How to be happy ??

 Karma yoga according to Zen Buddhism

Zen emphasizes the importance of living every moment to the full. A positive action is seen as that action which expresses the fullness in life at a particular time and in given circumstances, that make the action possible. Every action should be lived and pursued with the greatest intensity. For most persons this is almost impossible, for we are beset and continually distracted by mental tensions, anticipation of results or fruits, personal enmities and prejudices, desire for domination and possession and so many other things. The action becomes the means and not the end in itself.

Zen is very pragmatic and non-escaping in its attitudes. Zen sees the path to higher awareness to be through the world; it is not to be experienced escaping from the world; it is not to be experienced by escaping the world. "Not escape from life, but escape into life". This is the essence of karma yoga. Life and its experiences, its ups and downs, are to be used to help one know higher knowledge. The Zen masters shun logic and reasoning in the same way that they would an angry cobra. They demonstrate through action and example. Every act, whether eating food, digging the garden or whatever, is regarded as a religious act. They do not try to divorce spiritual aspiration from daily life. They are karma yogis in the fullest sense of the word. Why waste valuable time with useless philosophical ideas? Act, but act with intensity and awareness. Be totally involved in each and every act.
The Zen masters did not preach one thing and then do something else. Many Zen masters seem to have carried on the work they were trained, and why not? There are many stories of masters who were butchers or woodcutters and the work they did was their path of Zen. They saw absolutely no discrepancy between spiritual and daily life. This is perfectly summed up by master Huang Po: "Do not allow the events of daily life to bind you, but never stop doing them. Only by acting this way can you become enlightened."

 

How to develop creativity in daily life through yoga?

Q: As a Yoga teacher, how can I develop my Creativity in my Daily Life?

A: The answer is very simple; it can be given in one word - 'Observe'.
As a Yoga teacher you should have 'Awareness'; You should observe Yourself, and You should always try to Improve whatever You Do. Try to perfect; try to do it better every time.

Develop 'Ichchha Shakti', which is the 'Positive aspect of desire, of want'; 'Kriya Shakti', which is the 'Energy of action'; 'Sankalpa Shakti', the 'Energy of determination'; also 'Vichara Shakti', which is the 'Energy of positive thinking'. All the positive qualities of life have to be developed more and more.
This does not mean that you should negate anything and everything that you consider bad. No. Here you are beginning to observe; there is no negation of any type. If you want to improve yourself and become creative, happy and successful in life, take everything in life as a form of 'Sadhana'.
This is something that most of us have observed in Swami Satyananda Ji. We see that he has taken every activity, every situation, every problem, every difficulty, and every joy in life as a form of Sadhana. Therefore even today, if we find him surrounded by difficult people or difficult times, he is totally at home with everybody, and if he is surrounded by good people and good times he is still at peace with everything and everybody. Every single moment of life becomes a form of Sadhana, a moment of Sadhana, a 'Process of Sadhana'.
It is probably the hardest thing to do, but we can always start with observation, observing how we feel, how we react, how we behave and how we think; and observing how we can make ourselves better in thinking, in action, in behavior, in feeling, in projection and in receiving. Even as a person in Business it is possible, and also as a Sannyasin it is possible.
~ Swami Niranjanananda ( Bihar School of Yoga )


 

What not to have after a meal!

The 7 Dangerous Acts after meal

* Don't smoke- Experiment from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher).

* Don't eat fruits immediately -When you eat your fruits with meals, the fruit is stuck in the stomach along with the contents of the meals and cannot reach the intestines in time. Lying there they get spoilt and spoil the remaining food in the stomach too. Thus it is recommended that you eat a fruit at least one hour after eating a meal or before your meal and preferably in the morning with empty stomach. It is in the morning that the body can best use the nutrients in the fruit and get enough energy to start the day.

* Don't drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.It is preferable to drink tea an hour after meals.

* Don't loosen your belt -Fiction, not particularly bad for you!
We generally have an attitude that a good meal is that which forces us to loosen our belts. However, loosening the belt is bad, not because it causes the intestines to twist or block but because it means that you have over eaten to a level that you are uncomfortable. Loosening of the belt may also cause you to feel comfortable once again which means you may continue overeating.
So eat only to the extent that you can be comfortable without loosening your belt!

* Don't bathe - Bathing after meal will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

* Don't walk about -Fact, it is bad for you! Walking directly after meals is a bad idea, it can result to acid reflux and indigestion. However, walking about half an hour after meals is known to be good for you. Researchers in the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina, have found that walking after exercise is a good way to burn energy.

The point to note is when to walk, you should ideally walk for about 10 minutes and only 20-30 minutes after meal to prevent acid reflux and stomach upsets.

* Don't sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine.

:)