INTROSPECTION

Introspection

This is the process of analyzing, rationalizing and getting a total understanding of oneself.

In this materialistic world, it is not easy to get enlightened. We get easily irritated by others including our loved ones. We have too much pride and ego to let other put us down even if it is just with mere words (our pride is dented). We have lots of prejudices against those who we do not understand and are perceived as different from us. All this make us easily agitated and unhappy. I do not understand how anyone would want to laugh at a clown's performance. The clown make a fool of himself and the crowd burst into laughter (as if we are really that sadistic to enjoy other's misfortune. In many developing countries, when your car fail to function near a highway, lot of people will slow down their cars to watch but with no intention of helping. When someone actually try to help, please do be careful as he might be a conman. He not only waste your time but also con you of your money for services not required (he tell you your fan belt is not working but actually it is your radiator that is leaking). With so many sick minds around, it is little wonder that we live an unsatisfactory life.

We have to be rational. Each of us come into this world for a reason. Each of us is given different abilities and talents to pursue each own path and destiny. Some may be living a long healthy life while others might only have a short span in this world. Some will be born in a rich family while others might be poor. So how can anyone say he is in charge of his destiny? You can however try to float along and get the best out of your life. Bruce Lee, the martial arts icon used to tell his students to be like water. Taoism tell us that water find its own path. Water might be soft but it can break through hard rocks that happens to be on its way. If you are in a stormy sea, if you do not know how to maneuver your way out of the storm, you will be drowned. Like wise if you are good at handling wind and storm, then you would be able travel faster. You anticipate the moves of your opponents/life and try to adapt/adjust to it. It is a matter of adapting and adjusting to your destiny. Man can plan whatever he want but it is heaven that decide the outcome. Apparently, we are not in charge of our destiny. Bruce Lee might be great but he have a short life which he cannot avoid. Having make the best out of his life, remembered for his contribution to the martial arts world and opening the doors to Asian actors to make it big globally (as in Jacky Chan)is the best anyone can achieved.

Therefore, we need to reconnect with ourselves. By doing so we can find out our purposes in this world. If our destiny is to be a healer, we cannot be satisfied by becoming a business tycoon. Like an RPG (role playing game), we have not achieve what is set out for us (being a healer) and therefore fail in our mission. Like Mother Theresa who contributed to society by helping the less fortunate in India. She could have enjoyed living in a better living condition but choose to be among the less fortunate. The world remember Mother Theresa not because she is wealthy but because she put other people's comfort before herself. She is known for her contribution to mankind. We must understand our role in this world before we can achieve anything substantial. Even the Ultra Mind Control talks about discovering our purpose in this world and work toward achieving it. It is sayings things that are different from the previous stand of what the mind conceives and believe can be achieved. In doing so perhaps we might also make the best out of life.

Introspection is a practical methodology for sublimating the negative emotions of greed, anger, vengeance, etc., In order to have his character reformed; to get enlightenment and to enjoy a peaceful and happy life, the aspirant has to undergoes important psychic practices under the process of Introspection.

Synopsis
Practical self-analysis tools designed to take stock of positive and negative characteristics in your personality.
Eliminate the unnecessary and incompatible aspects of your character.
Strengthen the habits of good thought, word, deed and discerning and rejecting the habits unwanted.

Five primary aspects of introspection
Analysis of Thoughts.
Moralization of Desires.
Neutralization of Anger.
Eradication of Worries.
Who am I - Realization of the Self?.

These practices will make a man understand the value of his own existence. By constant research and by leading a virtuous way of life, he dissipates the imprints of sins day by day. As a result, the soul becomes pure and perfect and his mind is peaceful.

Benefits
By exposition and practical techniques of introspection, one is enabled to suitably modify his or her hereditary and past traits.
One is able to change one's personality and bring out the latent talent and innate strength resulting in cheerful and successful life.
The process of analyzing and getting a total understanding of oneself. A systematic practice to get this understanding and to lead a life without causing pain to self and others.

Two Fold Moral Principle
In my lifetime, I will not cause harm to the mind or body of myself or others, in the present or in the future.
I will try to remove the suffering of others to the maximum extent possible.

Introspection helps us to achieve the two fold moral principle framed by Shri Vethathiri Maharishi to lead a harmonious life.
While Introspection enables us to identify the necessary steps for bringing about a harmonious transformation, Simplified Kundalini Yoga strengthens and provides the necessary power, to our mind and thoughts emanating from it, to complete the transformation.

Below are the topics covered under Introspection

1. The need of Introspection. The Greatness of Silence.
2. The Philosophy of Life.
3. Analysis of Thoughts.
4. Moralization of Desire
5. Benefits of blessing
6. Neutralization of Anger
7. Eradication of Worries
8. Realization of Self
9. Sinful Imprints and ways to eliminate them.
10. Life and Mind
11. Philosophy Of Mind
12. Evolution of Universe
13. Action Imprints - Cause and Effect
14. Karma Yoga - Purifying of genetic centre
15. Peace in Family
16. Why Men differ?
17. Before Birth and after Death
18. Astronomy and Astrology
19. Evolution of Universe
20. Brahma Gnanam and Philosophy of Action and Result.


Silence Programme:
There is a unique programme in which we maintain Silence in a Retreat . Yogiraj Vethathiri says that when one is silent, God talks to him.

When one sits in a calm place and just keeps quiet, he can observe the numerous thoughts that come into one's mind. Where do these thoughts come from? The thoughts are nothing but the expression of the mind. Mind's frequency is but the frequency of the Life Energy Particles. The Mind records whatever we do at our genetic centre and when we are quiet replays it for us. Our Mind shows that we have all these imprints inside ourselves and keeps showing us these imprints when we get into that state of mind again.

So when we are quiet and silent, when others do not disturb us, we are doing meditation and conserving our Life Force. But our purpose should be during this time to concentrate on the Inner Self, and treasure what we get due to this contact and live by them.

If you would like to know more about Simplified Kundalini Yoga (SKY) or introspection do click here http://vethathiri.org/Home/

Even Buddha ask us to seek inwardly within ourselves. The real Buddha is within ourselves not without. Some people will think I am crazy for trying to talk to my inner self but that is meditation. If you are unable to communicate with yourself, how can you communicate with others (spiritually)? How can you develop any physic ability? How can you be enlightened? This is why we need to do introspection.

We come into this world with nothing, we will leave this world with nothing.

INTROSPECTION (poem) by Swamiji
The state of Awareness

Is the light of lights with which

you should rescue and steady

your untrained mind,

that is now being tossed about

in a whirl pool as it were

of likes and dislikes.


Introspection intense

Would charge your life with love

and consciousness would develop

to trace its origin.

Truth would shine forth

In pristine effulgence

and misery would abate

in the onset of peacefulness.


Then and then alone

Would you be enabled

to terminate for good

The cycle of birth and death ---

Buddhism - The Science of the Mind

All religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism propagate high morals values and preaches good deeds. I am in no way a religious person nor am I an atheist. I am just expressing my views on certain issues concerning Buddhism. I sincerely believe that truly religious people irrespective of race or religions have compassions for all human beings irrespective of race, gender and creed.

Buddhism is a religion based on the cultivation of the mind. The mind is the most complex subject in a human. This involves the person’s character, behavior, value system deciding on what he/she ought to do and not to do. We should be mindful of what we do or say and how it affects others.

In Buddhism, the only thing that is certain is suffering from illness, aging, dying and etc. Since we do not bring anything into this world we will take nothing out of this world. We are all born naked with nothing tangible. When we die even the clothes we wear will decayed and therefore we take nothing out of this world. The aim of all Buddhist is to liberate themselves (and for some undergoing the avalokesvara path such as the Goddess of Mercy Kuan Yin it include liberating all sentient beings as well) from the wheel of sufferings (where one does not get reborn again and therefore cease from sufferings). It is much easier said than done.

Many people think making donations and giving alms would generate lots of merits (kung ter) or good karma. Whether it bears any merit depends upon our own expectation. We should not expect to be rewarded for whatever good deeds done as such an expectation will render the deed as having no merit. The point here is to do things out of compassion for others and without expectation for any reward. The thoughts of helping others out of compassion and not for rewards will bear good karma and merits. We have to treat everyone with kindness and compassions. Our mind should be free of greed, hatred, lust, anger, vengeance and all kind of negative emotions. We should also not be too happy or proud over whatever achievement or look down upon others. We must give up attachment to everything knowing it is transient. We should not have egos. We should be humble. We should forget about our present selves knowing it is only a vehicle for us to get to another destination. Upon achieving all these then only can we see our true nature and achieve enlightenment.

The mode of trainings and rituals might be different in different parts of the world but the above objectives and ideas are still the same. For instance the Buddhists monks in China are vegetarian. The monks in Thailand eat whatever the devotees gave them and in some cases meats. Some Thai monks even smoke cigars bought by devotees. Similarly the lama of the Tibetans order is divided into red hat and yellow hats and their supreme ruler was suppose to be the Dalai Lama until the Chinese Communist took over in the 1940s. The Tibetans eat meat as their land can hardly grow any vegetables. I am not trying to say which system is better. For instance, if we want to reach the top of a high rise building, there would always be many ways of doing so. We can climb the stairs; we can climb the building from the outside like the French "spider man"; we can take the lift:; we can take a private helicopter and many other ways. Some methods are easier than others and depending on what you have in mind, you should choose the method that is most suitable to you. Many people would think climbing all the way to the top to be too slow and tedious and many people does not have what it take to climb to the top. For those who make it through the hard way, the rewards are bountiful and treasured for the rest of their life. These people become stronger and more focus on what need to be done to get to the next stage. Similarly, taking the lift is the simplest way but it might not leave any lasting impression. There is not much to gain here. If you continue to take the easiest way out, it would be hardly surprising that you have no lasting impressions of the training you have undergone.

Definitely we do see lots of difference between the Tibetans Vajrayana order and the Chinese Mahayana Buddhism and the Pureland schools that arises on the beliefs that simpler methods of attaining enlightenment is available. I have a former house mate (and fellow student of a Buddhist temple in Ampang) who claimed he wants to be free from being reborn and free himself from the wheels of sufferings. It is good to be free of these worldly sufferings but when our thoughts and desires are still attached to it, how can we escape reincarnation? As far as I am concern, a person's mind must reach the egoless stage where he care for the general suffering of others more than of himself (he seek no fame and has no worldly desire). He is not hurt by words or deeds of others nor does he hurt others with words and deeds. Otherwise, there is no way a person fill with so much ego and worldly desire can become enlightened. If one is not enlightened, one has no business wanting to be free of rebirth. Such people obviously do not qualify either on merit or on their deeds. If you do not train your minds you cannot hope to be enlightened. This is mere wishful thinking.

Once enlightened, we should try to help other sentient beings to overcome their problems. It is not about helping ourselves and our loved ones but helping those requiring our help most irrespective of whom. This is because as an enlightened being, he/she is compassionate and kind to all sentient beings regardless of whether the person is an enemy or friend. There is, however, a danger of trying to help others when we ourselves are riddled with imperfections. The Dharma expounded by us might be inaccurate and deceiving due to our own imperfect knowledge and understanding. In Tao Te Qing, there is mention of how the most dangerous thing is not knowing what we do not know. In other words, it simply means that if we do not know that we actually are unclear about a certain matter whether it is through ignorance or simply naive, we might endanger ourselves and others by thinking we know. A lot of us are unable to differentiate what is right or wrong. To a drug addict, the drug is medicine while to others it is poison. Due to our lack of understanding of the nature of things, we are sometimes not able to differentiate what is right or wrong. Our perception of things might not be correct. It is when we are ignorant and still believe we are right that is most vile. Nothing can be done to help such people unless they are made to realize they are on the wrong path. For example, meditation is said to be good for our physical and mental health but trying to do meditation on our own without the guidance of a good master can be very dangerous. Some have gone mentally unstable to the extent of being insane. If we were to help an accident victim out of compassion but due to our lack of understanding of first aid, we might actually do more damage than good. The accident victim might become paralyzed due to our inadequate knowledge. Similarly, preaching wrong dharma unknowingly can be the activation of bad karma naively. 

My fung shui master told me not to do healings or give healing lessons for free. He reasoned that people are suffering due to past karma. If we heal the person out of compassion and get the bad karma pass to ourselves, is it worth it? Further, you can use part of the fee received to do good deeds. That is why you do not get cheap fung shui consultation I guess. If we are to care only about ourselves, it would be hardly surprising that we do not go far spiritually. Even if we are to be punished for trying to mess with other's karma, surely we will be rewarded for helping others (not that I really care). It is the satisfaction that you have helped someone suffering from some ailment which the doctor cannot cure and that it is a very good feeling regardless of the reward if any. If the patient is unable to pay you due to poverty, so be it as it is a noble cause. However, I really detest the people who has lots of money to pay the doctor and specialist (who unfortunately could only make matter worse to the extend that he wishes to be dead). Some do not even bother to thank the person that healed them. Perhaps it must be some previous karma.

Some ignorant people will think that calling out to Amithaba Buddha will deliver them directly to the Pureland of the west (Kek Lok Sai Kai) and allows them to attain enlightenment. According to the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng (also known as Wei Lang), if you have not cultivate yourself to an enlightened stage, it is unlikely the Amitabha Buddha would deliver you to the Kek Lok Sai Kai. There is also no Pureland of the West as the people living in the east would like to be reborn in the West hoping for a change in their fortune and vice versa. If the person is born in the west commit a sin, where would he/she ask to be born next? In other words you must have kindness and compassions, self detachment, no ego, humble and enlightened before you can join the other enlightened beings who managed to free themselves from the wheel of sufferings. Imagine the unenlightened getting the chance to become a Buddha, such a person will be egoistic and come with all the imperfections he/she has still not overcome. Even if I am allowed to be a Buddha in such a way (which is actually not possible), I will not accept it as I know, with my imperfections, I am not worthy to be a Buddha (there is always a tingling doubt inside my head reminding me of my own imperfection). Outwardly, we might be able to conceal our imperfections, we cannot lie to ourselves. We know exactly what our imperfections are. Reflect on yourself, listen to your true self (inner voice) and you will be able to see exactly what I mean. Knowing your own imperfections, you should strive to overcome them. At least we know we are improving day by day, gaining more wisdom and enlightenment. To the enlightened, everywhere is the same (Western Pureland). Only the unenlightened would seek for another place to be born in, knowing they have not reached the required level to free themselves from the wheel of sufferings. If we happen to be such an undeserving person, why waste time hoping for a fluke shot to become a Buddha. Why not double up your efforts and deservingly become enlightened. It might take more than one lifetime but so what? You do not need to seek the Buddha elsewhere as it is inside all of us. Seek inwardly within ourselves for the Essence of Mind. As long as the mind is pure, it is the Western Pureland of the Essence of Mind. The real Buddha is within ourselves not without.