Veda means knowledge, and this prayer fosters and sharpens the knowledge-yielding faculty. As a matter of fact, the four mahavakyas or ‘core-declarations’ enshrined in the four Vedas are implied in this Gayatri mantra.

Choosing the right decision from the consciousness was later defined by Buddha. He taught that before any action ask yourself the following four questions and if the answer to any of the question is no, not to indulge in that actions. These four questions are:

  • Is it the truth?
  • Is it necessary?
  • Will the action bring happiness to you?
  • Will the action bring happiness to others?
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Nov 11

20

Why do we pray on the day of marriage?

By Dr KK
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Addressing the spiritual needs of a person facilitates recovery from any mental stress. Religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes.  In prayer we talk to God. In meditation, GOD talks to us. Prayer is like inserting intent in the field of consciousness and meditation is akin to formatting our hard disk.

Most people pray either at home in the prayer room or go to a temple that is often situated far away and usually at a great height.

Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar where they light a lamp everyday and worship the Lord. The room is also used for japa (reciting the Lord’s name repeatedly), meditation, parayana (reading of the scriptures), prayers or devotional singing.

For those who believe in dualism (Dwaita philosophy) God is present every where and is the true owner of the house. The prayer room is the Master room of the house that belongs to him and we are only the caretakers of His home.  He is always with us in every difficulty and decision making. We invoke His grace and blessings by communing with Him on the day of marriage.

In any house the drawing room is for receiving guests and kitchen for cooking. The furniture, decor and the atmosphere of each room is made favorable to the purpose it serves. So for worship or prayer, we have a conducive atmosphere in the form of a prayer room where sacred thoughts and sound vibrations pervade the place and influence the minds of those who spend time there. Even when we are tired or agitated, by just sitting in the prayer room for a while, we feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted.

For believers of non dualism (Adwaita philosophy), God is within us and prayer room is the place to be in silence and to be aware of the God within us. In yoga, it is said that only in silence can one be in touch with all the powers of the spirit. A prayer room is the place to experience that silence.

True silence is the silence between the thoughts and represents the true self, consciousness or the soul. It is a web of energized information ready to take all provided there is a right intent. In his book ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,’ Deepak Chopra talks in great detail about the importance of observing silence. He recommends that everyone should observe silence for 20 minutes everyday. Silence helps to redirect our imagination towards self from the outer atmosphere.

Silence is cessation of both sensory and mental activity. It is like having a still mind and listening to the inner mind. Behind this screen of our internal dialogue is the silence of spirit. Meditation is this process of achieving silence, which also combines alongside, the art of observation.

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Nov 11

6

The Soul of Leadership

By Dr KK
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Being a leader is the most crucial choice one can make – it is the decision to step out of the darkness into the light.

Leadership:  You can’t get away from it. We want and look up to leaders, want to be leaders and are leaders. The definition, traits, skills and experiences of leadership are constantly evolving, like shifting sands. What we knew yesterday, we rethink today and know it would probably be different tomorrow. The collective consciousness of the universe defines and redefines leadership. In my personal and professional growth and development I have learned from leaders around me and have been in leadership positions myself. I have learned from good and not-so-good leadership.

Over the last decade, I have become increasingly interested in and pursued what is called the ‘soul’ of leadership, which is also the title of Deepak Chopra’s most recent book. In this book Chopra reveals the qualities that have propelled history’s greatest leaders – among them Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Buddha. But, why the soul?

Jane Hope, in The Secret Language of the Soul says: “Throughout the ages, a belief in the inner ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ has contributed a unique and valuable dimension to our lives. The roots of these words (in many languages) connect with the idea of the breath or the ceaseless movement of the wind over the Earth. Like the breath and the wind, the soul is invisible.  Our awareness of the spiritual is intuitive, achieved through deep instinct that speaks to us of the interconnectedness of all living things. It’s the soul that informs the compassion we feel for other human beings and that suffuses the mundane with the sense of the sacred. It is the soul that translates incident into experience and knowledge into wisdom.”

And, says Deepak Chopra, our souls offer us the highest inspiration at every moment: “With our minds we may see chaos, but the soul knows there is an underlying order and seeks to find it. Until we turn to the quiet wisdom of the soul, we will continue to fall back on old habits and answers in response to new challenges.” Chopra points out that the great leaders (Mandela, Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi) undertook their journeys based on the soul’s awareness and used this to tap into a source of wisdom that remains with us even today.

In short, says Chopra (and I agree with him), inspired leaders are those who can respond to their and others needs from the higher levels of spirit with vision, creativity and a sense of unity with the people they lead. And, in any group there are members who act out two basic themes – needs and response.  Needs range from the basic need for food and shelter to higher needs of self worth, love and spiritual meaning. Responses are those that fill that need, ranging from struggle to competition to creative discovery and divine inspiration.

Leaders need to be aware of this hierarchy of needs and their response, and to continue to respond effectively as the group’s needs move up from basic to spiritual. This, says Chopra, is the most powerful thing a leader can do.

Contributed by Anita Anand

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Oct 11

9

Which prayer is chanted in every pooja or havana at the Start or the end?

By Dr KK
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The Infinite Powers of the Spirit

“Om Poornamadah
Om Poornamadah Poornamidam
Poornaat Poornamudachyate
Poornasya Poornamaadaaya
Poornameva Avasihyate”

The whole is whole; if you take away the whole away from the whole the whole will still remain. (That is infinite, this is infinite, from the infinite, and the infinite has come out. Having taken the infinite out of the infinite, the infinite alone remains).

(In Vedanta “That” represents super consciousness, God or the Brahman and “This” the visible universe)

Atman, which makes up our body, is 99.99% space and if we look at the rest, it is also nothing but space or void. This void or ‘akasha’ is what is called Brahman, God or consciousness and is a web of energized information.

This web of information of inner space called inner consciousness is the Atman or the Soul. This is connected with the outer space in the universe having a similar web of energized information called the Spirit or Brahmand.

This spirit has been given many names by different religions. Allah (Islam), Buddha (Buddhism), Brahman (Hinduism), Christ (Christianity) or Wahe Guru (Sikhism), all signify the same. This spirit, the energized field of information, is a powerful expression of live energy which can move faster than the speed of light. Soul is nothing but an individualized expression of the spirit.

This energy containing information in the spirit cannot be seen, felt, touched, tasted or smelt. It is beyond the perception of five senses. One cannot destroy it with a weapon, fire, water or air. This consciousness is embedded in the space of each and every cell of the body. It is like sugar added to the milk. Once added, you cannot find it as it gets embedded with each and every drop of the milk.

Soul originates from the spirit. Each soul differs from the other by way of the subtle layer of consciousness called the ‘sukshma sharira’ which is controlled by the triad of actions, memories and desires.

Spirit is like light, which is always positive and only removes darkness. The basic nature of the consciousness is “truth and bliss”. The soul and the spirit are devoid of hatred, anger or jealousy and are full of unconditional love. They are nothing but a treasury of information about everything. This infinite information is capable of doing anything, including miracles.

It is like the flame of a candle, which can light an infinite number of candles, while still retaining its illumination to the same degree.

Dr Deepak Chopra once said that the soul is like the voice of Lata Mangeskar coming out of a radio, and even if you break the radio, you will find no Lata Mangeskar in it. Similarly, even if you cut the body into pieces, you cannot find the physical presence of the spirit.

Spirit is present all over, be it the universe or the living beings. Any amount of spirit taken out from it will not make any difference to the spirit.

In religious terms, the infinite or the vastness is equated and described by the blue color, and that is one reason why most of the gods are represented by the blue color, or are shown in the background of blue sky. This only represents the vastness and infinite character of the consciousness.

One of the Gurus explained to his disciple the description of the spirit by the following equation. 1×1=1, 1/1=1 or, in other words everything is one. One can also explain it by the equation that infinity when added, subtracted, multiplied or divided by infinity will result in infinity only.

This infinite potential in our mind is present in between the thoughts and can be experienced by enabling oneself to go in between the thoughts by a process called mediation. One can experience the silent gap between the thoughts either with the use of primordial sound mantra as a vehicle or by way of yoga. People who have learnt meditation and have achieved the ability to go into the silent gaps can accomplish everything in their life using the principles of intention and attention. After any intention is introduced in the silent gap, a new reality can be created.

“That which is born of the flash is a flash; that which is born of the spirit is spirit”(John)

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