Facts about Buddhism

 

What are some mind-blowing facts about Buddhism?

What are some fascinating facts about Buddha?

1. He said, “I am not God. I am not a Deva. Nor am I a Human… I am the Awakened one, who has seen the Truth of the world.”
2. He did a meticulous analysis of the mind in such a way that he was able to count all the atoms in his body.
3. He said, “Nothing in this world is solid.” The modern meaning of which is that everything is made up of atoms and these atoms are repeatedly broken down and reformed.
4. He was famous for another reason that he taught people of all languages ​​in their own language whoever met him. Although he chose the Pali language of the common people during discoursing in the assembly.
5. No animal would ever harm him while meditating in the deep forest. It is believed that the animals were attracted to him, they looked at him calmly because of the power of his Metta/compassion.
6. He gave the theory of rebirth. He observed himself spontaneously and said that he had become Buddha in this birth because of the good deeds of all previous births.
7. He said that the ultimate goal of life is Nibbana, which means liberation from the cycle of life and death.
8. A serial killer like Angulimala who killed 999 people, city prostitute like Amrapali, logical philosopher like Upali who challenged Buddha, all of them were initiated into his religion and became Arhants!
9. From a very young age he would never make jokes, never gossiped, never made fun, but always had a glimpse of smile on his face that fascinated everyone.
10. One day, while the he was going for alms, a little boy picked up a bowl of dust in front of the Buddha. The Buddha smiled softly and took the alms bowl forward. When Ananda asked the reason for Buddha's laughter, Buddha said, “This boy will reborn in the city of Pataliputta 239 years after my parinibbana (death) and will be the Chakkavatti emperor and will make history by building 84,000 metal temples for the benefit of Buddhist rule.” He was no one else, the Emperor Great Ashoka!
11. He had a very good look, blue eyes, broad shoulders, long ears, mild curly hair and was full of compassion and mercy. It is said that a golden halo would come out of his fair body.
12. He was born, enlightened and attained parinibbana on the same day. This day is the full moon of Baishakhi (May).
13. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ananda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka are attributed to his pure recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council.
14. Today his religion is considered the most scientific religion and there are some variations of it, it happened over time. The Buddha gave such knowledge of mind and body as it really is, not in the way of any religious belief!
15. The monk has always fasted in his life and taught by traveling long distances on foot till his Nibbana.
16. After attaining enlightenment, he reunited with his family and guided his father, mother, wife and son to Nibbana. Happy family!
17. This great scientist was born more than 2500 years ago and his non-violence, Metta/friendship teaching and meditation techniques are still practiced which is appreciated all over the world.

18. The most fascinating thing about Buddha is that we can see him as a Human like us!

A man with a beautiful mind. He is not God, nor a god, nor a prophet. He is perfect just as a human being. Lived and died like human beings. There is no promise of heaven in his religion. No threat of hell. No need to pray. No compulsory to follow him. No mandatory rituals.

Following his teachings makes one a better person. The Dhamma is not harmed if one does not follow it. He/she will just miss the opportunity to be a better human.

Brahman

How is Brahman conceptualized in Hinduism?

Brahman is indescribable. Wish me luck because I am going to do the exact opposite by trying to describe Brahman in great detail.

Is Brahman some kind of energy?

According to the Vedanta, “Brahman can neither be created nor destroyed”. Wait a minute. We have heard this before as part of the first sentence of the first law of Thermodynamics which says "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed". Putting the two together we can deduce that Brahman is some kind of energy. According to scriptures, Brahman is the life principle and Brahman provides Sentience as it shines as Consciousness in the mind. Hence I would like to call Brahman, Atman as Sentient Life Energy.

Did we conclude in haste that Brahman is Energy? Let us examine further the descriptions of Brahman found in the scriptures.

In Katha Upanishad, in Verses 1.2.18 and 1.3.15, the Life Principle, Brahman is described as "not born and does not die. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, without sound, without touch, without form, without decay, without taste, without smell, without beginning, without end, eternal, unchanging and cannot be destroyed".

Bhagawad Gita (2.21. - 2.25) describes the Brahman as “indestructible, eternal, unborn, unthinkable, unchangeable. It cannot be cut by a sword, burnt by fire, wetted by water, dried by air”.

Please try to apply the above descriptions to any energy we are aware of such as heat energy, light energy, gravitational, electrical, magnetic, wind, solar, nuclear, mechanical, potential, kinetic, etc. We observe that all the descriptions perfectly apply to all of these energies.

So I feel that we could conclude that Brahman is some kind of energy yet to be discovered by science and it is different from all the energies discovered so far. The two main differences are 1) Brahman provides life and 2) Brahman provides Sentience, Consciousness.

I also found that in the Upanishads the exact word Shakti (Energy) is used. Svetashvatara Upanishad 1.3 calls the Life Principle as “Atma Shakti” and Kaivalya Upanishad 1.21 calls it as “Achintya Shakti” meaning “Incomprehensible Energy”.

Just like there are no two but only one electrical energy, only one heat energy, etc. the Upanishads also say that the Brahman, the Life Energy is also not two but only one "Ekam Eva Advitiyam Brahma" which is mentioned in Chandogya Upanishad (6.2.1).

When a light bulb goes bad it does not mean that the Electrical Energy “goes away” from the bulb. It only means that the bulb has lost the capability to manifest the Electrical Energy though the Electrical Energy is very much present.

In the same way Brahman / Atman does not “go away” from the body. The body at some point of time loses the capability to manifest the Atman though Atman is ever present. Bhagavad Gita (2.18) says that the body has an end and it is called death but Brahman / Atman is eternal.

Verify that Brahman is Energy

Let us take an example of a Video Camera and we all know that it cannot function on its own and requires Electrical Energy to function. Same is the case with other devices such as a microphone and a loud speaker. They just cannot function on their own without the help of Electrical Energy.

Now consider our eyes, ears and tongue which are similar to video camera, microphone and loud speaker. Can our eyes, ears and tongue function on their own without the help of some energy? No!! says Kena Upanishad (1.1 - 1.8). Each of our body parts and for that matter every single cell in our body requires some force or energy to function. We can call this energy as Life Energy or Brahman or Atman.

That's the reason when a person dies, at that moment though the eyes may be good but still cannot function. Whereas once the same eyes within the stipulated time are transplanted into another living body the eyes become functional again. That means something that is present in the living body is missing in the dead body. We all know that what is missing is Life and Sentience which implies that Sentient Life Energy is missing in the dead body. Brahman, the subtle energy not only provides life and sentience but also energises all organs and every single cell in the body.

The second sentence of the first law of Thermodynamics states that "Energy can be converted from one form to another". That means say if heat energy is noticed then it can't be due to some magic but because some energy got converted into heat energy.

We notice the presence of heat energy in our body, electrical energy in our nervous system, chemical energy in our digestive system, mechanical and kinetic energy when we move our hands and limbs, produce sound energy, etc. According to Upanishads all these are due to Brahman and hence Brahman is the energy that is getting converted into all these different forms of energy.

Where is Brahman?

Chandogya Upanishad (3.14.1) says "Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma" meaning "All this is Brahman". The very first verse of Isavasya Upanishad begins with "Isa Vasyam Idam Sarvam" meaning Brahman pervades everywhere.

According to the Upanishads, just like the inexhaustible gravitational energy pervades the entire earth, the inexhaustible solar energy (for all practical purposes) pervades the solar system in all directions, the inexhaustible Brahman pervades the entire space in all directions. There is no place in this vast infinite space where Brahman is not present.

Broadcasted radio signal pervades all around us and a radio in a car tuned into that particular frequency can make use of those signals even while moving. It makes me think that we are pervaded by the inexhaustible Brahman, our body and mind get energised by the all pervading Brahman just like a radio makes use of the all pervading signals. That's why Brahman or Atman should never be translated as "Soul" and it helps a great deal in our understanding if we think of Brahman as all pervading energy.

Thus everywhere it is a glorious dance of energy called Brahman and this is symbolically depicted by the beautiful dancing posture of Lord Nataraja in the temple of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu and there the Lord Shiva is called Akasha Linga. Akasha means space and Linga is the Lord Shiva.

The scientist Nassim Haramein, the founder of Resonance Science Foundation, in the following video echoes the same views that space is pervaded with energy.

All living beings including animals and plants tap into the same inexhaustible source of Brahman for their life and sustenance (Katha Upanishad 1.2.20, 1.3.12). The food chain is not linear with some animal at the top, rather it is circular. The seed which is Brahman, gives birth to the plant which is Brahman, the plant depends on Brahman for its life and growth. An animal which is Brahman, for its life, growth and sustenance depends on the plant which is Brahman. Again herbivorous animals get eaten by carnivorous which are also Brahman. When they die their body gets eaten by scavengers which are Brahman or the body decomposes and nourishes microbes and bacteria in the ground which in turn nourish the plants. Thus it is a circular food chain where at every stage it is Brahman itself eating Brahman and depending on Brahman for life, growth and sustenance. This fact is beautifully captured by Bhagavad Gita, Verse 4.24 which starts with "Brahma Arpanam Brahma Havih ..." and this verse is normally recited as a prayer by many every time before consuming food.

Is Brahman God?

We completely depend on Pancha Boothas meaning Five Elements for our life, growth and sustenance. They are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. Even scientists and atheists know this fact. Still the human beings have been involved in pollution and plunder of this Nature.

That's why several worship Earth, Water, Rain, Sun, Fire, Air, etc. as God. Some even personify them with a form and worship them with love and reference. The idea is to imbibe the fact that how much the humanity and the entire eco system are dependent on the Nature and hence treat the Nature with love, respect and gratefulness. Thus worshipping the Nature is not superstition. Rather taking the Nature for granted and thinking that the entire Nature, plants and animals are there just for the use and consumption of humans is ludicrous and preposterous.

Space is the subtlest of all the five elements and Brahman being the most important Life Principle there is nothing unusual in loving and worshipping Brahman as God.

Another reason why Brahman is considered as God is its purity. Only human being has various forms of impurities due to selfishness and hence indulges in committing various kinds of sins such as greed, anger, jealousy, etc. When a human being successfully dissolves the ego and exists as Brahman then that person exudes purity and brings out the divinity from within.

From the Vedanta, we get to know that Brahman pervades the entire space, every nonliving thing is Brahman and every living thing is also Brahman. Given this, can there anything be greater than Brahman? and hence Brahman is worshipped as God, the Absolute and the unchanging Ultimate Reality.

Why should we know Brahman?

We all differ in our names, forms, functions and capabilities. But in the core, the substratum is the same Sentient Life Energy, Brahman which is present in every cell of our body (Bhagavad Gita 7.7).

Thus it is just not "Love thy neighbour as you love yourself". Knowing that everybody is nothing but Brahman takes it one more step further "Love thy neighbour as you love yourself because it is yourself".

Thus attempting to know Brahman completely transforms the individual. Greed and Selfishness would vanish. Morals and ethics would spring from within. It promotes kindness, open heartedness, love and compassion. The prevailing capitalistic "Profit Mentality" would give way for the sacred "Service Mentality".

According to scriptures Self-Realization and attaining Moksha is the real goal[1] of human life.

Who can know Brahman?

Many people think that Self-Realization[2] is attainable by only few great folks and even quote Bhagavad Gita (7.3) which says only rarest of the rare attain the Truth. The very fact that you are reading this means you are entitled to belong to that exclusive rare club. It is actually a disrespect to Guru Ramana Maharshi who said Self-Realization can be had “Here and Now”. Hence not listening to such advise, having our own personal opinion that Self-Realization is not possible and therefore giving up even before starting is a great disregard and disrespect to all the Gurus and Scriptures.

How to know Brahman?

"Car Driving" can't be "Known" by reading about it, but can be "Known" by the experience of driving. Thus it is an "Experiential Knowledge". Similarly reading about Brahman gives only theoretical knowledge. The real Brahman can be "Known" by "Experiential Knowledge".

Brahman can be "Known" by the experience of "Being" or "Existing" as Brahman.

What? Everyone of us are already Brahman whether we know it or not and we can truly "Know" Brahman by "Being" or "Existing" as Brahman.

Confusing, isn't it? I promise that I am not smoking any weed nor am I under the influence of any kind of intoxication (except for tasting the nectar of trying to explain Brahman).

We have now come to the most important juncture that all the scriptures try to address and all the masters of Vedanta try to explain. Let me try to provide the gist of all those explanations in as simple manner as possible.

Visualising Brahman as some kind of energy which we can call as Life Energy helps a great deal in trying to understand it because of our knowledge of other energies taught by science. By the way, I am not alone in calling Brahman as Energy. The great scholar and Guru Shriram Sharma, the founder of "All World Gayatri Pariwar" strongly emphasised visualisation of Brahman as Energy. When we consider Brahman as some energy then we do not go looking for it physically as to where it is just like we understand that we can't see or touch gravitational energy.

Gravitational energy can be "experienced" and the instrument needed is our body. Just jump in the air. We come back to the floor due to the gravitational energy. In the same way, Brahman, the Life Energy can be "experienced" and the instrument needed is our mind, a very calm mind.

When Brahman, the Life Energy energises the eyes they get the seeing ability and when the Life Energy energises the ears they get the hearing ability. When the same Life Energy energises the mind, the mind gains its Sentience or Consciousness or Awareness or Thinking Ability.

Using our mind all we need to do is to be in one single thought that "I am Consciousness", or "I am Awareness" or "I am Thinking Ability" or "I am nameless, formless, Life Energy". Being in this one single thought is called as "Fourth" by the Mandukya Upanishad and is called as "Turiya" in the Gaudapada Karika. The verse 3.3 of Aitareya Upanishad says “Prajnanam Brahma” meaning “Consciousness is Brahman”. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10) says “Aham Brahmasmi” meaning “I am Brahman”.

The main trick used here is firmly holding on to just one thought which helps in keeping all other thoughts away. According to Ramana Maharshi, when one attempts sincerely holding on to one thought that "I am Awareness" after some time even that one thought also falls away (Who Am I? - Verse 10) and one would successfully exist as Silent Awareness. In other words one would exist as Brahman and due to that experience becomes the “Knower of Brahman”. Mundaka Upanishad (3.2.9) says "Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavati" meaning “the Knower of Brahman becomes Brahman”.

Knowledge of Brahman is the greatest treasure one can attain. Hence please set aside 10 minutes everyday, think of the Brahman, the Life Giving Energy, be in the silent thankful and grateful thought of Brahman, firmly hold on to just one thought that “I am Thinking Ability”, “I am a Concentrating Entity”, “I am Awareness”, “I am Consciousness”, become recipient of the blessings of all Gurus and delight yourself basking in the glory and thought of Brahman.

Life lessons from Goddess Parvati.

 

What are the life lessons we could learn from Parvati?

 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺Life lessons from Goddess Parvati. 🌹🌹🌿🙏

1. Always be ambitious about your achievements.
2. Be fully dedicated, if you love someone. Don't think about any third person.
3. Don't show your ego to mens just because you are women. We can say that Parvati had proposed Shiva by hard penance or approached him first.
4. Women have both soft & dynamic sides or phases. As Parvati, she manages the households. At the same time as Durga, she can show her fighting skills in battlefield.
5. Don't be greedy about materialistic things or luxurious too much. Be adjustable & happy with limited things.
6. Don't hesitate to take help your spouse or to help your spouse.
7. Only physical look doesn't matters for both women & men. But the moral behaviour & character matters. Don't choose your life partner as per looks. That's why she had chosen Shiva.
8. Be all rounder in all fields whether its cooking, fighting, arts, sports, music & so on. As a women always try to give your 100%. Be confident & energetic.
9. Always try to be good or an ideal - daughter, sister, lover, wife, mother & finally a women.
   
   
   
   

WHY LORD CREATED US AND THIS WORLD?

Why has Lord Krishna created this world?

WHY LORD CREATED US AND THIS WORLD?

Once there was a very wealthy businessman. He had every materialistic things he wanted. He was very rich. Yet, he was very alone. He had no family members. He then adopted a boy. After 6–7 years, child went to his father's office and was playing there. While playing he found a document, where he saw his adoption document. After knowing he was adopted he went crying to his father. They had emotional talk. After sometimes son asked, “Why father? Why you adopted me? You have everything you want.” Then father said, “I have all the luxuries, money, everything I want. But I wanted to share this to someone. If not sharing, I don't feel happy.”

Similarly, god is epitome of love, spritual knowledge, happiness, intelligence and everything. He wants us to be deserving, so that he could share this to all of us.

Talking about world, we our self wanted to be away from Lord Krishna. We wanted freedom, so he gave us all freedom and let us stay here in world. We thought this world of “Maya" would give us happiness, but it is temporary. When a mother gives a child a doll, he thinks that doll is his friend or family member and play , forgetting his actual family members. Mother nurtures baby and baby nurtures doll. This world was created by Krishna to let us have freedom that we desire.But sooner we realise , we are not even 1 percentage happy without Krishna. So to get back at him we all do bhakti.

Once there were a father and a son. They had an argument with each other. Then, that child goes outside leaving his father. That boy goes through poverty, pain and every possible painful things. Seeing this, neighbour of that father went and said, “Your child is suffering. As a father, won't you go there and bring your child back?”

Father said, “I will, if he will take one step towards me!”

Neighbour asked, “ Can't you just take all steps?”

Father said, “What is the proof that he would like to be with me? I can't force him to be with me. The first step should be taken by him so that I would know my child wants to stay with me and never return back. I too am crying as my child is suffering. He takes one step for me, I will run thousands steps to be with him.”

Similarly, Lord too don't want us to suffer. He wants us in his abode ,always happy, free from birth and death and all miseres. We should do bhakti so that he would know that we want to be together with him. He won't force us to stay with him. We should take the first step . That is SURRENDER.

How does God reveal himself to humanity?

How does God reveal himself to humanity?

God, God, God…… It has become a problem to humanity than being a saviour!

What is your name?

Say, your name is Anisha. You are standing in front of me.

I start the conversation, “Anisha, will you give me your name for a minute, I will give you back.”

Anisha says, “No problem, take it, she says by extending her hand.”

“ I don’t want your hand, I want your name’

For the first time, she is puzzled.

Please question yourself, the name given to us is just a transactional tool of our body. It is never there. It is like something letter “X” in algebra. As long as we have not solved the value of “X”, it remains in the problem. Once we have solved it, it disappears.

Is it not time to solve this “X” “GOD”?

Our name disappears when we intelligently question ourselves, “Who am I?”

The light that started 14 billion light-years ago and has not reached us yet, according to the scientists. The light coming from that star may appear in the future. Many stars which are there might have died and it requires many years for them to disappear because it takes time for the light to reach us.

Macrocosm is beyond human imagination but we have defined its creator!

When there is so much out there which is yet to be sensed by us, how on earth we have started describing God, the creator of everything with such certainty and emphasis as though we know each and everything about God.

If God were to create everything like a potter created the pots, we need one huge person with clay and a wheel sitting outside the macrocosm. According to scientists there cannot be anything outside our macrocosm. If there is something, it also falls under the macrocosm.

This is the age of the internet where the human being has advanced so much in technology and awareness.

Why don’t we expand our awareness about God also?

Why are you still blindly following the cock and bull story about God?

Remember, God as what we presume to be God is never there!

God can be realized by us now, this moment, if we use our intellect and extraordinary power that is vested with us. (This is what Upanishads declare)

If I close my eyes, the world disappears and if I open the world appears. Then, why don’t we subscribe to the view that the visual world is created by our eyes? The input from the eyes is decoded in the mind. The next stage is that the mind is responsible for the projection of the world. There is no world if there is no mind.

The mind creates its own fantasy while it is dreaming. Therefore, our mind is capable of creating its own world. But in the deep sleep, there is no creation because the mind is silent and is not functioning.

Who kept me alive while I was deep asleep?

I don’t know who it was?

That must be God.

What happens when we die?

Life deserts the physical body.

That life which leaves the body at the time of death must be God.

What can it be?

Based on the intellectual ability of ours, we can say that this is a property called consciousness. Consciousness must have existence.

Therefore, by our own conclusion, the ultimate common principle that gives life and projects the world must be our own consciousness and existence.

This 'Consciousness and Existence' is Me that is “I”.

Instead of looking for God as an object, find him out in you as the consciousness and existence.

What a great relief that you are made up of God and you are God.

How can one God kill the other God?

Humility, love and gratefulness emerge with this right understanding.

As long as we try to objectify God, there is the problem of fear.

We are fearless consciousness!

Do we hurt our left hand from our right hand? Do we remove our tooth if it bites our tongue? Then, how can we kill another human being?

Humanity hidden within human beings is God!

You are God! It does so much good to believe that you are THAT.

Please read this again and again and try to see whether it makes any sense.

Thank you

Shiva Karmas

What are the 7 laws of Shiva Karma that'll help you attain the highest form of existence?

There are some laws of shiva karma may you like.

Lord shiva which is a “Hindu” term has originated form a beautiful concept of E+Shiva (Shav=Dead, and E=Energy).

It means when energy flows into the dead body ; it starts to live ,hence called shiva. Which only denotes , we’re all born Shivas.

“Shiva the most important god in Hinduism”.

1.Truth:- the 1st law of Shiva karma is the truth.This law asks the followers to follow the path of truth, justice, and being true to themselves and those who are around.

Remember that dishonesty and false deeds may prevail in small battles, but the truth always wins the war.

2.knowledge is god:- A single person can not possess the knowledge of everything ,but everyone may possess the knowledge of something. We should find that seed of knowledge within us, and then do all our karma around it.

3.Everything is an illusion:- No matter what life you’ve living, at what place you are; if your happiness depends on the materialistic things you own, then happiness is an illusion for you, and it’ll be gone with that things. The 3rd law of shiva karma asks belivers not to attach their happiness to earthly things.

4. Beyond happiness:- Everyone is worried about their happiness and doesn’t care if people around them are happy or not.however real happiness is beyond limits and it could be felt only when we have found the seed of knowledge within us, and we are truthful with others and ourselves.

Remember happiness comes from within, not outside.

5. Be formless:- If you may have noticed a happy person around you, you’ll see that the illusion does not control them. You put them any situation at any place; they’ll be the same calm and content in their mind.so, the 5th law of karma is practicing to be formless like water.

6.Using all your senses :- When our mind is at peace with heart, and we walk on the path of self realization, all our senses come together to work in proper synchronization. When you achieve this state in your physical form, the feeling you get is incomparable.

7.Enlightenment is awakening:- With these laws of shiva karma, you achieve enlightenment. The highest form of existence for a human. In this states of mind you attain self-realization along with the proper understanding of nature and reality.

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Who is Lord Shiva?

Who is Lord Shiva?

Shri Paroksh Yogi ji:

I can share my personal experience with Lord Shiva (Nothingness), I had witnessed during a meditation camp in Uttarakhand Himalayan region.

Since my childhood, Lord Shiva attracted me the most, probably because of the mysterious stories I had heard about him.

I had an impression in my mind, that Lord Shiva lives in Himalayas in a human form (as we see in TV serials), but all my preconceived notions were about to get shattered.

During a trekking expedition in Himalayas, I met an unknown “Realised Guru” in an unexpected situation and he changed my life.

Initially, he appeared to me like any other man, because he is not a sanyasi, lives with family, uses mobile phones, drives a car, he is young and wears urban clothes etc.

But when we started to talk I realised he knows some deep secrets and he is a Himalayan Mystic.

He never claimed that he was a realised being and till today he prefers to stay unknown.

After the trek was over, I came down to the base camp, I met him again and we started the conversation in front of a bonfire.

He systematically destroyed my belief system of Gods, Goddesses, heaven, traditional mode of prayers and borrowed knowledge from books.

He encouraged me to be a 'seeker', rather than a 'believer', which simply means -

“Never believe in 'anything', until you experience it yourself”

After that night long conversation, it was clear to me that Shiva is “formless and everywhere”, but I was yet to experience or feel his presence.

Although I was feeling a strong attraction towards Guruji but I was still skeptical, whether I should trust him because it felt like probably he knows hypnotism or something which was making my mind calm.

Later on, I started to visit him often and he used to teach me certain meditation techniques.

I realised that in his presence when I used to meditate, I used to feel an intense feeling in my spine and sometimes I used to feel mild oscillation in my body.

One day, I was meditating and as soon as he arrived my upper body started rotating mildly on its own, as if there is some mild earthquake.

After meditation I asked him why is it happening?

He said:

“your energies are moving upward and when you progress from one stage to another it happens. Don't bother about it and focus on the kriya.”

No one is a resident meditator in his campsite because he doesn't have those facilities, but we go there often for meditation camps.

After many months, one day after meditation session I went to him to take his blessings because I was about to leave.

He was on 'silence' (Maun vrat) that day and was sitting on his chair.

I touched his feet to take his blessings and sat in front of him near his feet.

He looked straight in my eyes and I felt something is about to happen.

It felt like his eyes were saying something that my conscious mind was not able to interpret, however probably my sub conscious or unconscious mind was listening.

For the first time he applied his thumb in my forehead in the Aagya chakra.

I felt an electric current in my whole body and I started crying out of joy for no reason.

It felt as if something was transmitted from his body to my body and that was the ‘moment’ when I came to know who he is.

For that moment ‘I’ vanished and only Shiva was everywhere…literally everywhere!

That was the “miracle of Shiva”, when he made me realise that I was a fool to believe that I and Shiva are two separate entities.

There were never two entities, only he is there, everywhere, there is nothing except him…

Later on I experienced many things which I will not reveal because certain experiences are personal and not meant to be shared.

It sounds so simple, but why for ‘most people' it is very difficult to realise?

Because of your identities or ego - I am this, I am that, I like this, I do not like this etc.

The worst kind of identity is “I am spiritual”

The whole process of yoga is to shatter your identities.

Be a seeker, please do not believe anything, until you experience it yourself

In Advait Vedanta, Shiva is described as the infinitely vast dark empty space / void / nothingness, which is holding the entire universe.

Some call that God, some say that is Allah, some say Krishna, we call that Shiva and scientists are studying it as unknown Dark energy and Dark matter.

If you want to give him a new name, (example: XYZ) give him any name, he won't mind!

If you don't believe in him, even then he won't mind.

It's like one of your tiny body cells say : I don't believe that you exist, I have a separate identity and I am not a part of you…would you mind it?

Shiva is also described as niraakar roopam (without any shape or size) vast nothingness or emptiness (Shoonyata).

Only ‘Shoonyata’ (which was there before creation started & which will remain after destruction of universe) qualifies for ‘niraakar’ (formless), because creation would always have a particular size and shape.

This has been proven that the whole universe is in vibrational form which was described in our ancient texts as “Nada Bramha” ( Universe is just sound or vibration)

Scientists say that at sub-atomic level there is no mass but only energy (which we call as Shakti) and subatomic particles constantly disappear in to nothingness (destruction) and re-appear out of nothing (creation).

As per experiences of spiritual masters, all the things in this universe are different manifestations of same energy (Shakti).

Before creation of universe there was only vast nothingness (shoonya, shiva or emptiness), then energy (shakti) appeared out of nothingness and whole universe was created as a manifestation of energy (with help of nothingness) and this process is happening every moment.

These two fundamental forces are known as yin & yang, shiv & shakti etc.

‘Nothing’ & ‘something’ combined to make ‘everything’…

Have you noticed ? All computer programs are also made of only 2 fundamental binary digits '0′ (nothing) and ‘1’ (something), isn't it?

If you observe everything around with a keen interest, you will be able to see how these 2 fundamental forces are working every moment for the process of 'creation' and 'destruction'.

If you will do research about dark matter, dark energy, higgs boson and god particle, you will realise that the whole universe is a manifestation of energy

Now coming back to Bholenath Baba or bhagwan Shankar (or many other names), he was described as “Yaksha swaroop” which means he was not in human form because he was a extra terrestrial being.

Bholenath Shankar ji is considered a form of Shiva because he reached a “meditative state” wherein spiritually, there was no difference left between him and Shiva.

He was the first Guru, who showed the path of Yog (the ultimate union) with the Shiv inside us.

Many people may call Bholenath's story as a mythology and may dis-believe it and you have every right to say that, because no one knows what exactly happened.

However, Shiva is not a story figure, he is the one and only ‘formless’ cosmic consciousness which is present everywhere.

There is a misconception that Hindus believe in 33 crore Gods and Goddesses.

There are many deities or demigods, considered as different manifestations of same God. (For example : Indra, Surya etc. cannot be compared with ultimate God because they are ‘devtas’ not ‘Paramaatma’)

Even Bramha, Vishnu & Mahesh are described as 3 different aspects (creation, operation & destruction) of the same 'one' God.

Some ignorant people get into debates like who is greater, Krishna or Shankar?

Such people do not even know the essence of Hinduism or Sanatan dharma.

When someone says Krishna is inside us or Krishna is everywhere, is he talking about the physical body which participated in Mahabharata war and in the end died because of an arrow of a hunter?

Krishna or Rama were names given to respective physical bodies and when we say Krishna is everywhere, of course no one is talking about that physical body.

We are talking about the universal conciousness or cosmic soul which is common for Krishna, Rama, Shankar, Jesus, Buddha etc., hence that conciousness is literally everywhere. (Within us also).

The only difference is you have not realised it yet.

We all are different forms of same God.

Hindus believe in only 'one' God, but call him by different names.

Would you like to experience Shiv?

Just look around because he is everywhere, even better would be, to try looking ‘inside.’

Ask yourself who is reading this answer through your eyes?

Understanding all this intellectually is of no use, experience the Shiv within you directly, make it the goal of your life and make sure you do not stop until you are blessed with Self realization.

Once you are self realized, no outside situation can bother you because you will be in ultimate bliss.

Awake!

Aum Namah Shivay