Waiting Meditation

As population increases relentlessly year by year all over the world, one has to wait more and more at say airports,rail terminals,

waiting rooms of doctors,lawyers etc. especially in the cities.Commuting time  is also on the increase.Waiting for other people

who are late.

If possible,one can use this waiting period,for a bit of fast meditation-ranging from 5 mins onwards to an hour or more(If for

example,your flight is delayed)

Start by finding a seat somewhere least crowded.

Sit comfortably,balanced,back upright,no support from back of chair,head straight.

Be relaxed.Close your eyes,as if taking a nap.

Become aware of all the sounds around you.

Watch your breathing. Inhale slowly,hold your breath. Exhale slowly,hold your breath.  Atleast ten times.

Five minutes are up.

If your time is up,open your eyes and you will feel more refreshed than you were before you started.

If you have more time,do another round, this time  of twenty inhalations exhalations.

This time you can watch your thought.What are you thinking of at this moment.

Watch as an outsider-an onlooker.

As you do this more often you will become good at this.

This is a good workout session for your mind just like a session in the gym is good for the body.

You will develop patience also in the bargain.

Make waiting good for your health.

Powerful Opening Lines Of Books.

In Sanskrit, this is the opening Verse Of  The Asta Vakra Gita

“Katham  Jnanam  Apnauti  ?

Katham Mukti  Bhavishyati ?

Vairaagyam cha  Katham Praptam ? 

Etata Bruhimam Prabho ! “

The approximate personal translation is as follows:

” How can you make Knowledge your very own ? 

How can you aim to become free in the future ?

How can you obtain a state of Renunciation (Detachment) ?

Teach me all this O Lord ! “

These are some of the most  powerful Opening Lines of any religious book .

 

 

 

 

Levels of Memory ?

Memory Types

Just as your  computer has a total amount of memory,it has random access memory(RAM) and it has memory segregated into its differnt drives – so also human memory located in the brain must be having  different types of memory-short term  memory and long term memory. But besides these, there must also be the memories based on the intensity of emotions and the types of emotions-there must be levels of memory- deep ,surface level and inbetween…..

Like  say for example,it is possible that sexual memory must be going into the memory storage a bit more deeper than casual events.Also these events must be remembered through fantasies more often.When memory is recharged it must be getting strengthened.

Or memory of the death of your parents or grandparents….That is why emotional moments in ones life are closer to you than other moments.

How can memory be used constructively…..?

Is it possible to plant memory in a deeper level so that it is not forgotten?

Is it a good idea to have the memory of certain events recharged with fantasies? Or by writing in a diary ? Or with photographs now that most phones have a camera?

Are memories harmful in any way?

Can they be used to improve your life?

If memory  of love experienced in the past is kept alive,is there not more harmony in your life?

Does  the trick   lie in connecting the memory(in the brain) to love(in the heart)?????

And when you die – does all your memory get deleted- except your karmic record memory-so that when you are reborn ,its like a new memory chip in you.? 

 

Sameness

People like to think they are different from others.

People  like to think that they are not like everybody else.

This is their ego at work.Everybody has this same ego.

Even if you are different-and very very special,how long will you continue to remain so.?

There is a certain beauty in being the same as everyone else.

There is a certain beauty in enjoying the simple joys of life,which all enjoy.

The joy of a movie enjoyed by hundreds and thousands of people all over the world.

The joy of a pizza.The joy of a jog in the park.The joy of enjoying silence.

A stroll on the beach….Thousands of small pleasures enjoyed by millions of people.

This sameness makes you all one.You may be more intelligent than so many but there will be so many other people-more intelligent than you too.So make sure  there is no race,no competetion.All are same.

This is how God must be viewing all men.

I am not against being individualistic.Be totally different.Do everything differently but remember not to be egoistic about this.Remember not to look down on the ordinary.In ordinariness,there can be a lot of extraordinariness,humility and compassion.

Reconnect…..

When on the net,sometimes you loose the internet connection,what do you do immediately? You reconnect.

But in real life, when you sometimes loose a connection, you just let it go….You then loose a connection….

In both the Spiritual world and the physical world of family and friends-there are times when you loose the connection you once had….but you allow time to make that connection lost for all times.

Reconnect……in the spiritual world

1.With the beyond

2.With your ancestral roots.

3.With your guardian angel.

4.With your inner world..with your God…..through prayers,conversations etc.

In the outer world,reconnect with your family.

Your school friends,college friends,work friends etc….

Each time you reconnect you bring alive a certain part of your life to make your life richer.

Time For Time to be taken Seriously

When I was in Film School,one of the most interesting short films I saw was a film called” Time Is”.

It dealt with the concept of time,very scientifically,very mathemathically.

But what I would like to talk about is time at a very personal level.

Most of us ignore time as an importnt contributor to the quality of our life as a whole.Time is taken for granted.It is ignored.

In our personal lives  what are the times we generally come across.

Firstly there is real time-the most important one.It is taken for granted that you have unlimited time right from birth.

And this makes you forget that this real time is moving fast.But only when you grow up.

Childhood time is slow and leisurely but when you grow up,have children and a job,it picks up speed and before you know it the day is  over.  Ofcourse  it is all very personal and varies from person to person.But that is the point I am making.We must all learn how to slow down our time IF time is moving too fast…….And find creative interesting stuff to do if we find our personal time moving too slowly.

This real  time also requires your maximum energy.A working adult gets into a job as it is expected of him and he moves into the social circle.An eight hour job is common.A two hour commute is common.A two hours TV watching/Internet  is common,Eight hours sleep,Two hours for  morning tea,bath,reading paper ,breakfast,lunch and dineer.What’s left ?

A measly two hours to contemplate /meditate on the pleasures that time on your hands can provide you with.

Besides real time there is Meditative time. This  is the slowest of all personal times…… if you so desire it……..But there are people who will also make this time fast…..

There is also Cinematic  time .This is an interesting possibility in your personal life because film time can be condensed the most easily……it is psychological……..it can give you a range of experiences……You can live a totally different life in the course of a movie and come out and back into your own life.Cinema has this possibility of mesmerization.This is why films are so popular with the whole of humanity.

Then there is travel time.This  is the most fascinating for most of humanity…if they can afford it…New places new faces new experiences……. travel time the most longed for  excitement people bring into their otherwise boring lives.

Then there is dream time…It is possible to have interesting dreams and make sleeping something to look forward to if one understands dreams and takes them seriously.Dreams are ignored by most people.They are not real so why bother? But dreaming is real.Dreaming time is the most expansive of all times.A ten minute nightmare can seem like eternity,if you are stuck in it somewhere.

There are other types of time which I will talk of later.But the point I make is that time is an important asset of your life.Like your good health.In running after money dont neglect either of these two assets.Improve the quality of your time as well as your health.Use time well and it will give your a wealth of happiness.

Perchance to Dream Creatively

There are people who have lots of dreams and there are people who dont.

There are people who remember their dreams vividly and there are those who dont.

In both,I belong to the latter.

I dont have too many dreams and I dont remember my dreams in the morning.

Till now I never complained.But now I miss my dreams and sometimes when I do get them,I wish I could remember them.

I have very few dreams of my father,or my mother,or her mother and I miss those types of dreams.

Dreams comprising of childhood memories.Surreal dreams.

Why do I not get  dreams of my ancestors? Or of Osho? Or of my childhood? My teachers in school?

Why do they not communicate with me through dreams?

Is it because I do not understand the language of dreams? Or because I never believed in them?

Is it because I am doing something wrong.

Dreams have their own laws.One must understand these properly before communication can be established.

Just like understanding another language.

A certain part of your brain creates dreams.

It can create all nonsensical stuff as it has been creating for me.Nothing exciting visually , nothing really interesting.

That may be because I have not yet opened that door as yet which is responsible for this.

On the contrary I have neglected and negated this door.Rejected it so far.

So the first step is to say yes….something can be communicated through dreams so that the sleep world becomes more exciting.

I remember when I was in Venice I got the most exciting dreams for all the nights that I stayed there.

I wish I could return to those days.Every night ,before going to bed I should pray to the God of Dreams to shower me with communicative dreams,creative dreams ,wise dreams,which are not just meaningless rubbish but exciting worlds of discovery.

Is there another Buddha around?

Most human beings are happy with a limited life within the confines of their own family and friends.Nobody wants to be a solitary bird.

That is why the family has been a basic unit in the social structure for so long,holding society together.

Society encourages this,religion encourages this and traditions encourage this.

A boy grows up into a man ,finds a suitable woman for him,gets married and they have children and this pattern goes on.The children grow up and follow the same pattern.It is so automatic that nobody ever questions this pattern.

You don’t have a society of solitary individuals,each wanting to grow spiritually within themselves,with total freedom,no financial pressures of family,or individuals believing in being universal (as opposed to being tied down to one single place) by merging with the divine.Not becoming priests or renouncing life but following their  own careers,but on their own without following the pattern of marriage,children,educating children,marrying children,grandchildren etc etc.

You don’t have a society of only unmarried individual people living together like a family-you don’t have a family of friends as a social structure around you.

If you are single you are a misfit.There must be something wrong with you. Ofcourse this is changing slowly but it is just that marriages are being pushed back.An alternative pattern is not emerging.

Getting married,having children is the purpose and you have to then  pursue your career ,so that the standard of living is raised continuously for the sake of the family.Fancy house,fancy gadgets,club memberships,one car,with driver,two cars,two homes,servants,parties,more friends,Facebook,Twitter,all has a certain pattern.Time for God or for personal spiritual growth has a limited place as there is genuinely no time.God is not demanding so its OK.When those holy days come,we go to the churches or temples or mosques or whatever and then enjoy the rest of the bank holiday with our family.Very few people are aware that there is such a thing as personal spirital growth possible with each and every one.

There are plus and minus points for both the sides But the family wins hands down-so far atleast. There is no other attractive option.

And till there is another option, life will go on-with material,economic,technological ,corporate growth but no great spiritual leaps by thousands of individuals all over the world with a drastic change  in the pattern of life.

What the world needs is another Buddha.To make the Spiritual world more interesting.

The Purpose Of Life

The purpose of life….

This is an interesting question which a lot of people ask….

But the question is mostly asked in rhetoric.Nobody wants to know the answer from others as they probably feel subconsciously that they know the answer.

But I ask the question what is the purpose of life ? wanting to go ahead with the answer.

I think the purpose of life is evolution.Not in just a purely biological way,which the word evolution involves.

We have evolved from apes to man-end of theory of evolution.

Nobody pursues the matter further.

Within men,there are those who have evolved more-who are more refined  in their mindsets,in their emotionsets and in their spiritualsets, -who will become more refined still because they believe that the purpose of life is to become better human beings in all ways.

And Man has to and will  evolve into something higher than what he is.

He  seems to be going in the reverse and devolving , looking at the political and economical and environmental situation of the world today.

But scientifically as well as spiritually,man has to evolve into maybe (for want of a word) a super man.This super man has to be defined.

He will be in total control of his intrinsic emotions,after having removed all traces of anger hatred violence jealousy etc. he will have developed extra sensory powers of awareness,he will be in control of suffering as he is in control of  his karma,he will have developed powers of communication without mobiles or internet-just intuitive powers because the chips are all  developed in his head at birth,intelligence and knowledge will be transferred from parents to children,so on and so forth.

All science fiction stuff at the moment.

But hundreds of years from now,when our mindsets will not be limited to  just a social life, man will surely   evolve into the next  evolutionary stage/phase of his  life.

That is the purpose of life.

A personal ‘string’ theory

Some personal notes….

If you start with the simple process of breathing,you can divide one cycle into the following four parts:1.breathing in 2.holding breath inside 3.breathing out and 4.holding breath outside This whole cycle you could also call it a string.If you link up various strings,you could call it a sequence.One single breath is the smallest part of the sequence.

If you take a relay race,you can also call it a sort of string…one person finishes one round before passing on the baton and all the four runners become a part of the collective string. Or in football,each person who passes the ball on its way to the goal forms a part of the string……..

The first example of the breath is a personal string and the other two are examples of the “collective” string.

Suppose the brain also works on the principle of the string theory of breathing ,one thought links up with another thought with another in a continuous string of thoughts.The string theory now becomes more complex because the brain is infinite in its thinking and also more uncontrolled….But suppose it can be controlled at its basic unit, can this be used effectively in developing ideas if you link one idea with another only if there is some commonality between the two? Like making folders in the computer,can thoughts also be put in different folders in your head? Every time you stray away,you must train yourself to catch yourself straying away…..with awareness….This will help develop ideas systematically…..The string theory of thoughts and ideas…..Is it possible to devise a formula so that the brain is trained for maximum creativity? Why not?

Creativity and Aging

There is a part of the brain which is responsible for creativity…..

There is another part of the brain which is responsible for analysis…logic….thinking ………

How does age affect both these….?

Could it be that as one grows older creativity reduces and analytic activity increases? Does too much logic affect creativity? Is creativity illogical and more spontaneous?

In the case of painters and writers age seems not to affect creativty so much but in the case of film directors,creativity is best in their younger periods……First five films of so many Film Directors have been better than their last five films. (Fellini,Orson Welles,Ray, Goddard) Why is this ?

Is there not a way to make the brain more creative  by bringing into it an element of youth?

Does creativity get affected by ego?

How can the brain get recharged so that its inventive power does not decrease?

Creativity and Spirituality,do they go hand in hand?

Creativity and Science and technology….is aging better for people ‘s creativity in these fields? And what about creativity in business? Moneymaking ideas- is that not creativity?

Is there creative spirituality?

Is spirituality neccessary for creativity?

Newer ideas need to be pumped into the brain for creativity  to be kept at higher levels…..How to keep reinventing yourself?

Is there any connection between food and creativity? Is there any connection between drugs and creativity? Between mild hash and the human brain?

So many questions lie unanswered as far as research regarding human creativity….

Enlightenment-questions galore…..

I have always wondered what enlightenment really is?

What happens when you get enlightened?

Do you become God? Do you become one with God?

Do you become all knowing?

Do all your karmas,past and present,get totally deleted and you will never be born again on earth?

If you are enlightened will you never experience any sort of suffering?What about other people’s suffering? Will you be untouched by it?

Who are the people besides those Humans who have now become Gods  who were enlightened?

Who are the people alive who are enlightened? Is The Dalai Lama enlightened…..? Is there a before and after point at which enlightenment happens?

What are the qualities required for enlightenment to happen?Does one have to be a monk,or a desciple of some enlightened guru or any layman can become enlightened?

Is one born enlightened or is one born partly enlightened? Is there such a thing as partly enlightened?

Is enlightenment through meditation,through love,through service or through prayers?

Is there only gradual enlightenment over many lives or is sudden enlightenment possible?

Is there someone who can enlighten me on all these questions?

The Art Of Withdrawal

When I say withdrawal I do not mean” to retreat .” What I mean is to go inside….to withdraw from the outside to go inside. There is no negative connotation as in “withdrawal symptoms”. On the contrary there are positive connotations in the act of withdrawal,the way I mean it. In the eight limbs of Yoga as per Patanjali, Pratyhar is the fifth limb….and one of the English words I would use to translate Pratyhar would be to withdraw oneself from the outside world….. It is a sort of detachment so that you discover something else within yourself.The sixth limb and the seventh limb of astanga yoga of Patanjali are Dharana and Dhyaan-two ways of meditation. So one could say that Withdrawal is a preparatory stage of Meditation…..the art of leaving things behind you….without carrying them with you all the time…. Off hand I would say that withdrawals could be a.Physical…. Aloneness is a sort of withdrawal…so that you can meditate….you dont need the company of someone all the time…. b.Withdrawal of desires…..I dont neccesarily mean sexual desires…but desires like gadgets,smartphones,clothes,cars,shopping,etc etc. c.Withdrawal from the pleasures of the senses….food,sex,perfumes,movies, music,t.v.entertainment etc.etc. d.withdrawal into your own space…..which is also going to give you a certain joy of its own….. People are not fools to meditate….. They do it because a certain kind of peace enters you…and that brings with it its own joy…. One has to realize this and the first step is a sort of withdrawal….not a full time withdrawal….but each person has to decide for himself how much and then how deep one wants to withdraw.

Understanding Guna

Guna is a difficult word to translate….It could mean having a certain quality…a certain property….a certain  inherent law…

The property(guna) of fire is heat……That is easy to explain….

But what is the property inherent in   nature?  or in a human being ? Or what are the properties  of a soul ?

According to the Hindu tradition there is not one Guna in Nature but there are three elementary gunas.Like the atom has electrons,protons and neutrons, Nature has the Tri Gunas which are Sattvic,Tamasic, and Rajasic……..

The Satvic is the positive energy,pure,luminous,stable,good for you.

The Tamasic is the opposite of Satvic-negative energy,impure,dark,inert,not good for you.

The Rajasic is the most difficult to understand-it is a force of action,active,in a state of constant flux-not pure not impure.It may be good for you or it could be bad for you.

To understand Gunas,you must understand that all these three exist simultaneously in nature,or in all human beings in varying proportions.

Let me try and explain through examples.

Take milk…..Like all of nature it too has three gunas…..

Milk may be good for you because of the calcium.But high fat milk may be harmful to you if you are a heart patient and have high cholestrol.Or if you take too much milk it may be harmful to you.So you could say milk is Satvic,Tamasic as well as Rajasic.An understanding of the right proportions of the three gunas is the first step to  help to focus on reducing the negative and the indifferent gunas and increase the quantity of the positive satvic guna.

What is the Chemistry Of Emotions ?

Another word I love is chemistry.Not in the literal sense but in the sense of relationships or in the sense of personal body chemistry related to your individual emotional state.

In relational terms we say “The two of them had good chemistry between them” meaning they understood each other well .Or “they shared a certain chemistry amongst them” meaning they bonded well emotionally….

But  the word chemistry is more important when I think  of it in terms of the human body.There are certain emotions which have a certain chemistry….and when these emotions are unleashed,they release certain toxins and change the chemistry of your body. Say for example ,anger.If you get really angry,certain toxins(chemicals) are relesed in your system which also makes your breathing go haywire.This is like poison in your blood stream,and when this blood reaches your brains,it looses the capacity to think logically because of the poisons.If the person on whom you are angry also gets angry then it gives rise to more anger and more toxins get released  in both leading to higher levels of anger.If violent acts are analysed I am sure it will be found that more than 50% of them can be traced to rage…or extreme uncontrollable anger.Anger changes the chemisty of a person dangerously by converting certain toxins into  poisonous chemicals.

Or take for example fear…when fear takes over,certain toxins are released and chemistry is altered drastically..Reflexes are  heightened and you will be able to run faster,think faster in the act of self preservation.It is most clearly seen in the jungles when animals are faced with danger from other wild animals.Chemistry gets altered with fear and this chemical could be a self preservation chemical. 

I am sure love must also be having a certain chemical(toxin) associated with it  and this must be releasing in the body when you fall in love making you feel all so emotionally messed up.

A study of  body chemistry will help in the study of controlling all negative emotions like anger,hatred,violence,jealosy,racism.

There are medicines for all diseases which work on this principle.Even mental problems like depression are dealt with by mood enhancers.

So hopefully one day,science will be able to control all other negative emotions as well .

In the Universe it may be Maths and Physics which rules.But  in the body,I am sure it is Chemistry.

Balance of The Left and The Right

Balance is a wonderful quality to be developed-often ignored in life.

The balance I’m talking about can be   physical , mental as well as emotional .

The Buddhists advocated moderation in everything, a sort of  an in between path.What they probably meant is maintaining a balance in life.

In Hinduism there is the Triguna terminology…. All matter is either Satvic,Tamasic or Rajasic ,not in an absolute sense but in a balance of the three.To reach the absolutely satvic state ,you have to go through a state which contains all the three in the proper proportions or in balance.

The Chinese Yin and Yang is also a sort of Balance-between male and female- between the left side and the right side.

Even the body has a biological balance between the left side and the right.Understanding this balance is crucial in understanding health and well being.There is a delicate balance between sanity and insanity and understanding balance is vital in remaining on this side of sanity.Medical terminology also uses the word unbalanced to denote a mental state of a patient.

The left side of the brain and the right side of the brain are known to have separate functions but the balance between the two is important.

So become more aware of the left side  and the right side of your body and always maintain a physical balance of the two.Even yoga recognises the value of balance and if you see a perfect yogi,all his asanas will convey  BALANCE if you are  a keen observer.The Natraj Asana,of Lord Shiva standing on one leg,is also a perfect example of perfect balance.Garuda Asana is another important asana of Balance or Ek Pada Pranamasana.

So recognise the importance of balance between the left and the right, and practice it at all times.Sitting ,standing , lying down or moving around-be aware totally of the  balance in you.

Start with the physical.The outlook  change  will also happen mentally and emotionally gradually.

Does a sixth sense make sense?

The Sixth sense? What is it?

If you develop the five existing senses with the help of meditation,maybe you may also discover your sixth sense.

When you start your meditation, get into your favourite meditation posture and close your eyes.Give your eyes total rest.Enter the blackness and feel the eyelids getting heavy.After meditation,every image  looks sharper.Feel the nerves behind the eyes relaxing.

Now focus attention on the nose.Smell all the smells around you.Feel the warm air as it enters the nostrils.Try and feel the nerves from the nose to the brain.

Now focus on your lips and move your tongue around it and move it at the top of the palate.Feel the nerves behind the tongue.

Now focus on your ears and the sounds all around you.Isolate each sound and then collectively listen to all of them.

Finally,focus  on the skin in contact with the ground or on sensations all over the body as done in Vipaasna meditation.Let the sense of touch become more and more sensitive/awakened.

Do each sense individually and then collectively.

Do this short  meditation of sense awareness at different times  whenever possible.

If you develop the five senses,you may discover the sixth sense.

According to me the sixth sense is a sense of intuition.And this is in a very undeveloped stage in our brain structure.

Why do scientists not work on developing intuition…?

A Bird’s eye view of your life

In period war movies of ancient times you often saw the Commanders on top of a cliff ,with a bird’s eye view of the battlefield,planning their modus operandi for battling the enemy.It made it easier for the audience also to understand and enjoy the battle better once you know which side are the heroes and which the villains.

Its the same in life.Its very necessary  to have an overview or bird’s eye view of your life to answer or clarify various questions.

Are you going in the right direction? Where are you now in relation to where you wanted to be?

Are the major relationships in your life working out to your satisfaction?

What changes would you like to make in your existing life?

What were the major turning points in your life so far?

What do you want to be doing for the coming portion of your life?

Its like a recap of the story of your life so far and the strategies you should follow from here onwards.

This quality of having a bird’s eyeview is an important quality to develop…..Of being a witness to your own life unfolding.

The parable of the escapist.

Once upon a time…there was a prison…in a very beautiful place in the  world.
There were strong prison bars all around the prison,but people  inside the prison were free..
The prisoners were fed good food,and were looked after so well that no one thought of escaping from this prison to a life of  freedom.
No one except one person.
This person tried to escape by squeezing between the bars,because he was thin.But try as he would ,he could not squeeze through.If he could not squeeze through then no one else could as he was the thinnest of all the prisoners.But this man was desperate to escape.So desperate that one day he discovered a way he could escape.He started fasting quietly,all on his own.Day by day, he started loosing weight.One day,after fasting on and off  for four weeks,he tried to squeeze out between the bars.Lo and behold.He was out of the prison.

He called all the prisoners,told all of them that he could squeeze out of prison and escape.They asked him how he did it and he told them the secret.He said goodbye to all of them and squeezed out.Some of the prisoners were happy that atleast one amongst them had become free and  cheered him and wished him good luck.But there were others who told him how could he run away leaving them behind and told him he was selfish.The man turned around to these people” I have told you the secret and I will be very happy if all of you follow me in my freedom.” And this man escaped.

End of Parable.The question is Was this man right in escaping or should he have stayed back in prison for the rest of his life with his other colleagues?

The second question is were his colleagues right in calling him selfish or should they have been happy that atleast one of them had found freedom?

Enlightenment Level ?

I had earlier written about Spiritual level and asked what is your spiritual level?
In the same vein,I would like to think of what is enlightenment level?
How close are you to enlightenment or really how far?
But before that I would like to ask the following questions .
1.Is enlightenment total or can it also be partial?
2.If one is partially enlightened or totally enlightened,is it permanent or it could be temporary?
3.Is enlightenment obtained gradually or suden ? If gradually is it over a long period of time or a short period ?
4.Does enlightenment appear and then disappear if you dont know how to hold on to it properly or if you misuse it or brag about it ?
The questions are serious and not in a lighter or sarcastic vein.
Coming back to the main issue of enlightenment levels ,I am making the following hypothetical measuring scale.
Lets assume that the scale is from 0 to ten,going on a reverse scale.
Zero is the level that Buddha reached,that is,full enlightenment.
In Buddhist terminology,Shoonya is an important word which means emptiness,or void or a zero.Thats why I have kept zero as the ultimate in enlightenment level.
Lets keep level ten the highest level of unenlightenment.
Each person has to ask himself this question what is my level? if he is into setting himself on the path of enlightenment.
Most of mankind is not into this.How much money have you made,how successful have you been in your career,how famous have you become,how happy are you with your family,how compassionate are you,how much you have returned to society,how environment friendly are you,these are the types of questions generally asked.How much have you refined your inner being towards enlightenment is hardly ever asked.The science of the inner world has not been investigated enough.Why not?