Arun Shourie, Prahlad and Hiranyakashyapu

Arun Shourie has recently published a book called "Two Saints", which deals with the dynamics of the experience of typical sincere devotees around a great spiritual master and also on the experiences of the masters themselves. The lives of two renowned spiritual gurus of India have been used as case studies - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Mahashi. Naturally, pains have been taken to look into the details of whatever information is publicly available about the lives of these gurus, but even greater efforts have been made to look into records of various scientific and medical experiments made over the past several decades so that the experiences of the masters and their devotees can be understood better in light of available evidence regarding what the human mind is capable of. At the very least, by subjecting the stories to scientific scrutiny, an attempt has been made to make readers aware of possible alternative theories which help explain parts of the experiences, so that readers can approach the issues involved with greater rationality. Yet, the book is not about "doubting" the experiences which the masters and devotees are said to have had or an attempt to deny some great personality traits both displayed in their interactions with disciple and devotees. It is also not an attempt to deny the possibility of a "higher" spiritual experience. It is mainly an extremely informative book, based on painstaking work, which tries to empower the devotee with a better rational apparatus with which to approach the subject. Here, I do not attempt to list out all the studies Shourieji has quoted or summarize every argument made in the book. However, I hope I am capturing the salient points he is trying to push for in the book. 

1. Impact of austere penances on the mind

There is a saying in Hindi about how even the stone slab on the walls of a well gets marked (or cut) when a rope made of simple threads works on it incessantly, and therefore, how even a fool can become wise by constant practice. How do we then expect the great masters who are known to have been immersed in "God" almost all day for years together to not have had any special experiences? Even if we put aside sensory deprivation (as part of spiritual practice), simply lack of sleep (to discuss spiritual matters with devotees and disciples) can have the most profound effects on the human brain and the neurons that fire inside it. Peter Tripp, a recognized disc jockey in New York who stayed awake 8 days straight to raise funds for an event in 1959, was abusing and cursing by the second day, and started seeing spiders in his shoes soon 

afterwards. Doctors noticed that he had started "dreaming" and hallucinating even though he was awake and records mention that he had turned "crazy as a loon" by the 

end of it. After all this ended, he slept and finally felt normal again, but according to his wife, he was never really the same again after that. This record was later broken by one Randy Gardner, who went without sleep for 11 days to create his record. He too started hallucinating, seeing visions and experienced speech problems within a few days and frequently could not complete his sentences by the 9th day. Sleep replenishes glycogen levels which helps repair cells and generate new ones in the body. It also helps increase the production of a hormone called cortisol, which helps the immune system. By available accounts, the masters had very little sleep for prolonged periods. Yet, they somehow pulled along. This could have been because of the efficiency of yoga-nidra (yogic sleep exercise), or due to micro sleep (like a power nap which gives some rest within a few seconds), or due to hibernation-like states which reduced the need for sleep, or due to "sleep-state misperception" or yet other reasons including insomnia of some kinds. However, it seems rational to suppose that sleep-deprivation could have had some effect on their minds and bodies too. 

Similar is the case of physical / mental exhaustion. Dozens of mountaineers have reported feeling a helping "presence" just when they were at the "breaking point" due to exhaustion or due to the sheer difficulty of the task at hand, but knew that they only way to survive or succeed was to somehow get through the situation. Spiritual aspirants are also known to go through similar exhaustion - although in their case the strain might be more mental and emotional. 

Several other studies support the idea that the brain, when stimulated in different ways, creates impressions which are similar to experiences reported by yogis and mystics. In particular, studies where different parts of the brain were stimulated by electrodes have consistently reported participants experiencing "out-of-body" states, visions of "other worlds", etc. It has also been observed that mortal challenges, schizophrenia, sudden drops in sugar levels, and other tough conditions can break the harmony between the two hemispheres of the brain, thereby causing a feeling of a "presence". On the more negative side, there are benign forms of epilepsy mentioned by Shourieji in which the patient experiences a "certainty" of feeling, and an ecstasy or joy which is so great that they want to have that experience as often as possible. Perhaps there are still some differences between these forms of epilepsy and the mystical states - for example, the epileptics often go into passive states where they "lose consciousness", so to speak, although they are quite awake throughout. In samadhi, on the other hand, bliss is not said to be accompanied by temporary loss of consciousness. While some details of this kind may still require investigation, the other similarities - particularly the ecstasy and the feeling of knowing something deeply and with certainty - are themselves quite noteworthy. 

Yearning for God almost every moment is another characteristic of penances. With the brain, expecting is seeing. At the University of California, research into auditory illusions show that the brain has an enormous capacity to fill in gaps in actual sensory inputs. Four words taken out of a speech, when played repeatedly, start sounding like a song. A person coughs and speaks a word completely unrelated to what the speaker is talking about - yet the brain connects the dots and creates a story of its own relating the two events. Clearly, there is no end to what experiences the brain might have created for aspirants/devotees whose mind was completely immersed in their ideas and who expected connections of a particular kind due to their beliefs. 

2. Suggestibility and Excitability of the mind 

Intense longing and expectation could also have put the minds of seekers and devotees in a state where they would be extremely excitable, nervous and vulnerable to suggestions. Here, Shourieji describes in details the typical mindset of the devotee in an ashram - where experience is the final proof and where one's life may be considered to be a waste if the cherished experience did not actually materialize. Or, where the measure of one's success is based on how true the guru's powers are. Or, the "need" to explain one's failures by something lacking in one's own practice, rather than in the method recommended. It is very plausible that the anxiety of not "reaching the goal" and the excitement of the "glorious possibilities" would make people hypersensitive and cause "experiences" of some kind. This is not to suggest that all spiritual experiences are delusions of  an excitable mind, but it is surely possible that otherwise normal events could be blown out of proportion in people's memory just because of such an excitable state of mind. Experiments have shown that when words associated with age, weakness and slowness were read out, participants in the test tended to walk more slowly down the hallway! When words associated with rudeness were read out, participants were more likely to behave rudely, as opposed to when words pertaining to respect and politeness were read out. In another experiment, participants were asked to mark the closest estimate of the length of a line. One of the choices was the correct one and others were not even close. When not influenced externally, most answers turned out to be correct, but when subjected to an external influence - someone who was asked to read out an erroneous estimate before the others marked their answers - the error rates were clearly higher. Suggestibility can play a very big role in shaping one's behavior in a particular situation - consciously and unconsciously. 

3. Miraculous cures versus natural explanations

Recent studies have shown how many diseases have a natural progression and may get cured with or without medication,simply in due course of time. This is particularly true of some types of cardiac problems, but is also true of some other diseases. In fact, studies have shown equal percentages of cures amongst the control and test groups for some types of illness, provided that the participants were not sure whether they were part of the test group or the control group. In other words, as part of the experiment, some patients were given the required dose of medicine, while others were given only a placebo, and yet, the percentage of people cured in both groups was almost the same. 

These studies have led to two kinds of theories/explanations. One theory is that those diseases follow a natural course over time, so some patients get cured with or without medicine. This branch then asks whether medicine should at all be considered necessary for these types of illness. The second theory places emphasis on the faith of the patient. Since the patient does not know whether he/she is in the test or the control group, he/she tends to believe in the best, and strong belief works its magic in some percentage of cases. There are some other examples of faith producing "miraculous cures" too. In particular, Shourieji documents the case of an old man who kept in touch with journal articles pertaining to his illness - which was considered critical enough for doctors to give him only a week to live at one point. Records show that when the publications he followed suggested that research was arriving at some effective medicine for his type of illness, his health parameters improved significantly. This is how he survived for several months / years after doctors once gave him only a week to live. On the other hand, when published work showed that science was still far from a real cure for his illness his physical parameters would show a clear deterioration. In fact, he died after one such period during which the journal publications were more dismal than positive. Such cases show that the brain may have exceptional powers over the body - manifestly influencing the outcomes in at least these rare cases. In light of these studies, we may need to review our understanding of cases of "faith healing" and similar miraculous cures, which are often attributed to saints and mystics. 

Similar caution is needed in discussing out-of-body experiences in near-death situations. A large percentage of patients in near-death conditions have reported similar experiences of "travelling through a light", meeting higher beings and then returning. However, the details of who they meet, etc., are governed by local culture (i.e., the patients' own backgrounds). Therefore, it seems quite plausible that the experiences were caused by some injury to the brain and other vital organs, and the interpretation of the visions was through the cultural attitudes inherited by the patients. In rare cases, patients have reported seeing what was happening while they were clinically "dead" or near-dead. Some of this is a mystery, and it is possible that the trauma actually helps the brain experience something more than what is normally possible, but even here, scientists have suggested that some of it could be be because patients saw a few things correctly before going into the unconscious state, and from there on, the subconscious mind simply put together a plausible story in a vision seen by the patient. In such cases, they argue, we should be able to find evidences of guesswork and filling of gaps in the narratives of the patients. This is not to suggest that the patients are lying - only that the subconscious mind is capable of creating such images and stories. 

One other reason to re-investigate stories of miraculous healing is that the stories may be affected by selectivity bias. Hundreds of people may have been blessed by the saints on a daily basis - some ended up cured and some did not. After dozens of years, there is no way to go back in time and count how many of each kind were there. True, the masters did not bless everybody explicitly with a cure or reassure everyone that they would be cured in due course - but the point remains that maybe only those stories were passed down over the years which led to a favorable outcome. While we cannot prove that the saints did not have a "higher" power, this is another reason to be vigilant and not give in to the tendency to accept supernatural explanations without considering more natural ones. 

To believe or not to believe? 

The different studies put together by Shourieji of course make the book worth every penny it costs. As if that wasn't enough, he has delved deep into available records of the lives and spiritual practices of both great saints and has not tried to reduce the importance of their extreme humility as human beings and their loving and caring attitude towards one and all. Nor is their spiritual practice considered to be easy or their devotees' accounts doubted as being unscrupulous. Only, a case is made for a more careful consideration of rational alternatives, so that mankind may improve its understanding of what is "normal" and what is "paranormal" in light of the marvelous capabilities demonstrated by the human brain under different conditions. Each such case requires deep investigation, and it does not behoove us to fall prey to pseudo-scientific suggestions simply because we are excitable and want something to be true. 

This brings me to the puranic story of the "demon", Hiranyakashyapu, and his son Prahlaad. According to the story, Hiranyakashyapu prayed to Lord Brahma, successfully, and asked for the boon of immortality. Since that could not be given, he asked for the boon that he would not be killed by man or animal, that he would not die inside or outside his palace, on the earth or in the heavens. This boon was granted, and Hiranyakashapu then became a terror for one and all, including the King of the Gods, Indra, who probably had to leave his throne and run for his life, so to speak. Hiranyakashyapu's son, Prahlad, though, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, and continued to faithfully pray to the Lord although his father did not like it. Worship of Gods (including the Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) was probably banned in the kingdom and Prahlad was among the few to have the courage to pursue his practices. Prahlad was punished often, but nothing could make him deviate from his practice. One fine day, in a spurt of anger, Hiranyakashyapu threatened Prahlad with death and asked if his "all-pervading" God was also present in the pillars of the palace. Prahlad calmly replied that that was so. Hiranyakashyapu abused Lord Vishnu and kicked the pillar, only to find a half-man, half beast appear from the pillar, carry him to the doorstep of the palace, place him on his thigh and rip him apart. It was neither inside, nor outside, neither on earth, nor in the heavens, neither man nor animal. Hiranyakashyapu was thus annihilated by the "Narasimha Avatar" of Lord Vishnu. 

My humble thesis is that both the Prahlad model and the Hiranyakashyapu model are "required" in today's world - but by that, I do not mean to say that evil is necessary. Hiranyakashyapu is a name for risk management. We may give emphasis to children's education, but art and entertainment cannot be ignored either. We want to go to the moon, but hunger and deprivation cannot be ignored either. We want to believe that all around us are good, but we cannot do away with the police or the army either! 

Thus, management of the world is essentially an application of the Hiranyakashyapu model - he can't be killed by man or beast, neither inside nor outside, and the list goes on. In all this, it is but natural that the independent worker feels pulled into too many directions, and realizes that to get anywhere in terms of results, he/she has to focus on one and push forth despite the seemingly lucrative profits which may accrue by changing. In fact, it is not even clear that jumping from one taxi to another produces the desired results - it often leads to stagnation and resulting despair. Hence is born the Prahlad model - focus on one, knowing in your heart that to get any results worth the name, you have to be persistent in your practice. These two models, seemingly contradictory in method, are actually both well-accepted and essential models today. 

Shourieji has played Hiranyakashyapu by forcing us to re-evaluate our beliefs in these contexts and he is a role model. So also are modern-day teachers and yogis like Sri M, who spent crucial years of their youth in the Himalayas trying to find a true guru and learning the truth about spiritual practices and how best to use them in the world. The only difference is that the latter are examples of the Prahlad model - where we focus on expertise in one area rather than managing everything on every dimension. Both these models need to work together today. The truth is that Prahlad's victory is part of Hiranyakashyapu's plan and Hiranyakashyapu's reign is an integral part of Prahlad's vision. 

Sadanand Tutakne

The Aryan Family Tree - based on Ramakrishnan Srinivasan's book

Ramakrishnan Srinivasan, in his book "History of Ancient India", has provided many references which support two main theses. (a) The Aryans were not a barbaric tribe of invaders who entered India in 1,500 BCE and demolished the then-native Indian populations in battle. Rather, they were native to India and actually migrated westwards to Iran, the middle east and Europe; the migrations starting well before the Harappan period. (b) The northern and southern people of India were not separate ethnic groups altogether, although some researchers think that some of the illustrious groups ("devas") may have been natives of the Himalayan region or may even have had extra-terrestrial origins. Rather, this very ancient civilization actually had its roots in the South, in the now-submerged continent of Kumari Khanda (or, Lemuria), after which, the Southerners migrated towards the north and actively helped develop the Aryan culture, which is today incorrectly slandered as having been forcibly imposed on the Southerners by the northern (barbaric) Aryans via wars and subjugation. 

Before listing out the salient pieces of literary evidence provided by Srinivasan, it may help to start by tracing out the "family tree" of the Aryans, based son the Vedic literature, as detailed by several scholars. Srinivasan has summarized the findings of more than a few of these scholars and the summaries seem to agree on many important details, except for the dates. While some have suggested that the "Saptarshi era" started with the coronation of the lengendary patriarch Vaivaswat Manu around 8,500 BCE, others think that the date may be better placed at around 10,500 BCE or even 15,000 BCE. Similarly, while Tamil scholars agree on the idea that there were 3 main literary Sangams and that there are several references supporting the theory of the submergence of the Kumari continent in whatever ancient literature survives today (starting from the 3rd Sangam), the estimated dates of these Sangams vary widely across the scholars quoted. Some have suggested that the first literary Sangam started around 30,000 BCE, while others have suggested a date of around 

10,500 BCE. Regarding other dates like the dates pertaining to the Ramayan and the Mahabharata, Srinivasan suggests that over time, a consensus seems to be evolving in scholars in these matters. While part of the reason could be computers (which make it easier to decipher dates from astronomical data), it seems other evidence based on genetic, linguistic and archaeological studies has also played a big role in this increasing consensus. 

Coming back to the Aryan "family tree", dates apart, it seems that Vaivaswat Manu was the first great king of the Aryans, and according to a reference in the Puranas, Manu himself was a southerner (or, Dravidian, to put it crudely). Indian mythology, of course, mentions several eras, each having its own Manu (first man), but mainstream historians do not expect to find any evidence of a civilization from prior to the recent ice age. Therefore, it is natural to first focus on the current Manu, who, according to the historians, was the first known illustrious king of the Aryans. Going by one scholar's (Swami Sakhyananda's) account, Manu would have been coronated around 8,576 BCE, and Manu divided his kingdom into 10 or 11 parts - one for each of his children. His eldest heir was Ila, his daughter, who married a rishi named Buddha, and her dynasty was later known as the Soma-Aryans (or, Soma Kula, the lunar dynasty). Ila remained the matriarch and "real power" of this dynasty for very long, and this was one of the reasons why women enjoyed a relatively high status in Aryan society for quite some time. The eldest male heir was Ikshvaku (also a name for the Sun God), whose dynasty was later called the Surya Kula (or, solar dynasty). Both dynasties branched out into several sub-dynasties, and most of the powerful sections of Ancient Indian history seem to have been connected with one of these two dynasties. The great great grandson of Ila - Yayati - had two wives, Devayaani (daughter of the Asura guru Shukracharya) and Sharmishthaa. Devayani's sons were Yadu and Turvasu and Sharmishtha's sons were named Druhyu, Anu-Druhyu and Puru. The dynasties of these 5 sons flourished and their further sub-groups were very well-known in the Aryan world - as sub-dynasties of the lunar dynasty. These 5 powerful groups are often called "panchajana" in vedic literature and conflicts between these groups (within themselves as well as with others) is said to be an important reason for the decline of the vedic civilization several thousand years later. 

The panchajanas were known variously as "Soma-Arya", "Siva-dvija", "Asura" and "Brahmakshatras". Famous Asura kings like Prahlad and Bali were Sivadvijas - therefore, clearly, many or most "Asuras" (demons in common parlance) from the vedic literature were none other than sub-groups of the panchajanas from the lunar dynasty. Many other known social groups of the time - Yavana, Kamboja, Saraswat, Saindhava, Haihaya, Pani and Sakas - were also branches of the panchajanas, formed as the panchajanas grew via intermarriage and sub-divisions. Some of these Aryans (panchajanas) travelled to the far east, while others took a western route, towards Iran and the middle east. The names of many places in the middle east are derived from their Sanskrit roots for the same reason. As the lunar sub-groups travelled far and wide, mixing with and adopting the new regions as their own, places and social grooups dominated by them came to be named after them. 

Examples are - Sumeria (from Soma-Arya), Hittite (from Kshatriya), Scythia (from Kshitipa), Ionia (from Yavana) and Phrygia (from Bhrigu). The Bhrigus were one of the Brahmin teacher communities of the panchajanas, and would have naturally travelled with them. 

Importantly, much before Vaivaswat Manu too, nomadic Aryans had left westwards towards Iran and the middle east. They were led by two reknowned rishis - Atharvan and Tvashtra. This migration has been mentioned in the Avestan literature too. It seems that although the group multiplied there, their culture declined, because of which, the panchajanas had to send a group from the Druhyu / Turvasa family to "aryanize" them again. 

The story of the solar dynasty is equally well-known, but not as much for travel outside India. The Surya-Kula moved towards the Ganges plains and established a great empire with the capital being on the banks of the Sarayu river. The legendary Rama, son of Dasharatha, was the most illustrious king in this lineage, but as the Puranas bring out, there were several kings prior to Rama who were also exemplary and are remembered to this day via stories and legends. A few generations after Rama, the dynasty lost its power and re-emerged hundreds / thousands of years later as the rulers of a more modest kingdom in the foothills of the Himalayas - the Shakya Kula, into which was born Lord Gautam Buddha, the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, going by the famous "Dashavatar" legend. As the solar dynasty lost its power, it was slowly assimilated into the lunar Aryan groups, who had themselves, of course, branched off into several sub-groups and clans by then. 

Due to floods around Hastinapur, even the Kuru-Kula - part of the lunar dynasty which ruled northern India during the Mahabharata age - moved eastwards and established a capital in Kushambi. Scholars believe that the dynasty continued as rulers of the easters "Magadha" empire, and that Dhanananda - the wickked king who was deposed by Chandragpta Maurya - was the last great ruler of the Kuru dynasty. Yadavs and a few other sub-groups remained powerful in some areas and are known to have been a mighty force in some regions in medieval India too, but none of this can be compared with the force that the lunar branches were during the Mahabharata era. 

A few other pieces of evidence are due here, to further strengthen the general case that the Aryans and Dravidians were probably part of the same larger family, albeit a very large family with a countless number of total branches. 

1. Swami Vipulananda has mentioned in his book that the Ganges river was a man-made river - developed by the Chola king Alagunandan, and therefore got the name Alakananda. The famous ruler Sagar (a few generations after Yayati) excavated the river, and this Sagar of Manu's lineage is mentioned in the Tolkappiam too (the oldest surviving book from the Tamil Sangam literature). 

2. There is a Chola pass in Sikkim too, because the Cholas of the South had once occupied the Himalayan region as well. 

3. It is univerally agreed that Agasthya - a very famous vedic rishi - travelled to the South and "gave" the Tamil language as a gift to the southern people. Agastya's grammar - called Agattiam - is now lost, but is mentioned by the author of Tolkappiam (Tolkappiar) as a great reference and Agasthyar has been mentioned by Tolkappiar as his guru too. The 18 Yadava clans who travelled with Agastya are said to have been amongst the early settlers in those parts of the then Tamil kingdom (Kumari). So do ancient Sanskrit books like the Ramayana praise the high Tamil civilizaion and the Pandya kings who ruled over large parts of the area. This ties in well with several references in the Sangam literature to the Pandyas and to the high culture of the Tamil at one point. 

4. Historians believe that around 10,000 BCE, the Sapta-Sindhu area was not as inhabitable as the Southern parts of India. This geographical fact ties in well with the general drift of the story, which seems to have support not only from these sources, but also from recent genetic and archaeological studies. 

Clearly, regardless of which language is older, the northern and southern people were in close contact since very ancient times, and did not meet when the Aryans came to invade the south with barbaric aspirations. Most probably, they were people from the same larger culture, which included both northerners and southerners within its larger fold. 

Sadanand Tutakne

Kumari Khanda and the Tamil Origins of Civilization

As a friend correctly pointed out - we can't study history now. That's because it would take too much time to reach a level where you could even call it your hobby. Then again, by those standards, most of us can't discuss current affairs either. But we can still listen to our music. Society accepts that we don't need to justify our choice of music to the others - we can just "do our own thing". Ancient India is also just my own thing - I can't justify it by corroborating, cross-examining or validating what any author says. I have not given it time. But for Ancient India, I am willing to be the brash teenager with headphones plugged into his ears, paying little attention to the sage advice being given by Old Uncle John to the driver of the public bus. You can share my headphones too and decide for yourselves if this is your thing too. 

Ramakrishnan Srinivasan is a man of varied interests, has worked as an engineer, management consultant and industrialist and has authored books on philosophy and religion. It seems he has spent a decade researching ancient history. His book is titled History of Ancient India and has been published by the Art of Living, Sri Sri Publications Trust. It is a must read for everyone who feels that Indian history as in our textooks is a bit incomplete; that we are probably a much older civilization and that there's something wrong with the idea that the Aryans were just invaders from the mid-west. The book tells us that there was no Aryan invasion ever, that the saptarshi era started way before the Harappan civilization, that the Harappan culture was an integral part of the development of the Aryan culture in India, that the evidence much more favors a migration of Aryans from India to the west (rather than the other way around), and that all this probably started in the now-submerged area of Kumari Khanda, south of cape Comorin, in what is today the Indian Ocean. The book is replete with references to and quotations from both Indian and Western historians, most of whom have no doubt that it is time to say farewell to the Aryan invasion theory (AIT), and some of whom have concluded that Kumari Khanda, south of current India, was indeed the cradle of modern civilisation. Below are a few salient points, chapter by chapter.

 Ch. 1: Prologue

1. Indian people were praised highly by Megasthenes, Huen Tsang, Abul Fazl and several other travellers for being honest, straightforward and just. If modern reality is different, the invaders and their culture have a lot to do with it.

2. India was not only very rich in flora and fauna, it was also the source of most of the famous legends in other countries. Most European languages have been derived from Sanskrit and Max Muller himself wrote that the Indian was the most ancient civilization known. 

3. Not only does Ancient Tamil literature contain numerous references to Tamilians migrating to the north, this is also accepted now in various encyclopedic works, e.g., Bhavan's series on History and Culture of the Indian people. While ancient tools have been found in almost every part of India and the question can't be easily resolved,the findings from the pre-laterite boulder conglomerate in Vadamadurai and the favourable climate in the region lend support to the theory that early man in India originated in South India and migrated towards Punjab at the close of the first ice age. Linguistic and cultural evidence also points to this. The brahui language in Baluchistan is Dravidian. The Aryan language, rituals and mythology show a clear Dravidian influence. The seals found in the Mohenjodaro-Harappa region appear to be Tamil, to Henry Heras, who has been quoted and supported by many other historians too. The Harappan civilization is widely held to have been constituted by Dravidian and Austric people. 

4. Tamil is the oldest known language, and the oldest available text - Tolkappiam, written by Tolkappiar - is believed to be older than Panini's Sanskrit grammar. While Tolkappiam refers to many older books too, including the grammar wriiten by Tolkappiar's guru, Agasthyar, these books are no longer available today, except for a rew references and quotations in books like Tolkappiam. Importantly, there is no literature avaliable describing life prior to the last ice age, so our knowledge of civilization (and languages) is mostly restricted to that after, say, 10,000 BCE. Based on what's available in literature today, Tamil seems to be the oldest language. 

5. None of this means, however, that the Aryans were outsiders or invaders, Arya was a name given to the elite. The rishis of the Vedas, who lived in the Himalayas and Vindhyas, were respected and advanced people. Their forbears in later generations were called Brahmins. Many of the Brahmins were Tamilians and in any case, they were all indigenous people. (Earlier, there was a lot of movement of people from one occupation to the other too.) The Vedas have many references to the Saraswati river flowing in full spate. This river, according to modern evidence, had dried up by 1900 BCE. The verses of the Vedas are therefore at least from 3000 BCE if not earlier. No question of them being written by invaders who arrived around 1500 BCE. The Aryan invasion theory seems to have been perpetrated by the colonial rulers for their own interests, Today, with more than 100 years of additional evidence, most historians have discarded it. In fact, the whole concept of race is under question these days, because skin color and many such variations are merely climatic influences. The race theory may perpetrate the wrong belief that the Dravidians suffered at the hands of the Aryans who drove them down south. None of this is backed by evidence. As the book brings out in subsequent chapters, there may have been entry into and exit from this ancient civilization, possibly at times due to some people being unable to fit into the pattern of the elite, but none of it supports the idea of outsife invasions and subjugation of the local populace by a cruel elite. 

Ch. 2: Introduction 

This chapter presents a bit more evidence in favor of Aryans migrating west, rather than being of western origin. To continue with the one people theme, the existence in society of four kinds of occupations mentioned in the Tolkappiam itself has been highlighted.The author also shows how these four strata were not water-tight compartments at that time. The present names of these "varnas" seem to have been given by the Jains much later. The names in Tolkappiam are: Vediars, Vendars, Vanigars and Vellalars. A quotation from the RigVeda has been given which says that no one is superior or inferior and that all are brothers and should strive for collective progress. Additionally, it mentions that the way the Aryan invasion theory (AIT) needs to be discarded, another change needed is to discard a Harappa centric approach to ancient India. However, not much is said in this chapter about the latter point. The story of Lemuria, or Kumari Khanda of Tamil literature, is introduced only in subsequent chapters. 

Ch. 3: The Myth of an Aryan Race 

This chapter again focuses more on the evidence for Indian Aryans migrating to the West and on the proof for the Aryans and Dravidians being one people from the same culture. Several historians attest to the continuity of Indian culture right since 8000 BCE and to the lack of any evidence of any outside culture coming in and subjugating a local civilization in the pre- Christian era. The Aryans or Devas were the early homo sapiens, born of Indian hominid parents, who had discovered fire and used to keep wood burning near themselves all the time. Over time, they mingled with the rest of the groups and tried to lead the others into their way of life. Some of these illustrious ones conducted research into different areas, like medicine, agriculture and technology too and thus retained a prominent position in the larger group. Later, they decided to migrate and make the entire world Aryan. Surely there were groups who broke away or joined in, but none of that matches with the picture of a barbaric tribe of invaders painted by the AIT. 

Ch. 4: True Perspective of History 

1. Genetic studies bring out only two major groups with the Indian people - those closer to the North Indian type have similarities with many groups in Europe and Asia. However, those who are closer to the South Indian type are not similar to any groups outside India. The Southern type is older and dated to about 65000 yrs ago, while the other group dates back to about 45000 yrs ago. While some experts believe that the Southerners may have been the earliest human migrants from Africa, it is also possible that they may have been a proper Indian group. Either way, early Indian humans were settled more in the south. A 1976 study of Afric, India and the Mediterranean shows that only in India (the Shivaliks) do the genes of apes and modern men match. So it is also possible that even the earliest humans evolved in the Indian subcontinent. From there on, coming to civilization after the last ice age, there is ample evidence for historians to aver that the resemblance between Aryans and Europeans is likely to have been due to westward migration of Aryans from India to the west, and not the other way round. 

2. Much more difficult to explain is the striking similarity in the scripts of Harappa, Easter Island and other South American civilizations in Peru and Bolivia. Ancient legends from these areas all refer to technology coming to them from a far more advanced civilization. For a while, some experts hypothesized that this advanced civilization called Lemuria could have been in the Pacific ocean, Ramakrishna Srinivasan says that any such civilization must meet some conditions - it should have some references in ancient literature, its script should also be similar to the scripts in newer colonies, it should have had large seafaring capabilities (boats that could take 200 people or so at a time), there should be connecting links to the later civilizations in the form of pottery, pyramids, etc. When all such considerations are kept in mind, he says, Kumari Khanda, south of the present Indian subcontinent, turns out to be the hands down winner as the candidate for Lemuria or Mu, as it was also called by some older groups. The Pacific theory seems far fetched. No evidence of ancient pottery there, nor anything to prove that there was a large continent there which later submerged, and local legends in the Pacific island theselves talk of some other homeland from where their technology was received. In Kumari, we have all of this. Western theories even a hundred years ago were unwilling to allow a non-Weatern cradle for even the post ice age civilization, for fear that it may diminish the status of Christianity by pointing to eastern civilizations which were more advanced. This is another factor which has led to only a gradual acceptance of the possibility that in the world after the last ice age, an eastern continent may have helped the entire world develop culture and science. 

3. Ancient Indians talked of three main landmasses and seven continents. Sakadweep, one of the seven continents, is mentioned to be south of Cape Comorin in the Bhavishya Puran, and is supposed to have been named after Saka (teak wood) trees there. It is notable that teak was one of the top exports of the Tamils in ancient times. A "Chart of the World" dated 1886, kept in a museum in Honululu shows a large continent to the south of present India, spreading up to Madagascar in the west and to Fiji in the east. The name of the island is Lemuria, Oppenheimer and others mention that Lemuria submerged into the sea in three large convulsions, the last having occured around 1628 BCE, which completely submerged the continent, This is exactly the account in Tamil literature too. With each major convulsion, a part of the Kumari continent submerged, and due to this, the Tamil Sangams (literary conferences) had to be moved north successively. Literature available starts from only the third Sangam, but the first two find ample mention in the available literature. The Lemurians had advanced to the level where they did not prefer to take successive births to work out the mistakes of their past lives.Rather, they worked out their remaining "karma" in another plane beyond earth. This is similar to the Hindu (yogic) idea of jeevanmuktas, who could move out of the cycle of rebirths by self realization. Not surprisingly, therefore, some western authorities are also now convinced of Kumari being the submerged Lemuria. What's more, authors like Frank Joseph, who had earlier considered Lemuria to be in the Pacific, have changed their positions in letters written to colleagues when the additional evidence was brought to their notice.

4. Just a few weeks ago, there were press reports that geologists have recently confirmed that Maldives is just the tip of a large island in the Indian ocean, which today lies submerged. This was in response to evidence put forth in 2012 by geologists from Maldives, which brought the attention of the scientific community back to this question. This piece is of course not in Srinivasan's book, because the book was published in 2015 itself. However, Srinivasan quotes older studies which support the idea that there are islands which were once at sea level in the Indian ocean, which have now submerged. In the reports a few weeks ago, it was mentioned that the extent of this submerged continent is not clea yet, but it is clear that there was a larger landmass around Maldives, a continent which is not seen today. 

This, then, is the true historical perspective friends - as put forth by Ramakrishnan Srinivasan. Kumari Khandam is the birthplace at least of modern technology and culture, from where it spread north to Harappa, Punjab, and then to Europe and Asia. It may or may not have been the birthplace of modern humans. The Aryans were the elite or the shininig stars of this evolving mix of northern and southern Indians, and this began at least around 8000 BCE. The same culture also sent its emissaries (or, perhaps had to send, due to natural calamities) to North and South America as well. Maybe in another discussion, we will look at the next few chapters of the book as well, where the spread of Aryans from the West and the idea of a composite Indian civilization, from which there may have been some exits due to conflicts too, has been further supported by literary, linguistic and archeological evidence.

 Sadanand Tutakne 

Another Yogini - Shambhavi Lorain Chopra

Lorain Chopra writes of her numerous visions as a practitioner with sane and clearheaded remarks which only the learned are capable of in her first book titled "Yogini - Unfolding the Goddess Within". Let me give you a brief on the material in the initial chapters at least. 

Shambhavi seems to have had to go through a sad end  of a long marriage from which she has two boys, who, she says, still love her for who she is. She seems to remember her ex-husband fondly, although it is clear that at some point, she had to move out of the discordant marriage. A short chapter on forgiveness in the book says it all about how she healed herself by using the power of forgiveness. By this time,  she had started on her inward journey and she writes -with no less clarity than J. Krishnamurti - that when we allow the body and mind to go into the suffering deeply, without frittering the energy away into diversions like TV or shopping, then the body and mind slowly learn to absorb the suffering and a deep healing takes place. Forgiving deeply from within, the mind learns to let go and by practicing such awareness and forgiveness repeatedly, tremendous positive energy starts flowing through the heart. She states that the forgiver benefits as much as the forgiven, and that there is some research to support this as well. In a nutshell, accumulated negative thoughts create some malady or the other in the long run. Deep forgiving by repeated meditation on the hurt leads to a thorough cleansing. 

Shambhavi started healing with Reiki, based on courses she took from a Sikh guru. However, she knew her journey was spiritual and at the persistent suggestion of a  friend, joined a ten day Vipassana course as well. She was about to break during the course due to severe pain on the fifth or sixth day, but the instructor felt that the technique was really working for her. Shambhavi continued and experienced ecstatic lighness of being the next day. She felt, and others confirmed, that some unknown lights came from near the ceiling and touched her before vanishing. The instructor had a beaming smile for her when she finished the course. The person who had insisted that she take the course was,  by the way, another famous Bollywood actress turned spiritual seeker - Amla. Amla did some past life regressions with Shambhavi too. 

Shambhavi has described several notable people in the book who influenced her, but it seems the person who can most closely be called her guru was someone she called Ashokji. She took a guru mantra from him and often consulted him on her visions and experiences. Ashokji was always there to help. 

At some point, the acquaintence of two noted academics was made - Dr. Lokesh Chandra an through him, David Frawley, noted author and Hindu pandit, who also goes by the name Vamadev Shastri. Shri Lokesh Chandra asked her to publish her spiritual experiences, and Dr. Frawley is now her husband, according to Wikipedia.  

Shambhavi has written that she did not haveHave any training in Vedic disciplines and she gravitated towards the other major religious group in India - the tantrics. However, during her sadhana after her broken marriage, she says she remined celibate by choice. Male friends with more baser tendencies withered away from her, while those with more elevated minds stayed. She adds that irresponsible sex acts like having sex with strangers - often advocated in tantric practces - could do more harm than good. She also seems to agree that most modern practitioners of the tantra seem to have departed from the real purpose of some of these esoteric practices. However, tantra at its core remains a great way of approaching the divine for her. Understanding the universe and the self as a play of forces, approaching the practice with all heart and soul would elevate practitioners and bring sacredness and beauty to life. Tantra for her was never just a means to sexual satisfaction or other small joys. Yet, throughout the book, she makes it clear that while she was intense in all her practices, she did not follow any major rules for her outward life. For example,  she says, she never gave up her passion for a good cup of coffee.  

Some of her visions - and her other achievements - are listed below. The book contains many more. 

1. During Navratri, the devi appeared at her bedside more than a few times. Sometimes as Tara, sometimes Kali and yet other forms at different times. Once the goddess drew a swordAnd seemed to hit her head with it. Nothing happened to her physically because the sword was not of earthly metal, she figured, but overall, it gave her the idea that the goddess demands the sacrifice of narrow egoistic pursuits.

2. Once Lord Shiva blessed her with a vision of his ascetic form in Kanatal, in the Himalayas, where she was spending most of her time in contemplation and meditation.  They were looking for an idol of Lord Shiva fof a temple and Shambhavi guided yhe artist on the colors to use, etc., for the statue. During the time of prana pratishtha (setting up the idol in the temple by infusing it with life, so to speak), a young girl touched her feet and ran away. While looking for where the girl went amidst the crowds, Shambhavi saw the form of Lord Shiva, the great ascetic, appear before her eyes. The vision overwhelmed her for some time and then disappeared. It was the most wonderful of visions for her - she had been pleading to the lord of yogis for years for a vision, and she had been finally blessed with one. 

3. In another incident, her son brought her to a hospital where a young couple lay injured in an accident. The doctors had given up hope for the girl and were trying to work on the young man to save him at least. The couple was known to her son. Shambhagi blessed the girl and rushed to her guru for advice. The guru told her son to stay, and said that for the son's faith, the mother goddess would surely make Shambhavi's blessing comd true. Shambhavi Came back to the hisputal, channelled the goddess through her mind and body, and passed on the blessings to the girl till the girl moved (showed signs of some consciousness). Reassuring the boy, she went back and then visited the hospital regularly over the next few days. The couple miraculously survived and recovered despite the initial diagnosis of the doctors. 

These are only a few of her marvellous achievements. I would like to remind the reader of her comments on bhakti, yoga and tantra throughout the book which need at least a good deal of education to reproduce - and a flair for language which seems natural only when the writer is extremely passionate about the topic. All together, Shambhavi comes out as a very truthful and hardworking experimenter in the spiritual world. She states clearly that she  always begged ghe great gods and godesses to give her a sign, a proof, so she could truthfully pray to them as a guide on the path. In fact, she says she never just bowed to a diety without such direct personal signs. Sooner or later, the gods and godesses who, according to Shambhavi, live and work in their own mythical time and space, gave her a vision, a proof or something which was enough for her to consider a sign from the powers above. The gods are not separate from the Universal one, but are different manifested forces working for the common purpose of the Universal God. Therefore Shambhavi's visions never make a case against non-dualism for her. The reader thereforeGets a shocking confirmation of puranic lore regarding the reality of the devis and devatas in her book, but with a synthetic philosophy which never denies the impersonal One of lofty Advaitic texts. However, what the reader needs to gather even more from the book is the lesson to follow through with their practice seriously. More than any techniques or methods,  it is the intensity of Shambhavi's practice which seems to have led to her success. 

Sadanand Tutakne

Anusual - Anu Aggarwal's Autobiography

Seeing that it's biography time this week, I picked up "Anusual" from the book store. I had no clue Anu Aggarwal of Aashiqee fame had left Bollywood and modelling for yoga!

For those of you who are equally shocked, let me quickly provide the backgound. Anu was a sociology topper who did some social work for NGOs in Delhi before moving to Mumbai. She did not return to social work partly because her friend in Mumbai did not want her to go back just then. The friend was/is a musician himself. Soon enough, offers from modelling agencies and later Bollywood started pouring in as she seemed to have what it takes to make it big as a model. After months of pushing the idea away and sticking to modelling alone, she accepted the Aashiqee role and liked acting more than modelling, though she had had good success as a model too. Yet, the  of glamour did not fully satisfy her and she found it a bit "fake", in her own words. She had at some point done the full Vipassana course of ten days or so, her family (especially one of her grandmothers) had always been on the religious side, and she was probably always one who loved to give herself fully to those around her. So yoga was the field she wanted to be in even more than acting. She took time off films and modelling to take additional classes and camps in yoga - in particular, something in Rishikesh which was a 6 month residential course it seems.

She worked hard at the course, often doing more service than required at the ashram, because the ideal of karmayoga inspired her the most. By that time, she had had what  others would call many "affairs", but I get the sense from the book that it was always her wish to give herself fully to her close friends. Surely, her breakup of sorts with her first boyfriend did no good to her - it seems to have been caused by her money and fame making him insecure and the gossip in tinsel town made it worse. In the ashram, she found the top guru to be a superyogi who once showed her that he could levitate too - his feet above the ground in a standing position, he moved incredibly fast around his garden. She writes that the guru always showed her special affection, but even the tantric sex he taught her - at least what she writes - was more of a teaching for her to be able to deal better with her sexuality. Jealous women yogis, according to her, had her thrown out of the ashram physically when the guru was out on a tour. By this time, of course, the 6 month course had long been completed successfully and she was staying on at the guru's suggestion.

The course at Rishikesh over, she made plans to start teaching yoga in Mumbai. One day, returning from a party, she ended up in a terrible car accident and was in coma for 29 days. The full recovery took months and years, since she had ended up with multiple fractures and parallysis in parts. It was during this time that she had out of body experiences, in particular, one in which she saw her first surgery from outside her body, while the body was in coma. The day before she came out of coma, she again saw her guru in her mind and she had been having visions of her guru's guru throughout the coma state. When I say guru, i am using my own words since the teacher went beyond the course and gave her additional instructions. She herself does not refer to the swami as a guru - her formal initiation happened much later, after some recovery from the accident. She writes in her book that for a while, she has been teaching from her own understanding, and this particular yogi who taught her tantric sex was also no longer essential to her life after some time. However, it is also clear that she has always considered the swami to be a superyogi, a true tantric, and not merely someone with books memorized and having charming manners.

Now, according to Wikipedia, Anu teaches at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger. She also does some powerlifting! Probably to prove to people that they can recover even from multiple fractures, months of immobility and partial paralysis?

Are some of you thinking that this is not the right stuff to read on Christmas and Christmas eve?

For one, let's also see things from her perspective. We have all seen changes in moods and emotions, haven't we? She acted on some of the feelings which others might not act on, but most of us know what these feelings are and how they arise.

About yoga and sexuality in general, please recall how many ancient rishis were married? Did that ever take away from the respect they got in society? Now, hiding the truth from the people is different, but this particular person is clearly not hiding anything here. Not even her relationships prior to that swami. What's more, even Tulsidas - common people say - may have stopped short of mentioning the banishing of Sita in his version of Rama's story because such complexities may take people's attention away from the goal of perfection. It's possible that there is a time and place for complex truths too, although that is also not the happiest thing to think about. When the goal is to paint a picture people can revere, perhaps some truths may have to be left for another time and another day. Who knows what's best?

Right wingers in yoga have indeed taught about celibacy or at least sexual restraint for monks and serious aspirants, but even that is because the chances of falling from the goal are higher when people follow the path of enjoyment. Not that no one can ever succed in yoga if the path includes some enjoyment.

Is it hypocrisy to not follow through on some desires? Probably not. Man is not just a bundle of desires and craving. There is also thought and education, habit, tradition and give-and-take, all of which are part of personality. The Gita, in chapter 14, points to a state where the practitioner neither hates the state of attchment, nor desires to go back to that state when the attachment withers away. We all know that the elevated mood may feel afraid of the return of any unpleasant feelings and may call unpleasantness a reality due to that fear. However, so is the low mood bound to weep until the elevated or normal state is reached again. Therefore, darkness is not reality. Craving is not truth. Having some self restraint is not hypocrisy. These are normal ways to live now. Focusing on the one may require keeping the other aside at that time, but that does not mean that seeing the one, the other has to be forgotten.

Sadanand Tutakne

A short note on the Laws of Manu

Clearly, if there was anything not implementable in the Laws of Manu (as available to us in the Sanskrit text Manu Smriti), that battle has been won by social reformers and today's Indian Laws and Penal Code are not subject to any of the same criticisms. From that perspective, we do not, today, need to go through the book and interpret or even understand it.

Yet,   one cannot deny the importance of the book, at least as one of the main texts forming the basis of Hindu Law for centuries. Add to that the high place amongst ancient seers given at least to the mythological character of Manu, and the book becomes a must for anyone who wants to understand the expectations from a"religious Hundu" - I.e., a Hindu looking for guidance on how best to lead his/her life so as to attain to that highest perfection which has been the promised fruit of the highest spiritual endeavour.

The first and last chapters of the book speak clearly about the importance of man's spiritual endeavour - the same sacred knowledge of the atman made possible by noble physical and mental qualities and even more so by the act of sincerely seeking the deeper and "true" knowledge of  the sciptures. The intermediate chapters, however,  at first read, seem to be mostly a book of laws pertaining to daily human life (individual and social), outlining what is okay and what is not, and the punishments a king is expected to impose on transgressors.  It is here that the modern mind might find itself rebelling against aspects which social reformers took up hundreds of years ago.  This essay is not to condemn those reformers,  but to make a much gentler assertion that the way the epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) and the hymns of the Vedas are known to contain hidden and implied meanings in many places,  it is quite possible that even this great grandsire of ours, keen to help everyone develop the highest spiritual qualities,  wrote his smriti with a similar symbolism in his heart,  leading to yet another epic with an  obvious physical meaning as well as a more esoteric interpretation.

In fact, the modern times are even more appropriate for such an interpretation of the ancient law.  Now that the seemingly harsher and ostensibly oppressive parts of the physical law have been controlled by social reform,  it is perhaps the right time to ask whether there could have been other implied meanings,  or a context which could exonerate the writings from that ancient era, or simply help us understand them better.

Secondly,  the modern times are also more suited to an inquiry into the limits of man's usual sources of knowledge and understanding.  So if the seemingly harsher parts  of the writings are truly based on a knowledge higher than  man's ordinary knowledge,  then again, today is the better time to discuss and debate this possibility.  Today we have a society fast moving out of blind beliefs, and that includes the blind belief that what the senses see is all.

As to the question- why go for implied meanings and secrets in the first place,  we are told first thst storytelling was considered by many to be more efficient a way to speak to untrained minds. Other than that,  it is also believed that the rishis wanted to protect the knowledge from falling into the wrong hands of those who would only look to misuse,  anf yet, they also wanted to leave enough of a hint for the sincere seekers to decode the true meanings.  Similar explanations could apply to the Manusmriti too.

As to another natural question- whether the ancients could have been misguided on some patts - there is the glaring contradictory evidence of all the higher virtues being preached to the skies by these same texts. In the context of the Manusmriti,  we are asking how the same author (or authors) could extoll non-violence and make it the central virtue of human life, reject meat eating too for a similar reason, and yet in the same book encourage animal sacrifices by saying that the snimals would find a better next life that way. we are asking how the same authors could make the knowledge of the undivided Brahman the central goal of human endeavour, and yet recommend caste laws requiring some communities to stay as outcastes for generations together. we are asking how the same seer could make the welfare,  safety and happiness of women an absolute necessity in the first chapter,  and then warn men in the ninth chapter about how unfit women were for independence, because of their inherent evil and disloyal tendencies.  We are asking how the same text could call parents the representatives of God and yet ask them to retire to the jungles in the latter parts of their lives.

All this points to at least two possibilities.  One - the seers range of perception was so muvh greater than that of ordinarily men that what was exceedingly important to the typical human wss a mere transitional problem of mediocre or no importance to the seer. Two - the seer did not mean to disregard these all-important problems of the ordinary human,  but was rather giving the common man some credit for intelligence,  and speaking in metaphors and symbols which he believed the "right" students would be able to decode.

Therefore,  friends,  let us ask ourselves whether the ashram system really means that one needs to go to the jungles after "x" numbers of years,  or whether the recommendation to retire is more of an advice to start physicsl and mental disciplines, which could aid further development of wisdom?  While the Manusmriti clearly says that seeking and learning thev"right" things is better than merely harsh self control it is quite evident that the additional benefits of self control as an aid to the process are being praised highly.  If our understanding is correct,  then the physical journey to a jungle is not important - what is important is the pursuit of true knowledge,  which could be assisted by some self control too. that we have this sentiment explicitly expressed in the Gita is , of course, re-assuring.

Lrt us ask ourselves whether always guarding women and never letting them be independent really means never letting our mothers travel outside the house door, or , or whether it is a hint to the seeker to not allow his energies (shaktis) to be frittered awsy in mindless pursuits?  Whether evil and disloyal tendencies of women refer to the fickle mindedness of one particular gender or to the nature of our grosser outgoing energies which discriminate little when left untrained by intelligence?

Let us ask ourselves whether the four major varnas (castes) refer to social groups which somehow descended from the mouth,  hands, etc. of the Supreme,  or rather do they refer to the powers of these centres of awareness in the human body?  The lower centres of the body (the legs being the extreme), are to be used in the service of the upper parts,  and in general,  not to be made the final decision making authority.  When mixtures between castes are given a somewhat lower place, are we talking of mixtures of social groups or are we talking of not allowing the mouth to merge with the belly and the heart to be governed by the lower passions?

Let us ask whether punishing by "dismemberment of the offending part", refers to cutting people's bodies up to prevent theft or other transgressions,  or are we talking about the need to reject the untrained impulses of the body when they tend to transgress the injunctions of higher intelligence?

Lrt us ask ourselves whether these ancient writers were insensitive to pain or whether they were at least similar to our dear grandfathers,  trying to open the doors of some higher knowledge for us?

Sadanand Tutakne

The Miracle of Mind Dynamics (or, Think Right, Live Right)

A few years ago I found a nice book by Dr. Joseph Murphy who seems to be from one of the research universities in India. The book was called "The Miracle of Mind Dynamics", and the mind is exactly the subject of the book. There is indeed a law given in this book too - we might want to call it the second Murphy's law - and looked at in one way, it is similar to the other Murphy's law too, but there's a qualitative difference. It tells you how things can go wrong, but also tells you how to get things right.   

The common Murphy's law suggests that if something can go wrong, it will. This Murphy's law suggests that what you think is of utmost importance - in fact, it determines most of the course of your life! What's more, Dr. Murphy does not put this across as a matter of belief - he says that it is something he has studied over decades and puts it as a researched opinion of his, which he has been publicizing through his books and lectures all over the world. In his opinion, the sub-conscious mind networks with subtle forces across the universe to give power to whatever we deeply believe. A lot of us might believe that a deep-rooted fear of accidents can sub-consciously cause accidents, but many of us would perhaps not be so open to the idea that deeply accepting wealth as one of God's numerous gifts (to be used with responsibility) can make us wealthy or that believing in God's almighty restorative power deeply from within can cure us of diseases. By Dr. Murphy's logic, if the belief was that deep, the sub-conscious would start networking with the subtler forces of nature to make it happen, and so, there is no "mystery" about it. 

The book mentions several examples where the power of belief, when harnessed properly, ultimately generated desired results. In one case, a businessman who had not been walking for over five years due to various medical problems left his crutches within four months and started walking again. In another case, someone who had lost his wealth opened his mind to the idea that wealth too, was a gift of God (like nature's snowflakes) and started mentally opening up to the idea that wealth was "good". Over time, he became very successful and attracted a lot of wealth and happiness too. 

This logic has implications for many things we normally do in our daily lives. While I can't claim to remember all here, I can list some that immediately come to mind. 

1. For people with spiritual aspirations (monks and others), it won't do to simply have the body engaged in holy activities and the mind elsewhere. Dr. Murphy reminds us here of an old story in which a monk whose mind was always full of hatred for a woman who lived nearby and had an occupation which wasn't considered noble ultimately found himself outside of heaven, while the woman who lived nearby found herself in heaven after her worldly life because her mind was always on the monks next door who reminded her, every moment, of God and his greatness. Shankaracharya was another great proponent of the idea that the mind plays an overwhelmingly important role in the attainment of self-realization, and that mere physical prayer - or, outward discipline - would not be enough. Dr. Murphy's logic implies the same - and this is his researched opinion, not just his belief. 

2. Since there is something called a subtler realm, it is better, according to Dr. Murphy, to give loving and warm wishes to our departed loved ones for their journey ahead. The subtle body can feel the pain and suffering of its near and dear ones and it is not a great idea to pull it back to the world by constantly grieving. Rather, good wishes with a calm heart would tend to calm the subtle body of the departed too, and would perhaps leave it in a better "state of mind" for its journeys ahead. 

3. Nothing comes without a price, agrees Dr. Murphy, but what exactly do we mean by this "price"? In the context of healing through faith, Dr. Murphy says that the price one has to pay is simply the cultivation of faith and deep belief in God's complete power over all forces of nature. The price is not suffering taken somewhere else. The feeling that the price of God's miracles is typically to suffer pains elsewhere is incorrect and perhaps a result of ignorance on part of people. This does not mean that Dr. Murphy wants people to get pulled into the nexus of desire and unending want, but it does mean that by themselves, desires are not "wrong" or "right". What is important is that we do not start going against God's laws in trying to get what we want. 

4. What we think is immensely important - not only on the spiritual scale but also on the worldly. Before giving in to weakness, think twice. Before giving up faith, think twice. Think always on the positive side - i.e. think of health rather than of a damaged organ. Your sub-conscious will help you get health, wealth, material desire, success or whatever you deeply keep inside your mind, but if it finds fear of accidents or depressing thoughts of failure in there, then it might network with other forces of nature to bring about exactly those other things - those which you wanted to avoid like a nightmare, but which you strengthened in your heart and mind by dwelling upon too much.

Sadanand Tutakne