How to improve mental concentration?

Whether it is our day to day life or be it professional life, good mental concentration is a must for achieving best results. So also for meditation. Without first developing good mental concentration, you cannot successfully meditate even. 

How does one improve mental concentration? Let us hear that right from the horse’s mouth.

Why are we born?

That probably is a question that intrigues some of us. At a superficial level, the answer to this question is quite simple – “because of mating of our parents” ;-). But if we look deep, that does not answer the question completely.

All my 15 books are on Google play/books now

Google is offering these books at a discounted price of almost 25%. Read them on your browser, android mobile (you just have to add it to your library once, then on,  you can read offline anytime anywhere!) or your e-reader. Enjoy 'read aloud' and 'translate' facilities.

Click any link (from 'Quick links to my books')  on the right column, select the Google store.  Set this as your favorite store if you wish. So next time around, when you click any link in the list of books, you will be taken straight to Google store in just one click.

Alternately, use the 'Set your favorite store' (on the right column below the quick links) to set your store preference once for all. You don't have to select your store next time when you click any quick link.

Happy reading.

Should a realized person preach others?

Is it wrong for a realized individual to propagate what he has experienced? Or should he keep away from the world without getting into the entanglement of Guru-disciple relations?

A real Guru needs no false propaganda

Today we see many Gurus trying to lure prospective disciples by posting internet ads, uploading vague YouTube videos, giving discourses in reputed organizations, visiting rich countries, getting interviewed by celebrities, displaying or talking about miracles, and so on.

Some of my books are available on Google play/books now

You can read these  books on Google play/books. Will add more books soon.

You can read these books directly on  your browser (they have an excellent viewer), or on smart phone (by downloading suitable app,) or on your e-reader.

Something I liked the most about this is - you can select any part of the text, right click, and select any language you like. The selected text gets translated into the language of your choice. I found the translation quite good and useful for many people. Try this out.

You can even 'read aloud' on Android phone! These books are available in 50 different countries worldwide through Google Play, in addition to 20 other retailers.

Use the 'Quick links to my books' on the right column of this blog to see if the books you are interested are available in Google play store. Please don't forget to write a review. It is quite easy.

Happy reading.

Here and now (Buddha’s soul….)

 Many religions hold the promise of better life in the next birth or merry time in the heavens after death, in reward to your good deeds. Faithful accept these promises unquestioningly. But none of these things can be verified “here and now”.

A sinner becomes a saint (Buddha’s soul….)

 

There is a nice story in the Sutta Pitaka (DN 2: Samaññaphala Sutta) that says how even a worst sinner can get himself elevated through repentance and good deeds.

Would you like to translate my books?

Many of my readers are from non English speaking countries. I am sure, if my books are available in their languages, there will be good response.

If you would like to translate any of my books in your language, please let me know through the 'contact form' on the right side of my blog. We can together decide on the kind of support you need from my side - formatting, cover design, captioned images, publishing as e-book or paperback etc.

I have introduced "Universal link" to all my books now

If you are not familiar with "Universal link", here is what it is

Baskets full of wisdom (Buddha’s soul….)

A disciple always looks up to his Guru for wisdom. He needs Guru’s guidance when he moves on the path of spiritual; quest. But the Guru can’t be there forever. So the disciples meticulously record whatever the Guru says, to look back when the Guru is no longer around.

Buddha’s soul

Did Buddha have a soul? An interesting question, but a question that may offend some Buddhists. Buddhists firmly believe that no such thing like soul exists.

New year resolution

Doing things just because everyone else  is doing, would probably entail low risk, but the results  are guaranteed to be average. Break throughs can only come when you attempt something  that others normally don't.  Of course, there could be an  associated high risk.

What is more  prudent is to do things after due thought. So, 'thought before act'  is the best strategy.

This probably could be a good New Year resolution.

Best wishes 

for another new year

 

PS:  Not a Buddha quote, to my knowledge.

New year gift

I just released one more book for the new year. 

It is a gift for all my readers and it is FREE

Meditation - Important things you need to know

Pages  : 70 approx on Kindle

Click for a preview on amazon.com

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Synopsis

Meditation is a powerful means not only to enhance general well being, but also as a practice that can lead one to peaks of human experience.

But unfortunately, there is lot of mystery around it and many practices propagated today don’t have a clear explanation on how they work. Such clarity is needed to make meditation not only effective but also safe without adverse consequences.

This book provides lot of insights into various aspects of meditation, explained in an easy to understand manner. An ideal book for anyone who wants to take up meditation seriously.

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Hopefully, sometime next week, this will be available in all online stores (amazon, Apple, Barnes and Nobel, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd and almost 20 others ).

It is available in amazon and smashwords right away.

amazon may decide to charge a minimum fee since it does not support free books. Use the 'suggest lower price' option on amazon product page to force amazon to give it free. I will also try to request them.

Why is the Upanishadic concept of oneness relevant? (Upanishads…)

In the previous several posts, I discussed some interesting views expressed by one of the most ancient of the scriptures namely the Upanishads. Whether one agrees with whatever is discussed in the Upanishads or not, I personally feel that their core messages are very relevant today. 

The implausible act of ‘one becoming many’ (Upanishads)

Almost every religion has a creation myth. The religions that believe in a personified God, have elaborate stories about how this all powerful God created this entire universe, over a period of time by its sheer ‘power’. What do Upanishads say about the creation of the world? 

What happens when one restrains the mind? (Upanishads)

In the previous post, we were talking about the well known chariot analogy of the Kathopanishad. To recapitulate – our body is like the chariot drawn by our sense organs, (horses), that normally move on the path of worldly pleasures. If we choose to, we can use our intellect, (charioteer), and rein in the horses, by restraining our mind. What happens then?

New book : "Upanishads - A journey into the unknown"

I just published my new book  "Upanishads - A journey into the unknown (Essence of timeless insights attained through deep states of meditation)

Who is 'self' ? (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we said that only 'Self realization' can give eternal peace. Who is this 'self'? How do Upanishads view an individual? As I said earlier, Upanishads employ nice allegories to explain subtle concepts. In this post we will see one such well known allegory. 

Only self realization can give eternal peace (Upanishads...)

Many of the narratives in the Upanishads really amaze me! Not because I consider them to be ultimate truths but because of their simplicity and ‘the matter of fact’ style of conveying profound ideas.

Illusion! For whom? (Upanishads...)

The Advaitic concept of Maya or illusion is often taken for granted and projected as the obvious conclusion of the Upanishads. But is it really that obvious?

The rope that appears like a snake! (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we saw a very interesting allegory used by a Swami to explain the concept of Turïya – the ultimate reality as per the Advaita philosophy. The original allegory used by the well known Advaita philosopher Šankara is what I am going to explain now.

New podcast: Does soul exist?

Where is the silver screen? (Upanishads...)

There is an interesting allegory given by one Swami of Rämakrishna order (successors of Swami Vivekananda). The allegory tries to explain how Turïya is the substrate of the entire world we see around, but still it is not apparent. The allegory goes as follows.

Is Turïya a state or reality? (Upanishads...)

In the previous posts I talked about Turiya as a state – one of the four states of cognition. That is my understanding of the Mändükya Upanishad in which it is described. But Advaita philosophers don’t agree. What do they say?

The Turïya or The state of universal consciousness (Upanishads...)

We were discussing about a ‘state’ in which we can cognize things that are beyond our limited Mind. This is the Turïya state described by the Upanishads. How is this state described?

Cognition beyond the Mind (Upanishads...)

We generally associate cognition with the activity of the mind. But as we discussed in the case of Yoga, (Refer to my book “How and Why of Yoga and Meditation”, Chapter “Shutting off the unruly Ghost”) the mind stops when one attains the ultimate states of meditation. In that case does it make any sense to talk about cognition when the mind is not even working? Sounds more like an oxymoron!

Have you seen this horse that spits out noodles?

I saw this antique horse made of Jack fruit wood in a farmer's house in a remote Indian village.

Four states of cognition (Upanishads...)

In the previous post, we were talking about how we can ascertain the truths enunciated by the Upanishads. As we said, the only way is either to accept whatever the Upanishads say or ‘realize’ it ourselves. How do we do the latter?

How are we sure that Upanishadic concept of God is valid? (Upanishads...)

In the previous posts we saw how the Upanishads ‘define’ God or Ätma.  And also, how this ‘definition’ does not lead to endless regress. But how are we sure that such a definition is valid and it is not just some clever play of words?