Pebbles on the Beach

 All rights Reserved with the Author Prof. Dr. Moiz Hussain

Also translated & published in German, Hungarian and Polish Languages AVAILABLE IN PAKISTAN AT: Paramount Publishing Enterprise 152/0, Block-2, P.ECH.S, Karachi- 75400. Pakistan Tel 4310030 Fax: 4553772 E-mail: [email protected]  Paramount Book (Pvt) Ltd. Domestic & International Satellites, Jinnah Terminal, Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi. Paramount Books Shop No. 3/A Zarina Manzil G. Lekhraj Road Urdu Bazar Karachi. Tel: 021-2217527 , 2213484 Paramount Publishing Enterprise 62-0, Mozang Road. Lahore Tel: 042-6301239,6361494 Fax: 0426372606 E-mail: [email protected]  Paramount Pulishing Enterprise 28 G.F., AI Babar Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Tel 051-2853106 Email: [email protected]  I .1 London Book Company Arbab Road, Saddar Cantt Peshawar. Tel: 091-5272722 E-mail [email protected] 

CONTENTS

1. About the Author

9

2. Message from the Author

15

3. Pebbles on the Beach

18

4. Preface

21 27

5. First Pebble Intuition- how it works? The signs of Intuition, Its manifestation and application in life. Shape your Future and the role of mind in shaping our future. The Power of prayers and its benefits in life. The Importance of Faith - and complete submission to the Almighty. Reflection on whatever happens, happens for good. What is a receptive mind

6. Second Pebble

59

Collective Consciousness and and its importance On the effect on the society, research on the theory Of collective consciousness. What is Quantum Level? How do we reach this deepest level of mind? Meditation - Concentration - loneness what is required In meditation? Its influence on awareness. Categories of Mediations. Active & Passive meditation and the difference Between the two. Cognition and meditation, Changing Nature of this three dimensional world & how This causes Illusion -how our senses get attached and Prevents us know knowing the real. What is Self Knowing?

7. Third Pebble

83

Self Analysis - Live inside & Operate outside, difference Between crazy and fool. The power Ism e Azam- name of Allah, the importance of meeting yourself.. The external world a manifestation of ?? Everything has a meaning? Learning from meanings Temptations during Self control. The void in Meditation - the importance of  contemplation Leading to self realization

8. Fourth Pebble

103

Why do we need to Control our mind? Learning to be Objective, the Drama on the screen- life! The concept of MA Y A - Illusion. Attachments in life and how it binds us. Guide and teacher- his role. The art of letting GO!- Relaxation and the approach towards letting go. Reality Of material things- imperfection of our senses. The Connection of  thoughts and breathing. How breathing Influences the mind and emotions and vice versa. Reaching the deepest levels of mind through breath Control.

9. Fifth Pebble

125

Genetic Inheritance- Fate. Understanding Religion and Beliefs propagated by generations of cause and effect. The basic elements of Mind & Matter - thoughts and its Corresponding vibration. Quantum Healing and the Power of Thought and discovering our capabilities. How to Direct and use our thought process. Our lives we live are Directly in connection with choices we have and how we Use these. Verbal and Non verbal communication. Wordless speech.

10. Sixth Pebble

155

Understanding the essence of Salat (Prayers in Islam) Body mind connection. Be one with the universe how we all are one. Power of prayer

.11. Seventh Pebble

169

Searching for the mind inside the Brain? Where is Pure Consciousness? What is a Programmed Mind? Near death experiences- our real self Spiritual identity. Out of Body Experience The crux of the matter is self awareness, how to acquire inner peace. Direct perception is the best way to know. The - EGO

12. Eighth Pebble

197

What is the things called LOVE ???? Selfless and selfish love, parameters of real love Conditional Love. How to seek happiness

13. Ninth Pebble

215

The reality of TIME, the th e changeful nature of The material world. Becoming special and Different than others. Ordinary and special. Extremes of both sides. s ides. Indulgence versus Abandonment. Where Where is GOD? Acceptance Acceptance & Unconditional Submission Religion - the path to salvation. Surrender thyself Power of belief- Total Submission Fear of  punishment - expectancy expectancy of reward Prayers - your communication communication with the Almighty Almighty

About the author

Prof. Dr. Moiz Hussain Ph.D. is the founder of The Institute of Classical Yoga (1974) & TIMS (The Institute of Mind Sciences); established in 1986, pioneer of Mind Sciences and various spiritual disciplines in Pakistan. He has been practicing, actively training and teaching YOGA, REIKI, HYPNOSIS, NLP, MEDITATION and many other skills for the last 34 years and has trained over 35,000 people from all walks of life. Born on 15th of July 1957, in a Muslim Gujrati family, very little did his parents, teachers and peers know about the destiny of this child who showed symptoms of  aggression, hyper-activity, ill health and short temper? His parents did not have a clue how to handle this child, from a very early age he was very inquisitive, always observing things and asking many questions unanswered by people around him. It was this curiosity along with strong perseverance that reached him at a very young age, at the doors of the oldest Yoga institute in the world in Mumbai, India. Here young Moiz Hussain was introduced to Hatha & Raja Yoga. His first teacher was. Shri Yogendraji of the Yoga Institute, Mumbai, India. After the demise of Yogendraji he got associated with Dr. Jayadeva the eldest son of Yogendraji and the Principal of the Yoga institute. He travelled extensively to various parts of India and learned from many masters including some Muslim Sufis of India. In 1974 he started teaching Yoga in Pakistan and his first professional Yoga class was held in 1982 at Karachi Gymkhana. After six months he went to United States of  America to take care of his family business and operate a liaison office in San Jose, California. At that time little did he know what destiny had in store for him, he came back to his motherland and reorganized his Yoga students. The group of people who came in contact with him realized that their lives were being transformed and their lives were getting a direction. His regular 'Satsangha' (discourse on truth) was a popular feature once a week  at Karachi Gymkhana and till today. These weekly lectures held regularly since for almost last 25 years and are attended by scores of people from diverse cultures and social strata. Through his life, he has created, designed and introduced unique life changing workshops. These are conducted locally and internationally; based on the Emotional Intelligence "The Fourth Dimension - Mind Power" and "Magnetic Money Mind". In USA his famous workshops that have earned him a special reputation "The Sufi Master from the East" is based on Sufi teachings and is titled" A Song not Sung", and" Awakening"

He has also provided training to senior executives from major companies such as Abbott, American Express, Reckitt & Coleman, Wellcome Pharmaceuticals, Glaxo-Smith Kline, Mobilink, S.S.G.C., OMV Oil, UBL, NBP, ABL, RBS, NESCOM, NDC, The Aga Khan Medical University, Muhammad Ali Jinnah University and many other reputed financial, educational, national and multi-national organizations. A Faculty Member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, USA, Director and licensed lecturer of the Silva Mind Control Method, USA and a REIKI Grand Master in the USUI System of Reiki as well as in Karuna Reiki. He conducts workshops in Pakistan, U.K., Singapore, U.A.E., Germany, Austria, Switzerland, India and U.S.A. are just to name some. Also a visiting faculty at National Institute of Public Administration (N.I.P.A.) Karachi, he offers training to Federal and Provincial Civil servants on 'Stress Management', 'Communication Skills', 'Time Management' & relevant topics. He is a recipient of the "Best Instructor of Hypnosis" award of 1997 and "Best Performance" award in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 & 2007 from the 'National Guild of  Hypnotists, USA'. He is an extraordinary trainer and a gifted communicator who can simplify so called difficult topics without losing the essence. A Ph.D. in Clinical Hypnotherapy Prof. Dr. Moiz Hussain has undergone training in USA in NLP and DHE (Designed Human Engineering) by Dr. Richard Bandler and has also been trained in 'Empowerment - The Unlimited Power' by Anthony Robbins in USA. This sought after personality is sought after by many on popular local and international TV channels as, PTV, GEO, ARY, TV -I, A TV, HUM TV, RUNG TV, ZEE TV, BBC, CNN, FOX, ABC and NBC.

His extraordinary 'Walk on burning coals' with 70 of his 4th Dimension students with an interview in Islamabad was telecast by International electronic media CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, BBC, Al ]azeera, SKY, and many other reputed European channels. He gave an extensive interview about his views on terrorism in Bremen TV-Germany, and revealing the true picture and message of Peace and Love in Islam. Many of his students in the West inspired by him have started taking a keen interest in Islam. In the field of  Psychology, Semantics, Emotional Intelligence, N euro Linguistics, Mind Matrix and other subjects he is considered an international authority. An adventurous explorer, who has spent his entire life seeking and doing what some

consider "impossible", his passion for NLP, Hypnosis and Mind Sciences and all its possibilities is unlimited. He has used these tools on himself and also helped thousands by their Use. Prof. Dr. Moiz Hussain is blessed with two dynamic sons, Ali Asghar & Murtaza reaching par excellence in their academic endeavors are now running an international organization based in San Francisco and also with offices in Karachi, Pakistan and Istanbul, Turkey. Urooj his daughter works with him as an associate trainer and certified therapist In the last 35 years Dr. Moiz Hussain has delivered over 2000 lectures, seminars and workshops in Pakistan, USA, UK, Germany, India, Singapore, . Thailand, Malaysia, Greece, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Philippines, Austria & Switzerland. Today he conducts over 100 Workshops & seminars annually Learning with Prof. Moiz, is learning the structure s tructure of success. Destined to productively direct lives, Prof. Moiz Hussain Ph.D. has helped a myriad of  individuals, couples, families and children towards a better understanding of life helping them to create a successful, healthy and focused f ocused life, with realization that life planet has a purpose and each one of us must find out purpose and destiny traced for us by Allah Almighty. Most people flocking to him for learning, guidance & help after finding a path and relieving their troubles call him "Miracle of Allah". With a twinkle in his eyes he proudly proclaims, "Remember, once you come to me you will never be the same person again, so think twice before you step in."

 Message from the author “Pebbles on the beach” marks the portrayal of numerous touchstones faced in stringent hardships during an entire life span. My thinking reflections throughout this book relate lifetime spiritual experiences, I have gathered through the test of times. This book is the essence of my quest of more than three decades, my findings in the   journey towards self awareness, discovery and enlightenment. Unlocking the secrets of  happiness and satisfaction, it describes the various human blocks, limitations of our mind to make decisions and answering the most common "Whys?" in our modern day lives. Through this book I strive to interrupt our current monotonous pattern of thoughts, mindsets and perceptions which leads us towards Depression, Anxiety and Selfishness towards a new beginning of Fulfillment, Satisfaction and Focus for a better life. The readers' expedition in this book will be full of unique experiences and concepts, which at times might be difficult to accept and adapt, as at present you “believe" what your mind accepts and “question" what your mind rejects. “People are not the prisoners of fat, but the Prisoners of their minds.”   Franklin Roosevelt I am indebted to my Masters, Teachers and Gurus who shared their wisdom and knowledge with me. Some of them I have seen and spend time with, while there are also those whom I have never experienced in first person though they have always been a beaming light of knowledge in my mind from various dimensions. After my gratitude to all my seen and unseen masters, a special thanks to my Mother, Naimat Hussaini, for the values she inculcated in my life. My wife, Farzana, a very intelligent lady who had the patience to spend 25 years with me, my two dynamic and genius sons Ali Asghar & Murtaza, Urooj again a genius daughtet and to all my students who inspired and motivated me to write this book. After thanking all the human help and inspiration I must sincerely thank The Divine, The Merciful, The Gracious Allah Almighty who showered His blessings and sowed in me, the seeds to reap these words and present to humanity; wisdom in the form of a book. All praises to Allah Almighty, my humble gratitude and immense thanks for all his seen, unseen, known and unknown blessings, for a soul like me.

 How it all started….  Pebbles on the Beach Like love or hate, sometimes a passing idea or a thought can alter the course of our lives. The spark can bring in, a perspective that can change attitudes. In the course of our passion, we indulge with such intense focus, that at times the past, the journey, the quest, the hardships and different milestones we cross, are easily forgotten, until one day, when all of a sudden, it strikes you that it is your dream that you are living. A similar experience gave birth to this book, as once while walking on the beach, lost in my own thoughts, I felt the cool sand under my bare feet and suddenly I had a desire of  building a sand castle. I gathered all the sand I could, wet, sticky sand and started to build a castle of my dreams, my hopes, and my desires. A great effort was put in, and there it was standing right in front my eyes, my own creation. As I was looking and admiring this magnificent piece of  my labor, a great wave came, dashed against my castle and before I could regain my senses, the castle was washed right in front of my eyes. Stunned and in sheer pain, I didn't know what to do. I wanted my castle back. Realizing that I have to rise after every fall, I started building the castle again and once again the waves washed my castle away. This continued to happen a few times. Was I a fool, building a castle near the water? Worn-out and perturbed, I suddenly felt something cold and hard under my right palm and as I lifted my hand I saw a 'pebble' . I picked up the pebble and as I did so, I felt a kind of a vibration in my palm, as if the pebble was alive and wanted to share something with me. I looked around and was amazed to see many 'pebbles on the beach'. I was delighted and started gathering them. Amazingly each pebble that I picked reminded me of the wisdom I had shared with people in my life. As I continued touching and picking the pebbles, I drifted into my past. Each pebble reminded me of who I was? And what I had shared, learned, experienced from many masters of the east and west. The words of wisdom that I had shared with others are compiled in this book. I hope in sincerity, they will change your life towards the good, towards awakening of your soul; realization of your true purpose on this planet.

Preface The "Discourse on Truth' or 'Satsangha'  is a journey towards the awareness of the actualization and realities of human life. It is the path that distinguishes humans as  Ashraf  ul Makhluqat, the best of creation of Allah Almighty, which in the present era, long lost in their daily lives has brought hatred, frustration and despair into the world. This book is an earnest attempt to give a broader perspective to questions relating human existence. Life is a fascinating journey and each of us is walking, running or tumbling along it. In turn every individual is unique and fascinating in his own respect. Our connectivity with self and others is beautiful. Everybody has a unique place in this majestic universe which is breathtaking. There is a part of us which is always in delight; in praise; in mirth at the heavens and it bounties. We know this deep inside, however like children, we cannot articulate what we know. We grow up incomplete. We live our lives incomplete. This book is my story; a story of the places I've visited, things I've seen, people I've loved and lost, and my experiences. It is a story of life, and like life itself, it is fascinating. Since early childhood, there were questions for which I had no answers. Intriguing thoughts like, why do good people suffer? Why do some have so much, while most have nothing at all? Why do some succeed, when others deserve more? Where is all this leading to? Above all "The journey of life", inspired my quest. Our lives today are similar to the story of a baby eagle (eaglet) that lived with chicks for so long that it forgot its own true existence and reality. Once there was a pharmacist, who started a journey in his car to some place 400 miles away from the city to meet one of his clients. At about half way his car broke down and due to over-heating. Standing in the middle of nowhere, the pharmacist decided to lock  his car and to look for some water. Soon he spotted a farmhouse nearby. He went to the barn where he met an old farmer. He explained the situation and asked for a bucket filled with water, to which the farmer agreed. As villagers are well known for their hospitality, the old man asked the pharmacist to share a cup of tea, leaving the car to cool down on its own. The pharmacist was tired and loved the idea. So he sat by with the old farmer sipping a cup of tea where he witnessed a strange scene. It was a common farm with all kinds of livestock. A flock of young chicks was hopping and following mother hen. Amongst the chicks was an eaglet, hopping as well, which

surprised him. The pharmacist could not relate the eagle to the chicks so he questioned the farmer, who sadly explained that the mother eagle had died and the newborn eaglet had nobody to care for it, so I put it amongst the chicks. Since that day, the eaglet has been with the chicks and now it believes it is a chick as well and it has forgotten its true identity. The pharmacist realized that this was wrong; the eagle should know it's true self and should fly, as the sky is its true abode. He requested the old farmer to give him the eaglet so he could help it realize it's true self. The old farmer agreed and the pharmacist left with the eaglet. After completing his business, the pharmacist returned to the city with the eaglet, and shared his experience with his wife. The next morning he took the eaglet out in the yard, and tried to push it in the air, hoping that the eaglet would fly. The eaglet, despite opening its wings and also fluttering them was unable to fly and would start hopping as a chicken on the ground. Although the pharmacist was very disappointed to see that, yet he did not lose hope, and tried every morning the same exercise. In hope that one day the eaglet. would realize its true self and would start flying in the air like an eagle however; he failed each day, since the baby eagle was comfortable hopping on the ground. The pharmacist was heartbroken and shared his woes with his wife. He wanted the eagle to realize what a beautiful creature it was and its purpose in life was to fly in the skies and glide in the air. With all his efforts went in vain, trying to make the eaglet open its wings. Like most of  us, following the path of least effort and resistance. One fine Sunday, the pharmacist took the eaglet to a hillock, for a last ditch effort. Here he conveyed his thoughts to the eaglet saying that this time as ground was far away; it was time for it to either start flying to realize its true existence; or else, crash to the ground & die. With this polite warning, he threw the eaglet up in the air over the cliff, it started falling down towards the ground realizing there was no ground under its feet and it was falling down at a great speed, created panic for now it was out of its comfort zone and knew something had to be done for survival, and fast. With little hesitation, it opened its wings and started fluttering about. The fluttering slowed the rate of fall. It realized that with concerted effort. It could control its dive to the ground. After gaining more confidence, it fluttered faster and faster and was able to fly.

The pharmacist unable to see the whole scene thought the eaglet to have crashed and died. Saddened as he wanted to help the eagle realize that God had created it to conquer the skies but had managed to kill it. He was about to leave the cliff in despair, when he spotted the eaglet, flying towards him, it was piercing the wind and was flying higher and higher into the sky. The pharmacist was delighted, as his efforts had made the king of the skies realize its true self. Most of our life stories are similar. We remain complacent in our routines, so involved and dependent, not venturing to realize our true self. We are frightened to realize our true abilities, just like the eaglet, we do not try hard enough and live most of our lives believing in destiny. We all need this fall from a mountain that is putting ourselves in a situation where diligent performance will be needed for survival. Hence we will realize our true potential “Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities”  ~Napolean Bonaparte Throughout my journey of over 30 years, I have been pushing people over the mountain, making them realize and recognize their true potential, and this book is one of my efforts towards my goal. Miracles come in small packages and if we are aware, we will realize that miracles happen every day. They are all around us. The essence of this spark can be small - a story, a thought or even a book. When you read this book, please be ready, open and willing to change. This journey will take you places, you have never visited before.

The First Pebble

Enlightenment is finding that there is nothing to find. Enlightenment is to come to know that there is nowhere to go. Enlightenment is the' understanding that this is all that this is I perfect that this is it. Enlightenment is not an achievement it is an understanding that there is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go. You are already there -- you have never been away. You cannot be away from there. God has never been missed. Maybe you have forgotten, that's all. Maybe you I have fallen asleep, that's all. Maybe you have gotten lost in many, many dreams, that's all -- but you are there. God is your very being.

The First Pebble “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of and go into  the wilderness of your invitation. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll   discover is yourself”  ~Alan Alda Many a times we cannot differentiate a feeling or an instinct as real or unreal. There is a very thin line between how we want events and situations to happen and reality. This creates dilemma, especially when imperative decisions need to be made. Actually there are no parameters or definite ways to know or decide. In order to conduct an in-depth research to treat this ill, I shift my thoughts to a Buddhist priest who had his holy book. He took a pendulum and placed it on the book, the pendulum started moving anticlockwise. To check whether it was a coincidence or intuition guiding him, he conducted the experiment once again to learn, it moved in the same direction as before and that it was not a concurrence. All our thoughts are the same, why did it move anticlockwise and not clockwise?? Does it have something to do with the person holding the pendulum or was there some force in the book that made the pendulum oscillate anticlockwise?? This is a situation where nothing tangible satisfies the human logic. No scientific grounds or formulae, nothing in black or white. However, since this concept evades logic, it does not work. In fact,' it takes the form of a feeling; a gut feeling, if rightly said. The use of  intellect is needed to search the treasures of intuition, reasoning to come to a decision. At times a person is totally entangled in the webs, only magic which is Intuition can help. This intuition or the sixth sense can be 100 percent correct. However, it would be a vibrant, glowing picture without definite outline one that is beyond reasoning. In other words one may not be able to completely recognize or understand signs of his own intuition. Unfortunately, majority of us find it difficult to connect things and situations. We come across different types of people. Many claim to be educated, however in this sense they have no education or learning, and the importance of intuition has been missed out totally. Often we witness accusations against palmists or astrologers of giving false predictions? Surprisingly most of these people would also confirm the comment, “Efforts can reshape your future."

Most of us strive for attention and not for wisdom. If the strive was for wisdom alone, there would be no confusion. The palmist or the astrologer might have predicted accurately; however, if the efforts are _made in a different direction the prediction will be altered and rendered false. Throughout my quest for self discovery, I have had the privilege to experience various situations, from which would like to share an unusual episode attending a dinner graced by different people including some old friends, who advertised my expertise. Some people thinking with a stereotype mindset began asking me to read their palms and foretell their future. Their main question was, Why palmists or astrologists relate the past accurately, why can they not predict the future with precision? "For thirty years I have been sharing wisdom and knowledge! Thirty years! And on numerous occasions I have categorically stated that future can change!" The past has happened and can't be altered but future is always subject to variations; it can never be certain. At this time of the day I can predict how many points the stock  market will gain tomorrow. This will create a condition whereby within the next few moments some people will decide to prove otherwise and plunge into hasty selling. This selling would change the situation and the result would be different from my present predictions. Thus the future is changed. When a palmist or astrologist predicts the future he does not account for what we call unexpected happenings or 'altering agents' which were dormant at the time of prediction and may become active at anytime. They can change the future and prove a prediction wrong. Many believe it is ordained or planned by Allah; yes, true and no doubt about it, however there is a conceptual difference. Allah has created Universal laws and forces as systems "Universal Systems" which are definite and eternal. For instance "Law of Gravity". What if you jump from the 10th floor of a building, you will fall on the ground break your bones or die, that is certain. However, you have options. If you use a parachute or a propeller, you will not fall; in fact you will fly in the air. Allah Almighty has made laws. HE has also provided us with our most valued asset, our MIND, intelligence, by using which, we can understand these laws and can use them to our benefits. Whenever we use our mind to understand these laws, we benefit ourselves along with the universe and its inhabitants, provided these rules are followed by the book. We are subject to these forces and we live within these systems. They are the basis of our lives. Let's think for a moment, gravitational law has proved to be very hazardous. Many people have died or sustained serious injuries because of gravity. If there was no gravity, people falling from a height would not have died. Now let's examine this law from

another perspective; if gravity did not exist, we would be floating in the air and not be walking or sitting on the ground. Life would not continue without gravity. Agitators commonly do not have the necessary understanding of the key concepts; most of this information is from the books, which are generally incomplete. Things have to be viewed in larger perspective; the whole picture. Lack of knowledge or incomplete knowledge is generally the main cause of dissent. The science of palmistry and astrology does exist. It is up to an individual to accept or reject it. Some people have faith in palmistry and astrology, while others do not. Never take them to heart, as the future is never fixed; it is relative, it can change. Scientific formations and planetary positions have their value but your own decisions in the past and today carve your future. Your past decisions are related to future by way of cause and effect. What you did in the past will effect present and will have some effects on your future. The future is connected and related to past deeds and performances. When illiteracy and ignorance prevail, such difficult concepts are not easily understood. Once I met a very extraordinary person, whom it would be unjust to keep to myself as to make this journey together. Some time ago, I went to my friend's place, as he was not expecting me, when I walked into his room, he was delighted. We greeted each other and caught up on old times. Meanwhile one of his colleagues came by this gentleman was a famous palmist. As we exchange introductions, he took out a magnifying glass and intended to read my palm. I must mention here that we had never met prior to this day and did not even know about each other before this meeting. After examining my palm, he shared his readings with us. He noticed something very extraordinary in my palm and stated that I loved my children dearly so much so that if they desired I would take out my heart and give it to them. This was unusual, for although every father loves his children, the depth and intensity of love he foretold I had for my children is extraordinary. His statement was 100% true how extraordinary! Could you tell me, where that line on my palm is which precisely says this? Is there a line for such information? When people come to know me and view my work, then amongst them, palmists usually want to have a look at my hand, many have read and wondered but honestly no one has ever made this statement. For this we understand that it was his Intuition which led to this inference where he could feel and sense the love and emotions I have for my children. At times it is a palmist's intuition, a trigger of a particular mental state due to which one transcends time and space and operates on an absolutely different

level of consciousness. This is I how a person is able to sense information without involving the logical mind. This may be called the Intuition, Hunch, or Guess

- whatever you choose to name it.

‘A good palmist is one who has a sense of  intuition and perception'

Past deeds effect the present and will play a major role in determining the future, as I mentioned earlier. For a detailed analysis we shall ponder on a thought of wisdom shared by an enlightened person, a regular participant of our" discourse on truth". When a child is born, we support his neck with a hand as the muscles at the neck are still soft and not developed enough to bear the weight of the skull. As the child grows these muscles become strong and hold the neck without external support. The next stage in the development process is whereby the child learns how to sit. A little later the child starts crawling during which the muscles of the back and legs develop further and become stronger eventually aiding in standing, walking and running. When the child starts walking he may fall several times which is a stepping stone to developing strong and healthy muscles to last a lifetime. . Before starting to walk and run the baby has to pass through many stages of learning: some very challenging, however these lessons help in physical growth, giving stamina and strength. At the same time the lessons of patience, endurance and focus contribute towards his emotional and psychological growth. It develops emotions and feelings, starts sensing. and perceiving things from life experiences. He is able to feel the love, comfort and security he receives from his mother creating a strong bond of trust between mother and the child. The never ending care, nutrition and nourishment supplied by the mother create quality obedience, connection and emotional bonding. At this point, I would like to share a thoughtful question asked by a young lady in one of  my sessions. She inquired, “ A person, either during his childhood or when he is young, may have had painful experience shocks or traumas which may extend their affects to his or her later life. Is there any way to arrest such affects in order to alleviate sufferings of the person concerned? Yes, there are certain influences in childhood or in youth, like a severe shock, a trauma or an accident the effects or pain of which are long lasting. They carry on with life and are reflected in all his actions, thoughts, perceptions and words. At the same time certain shocks or tragedies may sometimes make a man very successful or great. There are many poets, artists, writers and great people who had some degree of pain, sorrow, or unfulfilled desires in early life which lent supremacy to their work. I cannot resist my desire at this point to share an experience. An extra ordinary gentleman whose determination has made this world brighter, the great Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, was told by his close friend that he was a fool who had wasted his time trying to light a bulb and had failed. Upon this Edison remarked . "I have not failed! I  have

learned that there are 9999 ways I cannot light a bulb." Think a while what a positive attitude this man displayed. There was immense learning in every failure. This is only one example of so many lessons taught by extraordinary people who changed the world, whose determination and efforts altered the face of the earth. They were committed. The many difficulties and pain they endured the more was the desire to excel, to an extent where no one could compete with them in their respective fields. This is the positive effect of trauma whereby it helps a person develop his talents and become unbeatable. However a trauma or shock in earlier life may create hindrances or troubles in the way to success, and if that happens one must refer to a wise person or a therapist. The therapist helps you recall the incident of actual happening and reframes it and makes its effect positive. What happens? The photograph of the incident remains the same but the feelings related to it are redirected & changed. Here another question arises?? "Are distant-healing or prayers helpful in arresting negative impacts of a past trauma or shock?" Can prayers nullify the impact and effect of a negative event in one's life?" YES! Indeed they can. Our entire faith and discipline is based on this undeniable truth. Yet once again we need to recognize the concept of Prayer. The laws of Allah works in ways we cannot understand, if one is healed by a psychologist or a therapist then this too has been ordained by HIM because HE directs us to the process of healing through a medium. This can be wise man, a doctor or a therapist. Sometimes depending on the nature of the problem, the presence of the affected people is important, however in case of a prayer by a loved one, there are instances when one has been healed without any external help, which is the direct command by Allah to the subconscious mind of the ill person. Even for this at times someone is needed to help or assist. Coming back to our earlier discussion of trauma and pain, if you look into any person's life you will find a lot of worries, regrets, tragedies, difficulties. Whenever we are faced with a problem in life, we get worried or scared and often ask disempowering questions such as “Why it happened? How it happened?" At times worries like "Oh God! The car broke down", "Why is my husband angry at me?" "My child failed in school", makes us upset. However, if we look back and analyze our lives, we will realize, whatever our problems, we were able to solve them, and in doing so we had enhanced Courage, Patience, and Determination. The skills that we gain while resolving our problems become part of our life experiences, this is a valuable asset and contributes to happiness and success in life. I recall a young man coming to me once with serious relationship issues. He narrated his childhood experiences which were full of pain and trauma. His parents could not get along with each other and all through his childhood and adolescence

he was extremely insecure. This had created a high degree of insecurity and uncertainty and making him unsure of his capability of maintaining relationships. After listening to him for a while, I advised him to use his childhood pain and suffering as a resource, in the future, showed him how to do this and he left. After 2 years he returned , one fine day, all smiles and happy. He told me how his entire perception towards relationships had changed. Today he is in full control of his life and has a fulfilling relationship with a girl. So keep in mind, there is always something very positive in the worst of situations, we need to have a vision, to be able to see and extract the positive part out of the negative. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly”  ~Robert F. Kennedy Let's take a minute' here and recall the example of Thomas Edison, what is the unique quality that makes him different from the many before him and the many after him. To him failure was a feedback; Not failure. Opinions of others, and unsuccessful attempts is undoubtedly a trauma and disappointment to many even today, however, to him it meant more dedication, more commitment and a strong belief. Now we have created a link between the past and the future. What is to be learnt here is that an event of the past mayor may not have an effect on the future- all depends upon the Present. If we come to know something dreadful from a palmist or an astrologer, please remember not to worry. Future events can change. Our faith is based on it. Allah in his infinite mercy can shower his blessings and alter or change our future through prayers. However, one should know how? Well, how about  KHAIRAT and SADAQAT (Alms & Charity)... they can dispel any calamity that is ready to strike us in future, they can change fate. When a child starts learning, it is frequently confronted with new situations which serve as a kind of test or exam. All of us have gone through such tests in our childhood regardless of which family, cast, creed or religion we belong to or even whether we were born in a rich or poor family. At every stage of our childhood, we had situations that needed to be dealt with, how to walk, how to sit, how to climb a staircase, and then some real difficult ones such as how to get mother's attention, what to do to make them hug and love us??? Countless exams and every exam adding to the child's experience of life. Just because of these exams and resultant experiences, one day the child is fully grown, maybe educated, a graduate or professional. He gets a good job, becomes a bureaucrat, or a successful trader. The first and foremost point is whenever a problem or calamity comes your way, you should stay calm and

peaceful, brushing aside all anxieties like "Will it be solved or not?" or "What it will  lead to?" What can comfort us in distress is our Faith in the system created by Allah and unconditional surrender to this faith. We survived in the past and we survive today with success. At times, most of us, whenever we face a problem, have a complaint, "Why has it come to me, why not someone else?" This is human nature; the grass on the other side is always greener. When we scrutinize and ponder we find that the other person is also facing certain problems which may be more bitter and bigger than ours. Everything happens for the better, this is supposedly our faith. However, very few people really and truly believe this. It does not mean that every time good thing happens, it happens for the better, in fact, every time we are trailed and tested by Allah Almighty, we have to remember, that our vision and knowledge is only limited and HE who is the creator has decided on something else for us, something much better, much bigger.  A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made perfect without trials. Chinese Proverb Yes, at the face of things, at that time, it is possible that it would seem the best for us, however, we are only naive, to what Allah knows, and He always decides the best for us. 'Whatever happens; happens for the good', this is the reality. We face different problems and situations throughout our lives, and if we look back into time we will realize, it is actually those problems which actually help us, either by determination or by helping us choosing the right path which in the future, eventually is to our own benefit. I would like to share an interesting story narrated by one of my great teachers; Dr. Jaydeva of the Yoga Institute. There was an old man, who lived with his son in a village. He with the help of his son and the only female horse that he had would cultivate the land. At times there was drought and at times heavy rains, whatever the case the old man would always look up at the sky and say, "Whatever happens, happens for the good". The villagers were very disturbed by his act. In the times of hardship and trouble, where everyone would complain and argue, the old man always said, "It is not a problem, whatever happened, happened for the good." One day the villagers came rushing to the old man in a frenzy and informed him that his only horse, had run away. They were worried as it was very difficult for the old man and

his son to cultivate the land all by themselves, however, the old man again as always told them, that this was not a problem and whatever has happened, happened for the good. The villagers were shocked and they argued with the old man and tried to explain the situation, to which the old man looked at the sky and again replied, "Whatever happens, happens for the good". A few weeks later, there was a lot of noise in the village, however this time the villagers were celebrating. When the old man rushed out and inquired, the villagers informed him, that the horse that had run away had returned with 17 more horses. They were delighted and were celebrating in joy. A few years passed, one day, the son was cultivating the land, when he slipped from a rock, fell and fractured his leg. The villagers gathered and were sure that this was a big problem now as the son was bedridden for months. The old man looked at his son & very calmly said, "Whatever has happened, happened for the better". The villagers were upset, as it was impossible for the old man to cultivate the land alone, &. This was a time to be really worried and to complain but the old man was optimistic as ever. A few days later, the country went to war. The king recruited new troops. Soldiers came to every village and all young men, able to fight were enrolled in the army. The son of the old man was exempted, as his leg was fractured & he was even unable to stand. A few weeks later the news about the death of all the young men taken for war, in line of action, reached the village. It is my experience that many a times when we are facing a problem, the solution is right in front of us but we are unable to see it. It happens to all of us. It is because of overanxiety, which hinders our concentration. The only way to work through is to muster concentration. Our mind has an inherent quality of focusing and concentrating when it is relaxed and in peace. Whereas, in a state of anxiety we cannot reach a solution. Our lives are so replete with such examples that at times when we are trying to find something and it is right in front of us, still we cannot see it. We find it only after a long search. It happens because of lack of concentration or frustration. Our religion gives us a perfect solution! We are told that we should recite "INA LILLA  HE WA INNA ILAIHEY RAJE UOON" when we lose something. When we practice it we find it amazingly helpful. It is a perfect solution both from the religious and psychological point of view. You might have noticed that when we recite this "Prayer", we focus on it and resultantly re-gain concentration of mind. The person who recites this prayer forgets the immediate problem and becomes relaxed, this is because one has redirected his attention and focused on Allah's will. When this happens we remember

where we last saw or kept the thing we are searching for. This is a fact! I am sure you have experienced it? It happens at times that when you are engrossed in a thought or you are thinking about a certain thing, though your eyes are open and your brain is working, you do not notice things in front of you or you are not able to register the situation. It is because our vision depends on awareness. We are unable to, figure it, even if our eyes are open or our brain is working, because the eyes do not see; it is the reflection of light from an object which enters our eyes and makes the picture in our brain. So, whenever we pray or resolve to distribute alms or do some work  of charity, the state of our mind changes. Our mind instantly gets relieved and awareness autoIl1-atically flows to it. At times, when I reach the airport for my travels, I realize that I have left my ticket behind. What would you do in such situation? This varies with each individual; I do not get perturbed and instead buy a new one, why? I do not like my mind to get entangled in frustration and go on committing mistakes. I do not get upset, as this is the way I act or react in a bad situation. When we are faced with a problem or are worried, our mind is so engrossed we are unable to find a solution. When we divert our thoughts or pray, our mind returns back to normal, a non-anxious state and is able to focus once more. So whenever you have problems in life, and surly they will come along, remember they are great learning opportunities. They teach you many things in life. The more challenges and problems a person faces in life the more maturity, growth of mind and potentials will come his way. He will avail more opportunities in life and will be much more successful. On the other hand if man has little or no experience of difficulties and challenges, just one new challenge could be disastrous. So keep in. mind, these difficulties are for your own benefit! Long ago, there was an orphan boy, he .was very young and had no place to live and no family to be with, he was taken by one of the churches in England, where he was fed and raised. For years, he lived and grew in the church. The church was his home, his family and his work place. Every morning he would ring the church bells until he was about sixty. The Pope of England therein declared that all the workers of church must be literate. This brought great concerns for the bellman, as he was not educated at all. However, the Church had to follow the orders of the Pope, and the bellman was asked to leave the church. He begged to stay as he had no place to go to, and that the church was his whole world and he knew nothing beyond it. As much as the people in the church also wanted to keep him, but they could not as orders were to be followed. So now the man had to leave

the church and find a new world. Standing outside the church gates, the orphan boy, now a sixty years old man, he did not have any place to go, he was upset and worried as what to do, where to go and he knew nothing more than ringing a bell. He was not educated and had no work; no place to go to, no friends to meet. As these thoughts circulated in his mind, he felt a need to smoke and realized he was out of cigarettes. He started looking for a tobacco shop, he could not find one, so he started walking. He kept walking and walking, and finally found a tobacco shop, where he got the cigarettes. He lighted one and as he did, he realized something. He had traveled some 10 blocks away from the church that was the tobacco shop nearest to the church. This gave him an idea and he went back into the shop and asked the owner, if he would give him some tobacco to sell. Upon inquiry, he informed the tobacco shop owner who he was and his present situation. The owner was a nice man and liked the   jobless bell-man's idea of working on his own. He made arrangements with one of his friends who had a shop about 5 blocks away from the church. Now this man would sit outside the shop and sell tobacco. In the evenings he would live inside the shop so that he could keep a watch on the shop as well. Now the jobless bell-man was running a small business and had part-time employment. In few months, he became so successful that he opened stalls in most parts of the city selling tobacco. He hired various young orphans who would tend the stalls, sell tobacco and share the profit with him, and in a matter of a few years, money started pouring in, as his business flourished. He had a new problem now, with all the money coming in; he did not know what to do with it. So his new business friends advised him about opening an account in a bank. In those days, banks were not common as today, and people hardly went to a bank to open an account. However, the man decided to go to the bank. He carried all his money and as he arrived at the bank, he went to the counter and kept a fortune in front of the banker. The bank staff was surprised as he did not expect a rich person to walk up to them just like that and so the manager was called in, he was delighted to see the rich tobacco businessman. The manager informed him of all the procedures and gave him a befitting protocol. When the paperwork was done, the banker asked him to sign the documents. He looked at the manager, smiled and said that he could not sign as he was illiterate. The banker was shocked. He could not believe how such a rich man was unable to sign. The orphan ex-bellman replied, “If I had gone to school and learned to read and write, I would still be in the church, ringing bells!" Problems we face in life are for our own betterment. In Mumbai, the business city of  India more than 50% of the population, particularly children live below the poverty line. A child who lives on the street and eats from garbage or filth spread anywhere has such a strong immune system that little affects him, whereas if we do not drink bottled water and

instead satiate from a tap we will be admitted to the hospital with indigestion. Whenever there is a problem, the first and most important thing is to avoid and wave away worry. Amazingly these are facts of life which we practice daily may be unconsciously, but we have never realized their impact and the power of our mind to handle situations. Before going in further details, let's build on this concept, to do this I'll share some wisdom with you. Whenever we are in trouble, we pray to Allah Almighty to resolve our problems, after this we feel relaxed & as a result reach a solution. WHY? The technical reason for this is that when we pray, we shift our burden on to someone else, Allah Almighty, and when the burden is lifted, we feel light. When we feel lighter, our thinking improves and this makes us capable of finding a workable solution to our problems. In order to improve our lives, we need to change our mind. In order to change our mind, we need to change our concepts. To change our concepts we need to challenge the existing ones, check whether they are right and benefit us and discard the ones which limit us. What is a better concept to start than the concept of Allah as an entity, sitting above the skies as a King with a stick in HIS hands? Allah is not what we think or can think about. HE is beyond the conceptual understanding of our mind, even in the most bizarre imagination; we cannot create an image of Allah. In reality, the human mind needs a physical concept to create a relationship with a non physical entity or an idea or being. When we offer prayers in front of  Khana-e-Kaba, we call it the home of Allah. In fact it is not HIS only abode, for HE is everywhere. A person goes to a temple, he worship idols and worships them because his mind needs a physical concept to relate to a supreme being, or else his mind will be in a state of distraction. When he gets help, it is from Allah and not from an image or idols. Allah creates a medium of help; that medium is our MIND. It is very interesting to note, that a research which has been printed in a book named “100 Most Influential People in History" places our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on top of the list. Had (PBUH)'s mind not been that fertile and receptive, the divine revelation or message "Vahi" would never have come to him. To prepare the Prophet (PBUH) for this difficult task Allah ordered him to a long session of meditation in a cave, "Ghar-e-Hira". So our mind is the medium and through this mind, we get intuition. Great scientists in this world created wonders like the invention of the locomotive, bulb, telephone, computer, penicillin, antibiotics and even cloning. The question arises that no men of  their time or preceding ages thought of these things, how did such concepts occur in their minds? It is said that whenever Allah wants to convey a specific message, HE selects minds which are appropriate to receive it.

Through history of humankind, we find specific communities in every religion whose minds are closed to subtle principles. They are not receptive as the windows and doors of  their mind are Shut, Shut tight. Thoughts may come to them, yet, because there is no receptivity they cannot perceive. In this world all remarkable happenings, are connected to unusual persons and the most amazing part of this unusual person has been his Receptive Mind. Whenever we are worried or in a critical situation, we pray. By connecting our minds with thoughts of Allah, we put our problems aside and our mind looks for a solution. This is a way of establishing communication with the Almighty. The solution comes to us if  the mind's window is closed, it strikes the window, and rightfully guessed, and is reflected to a more receptive mind. After a few days we unconsciously go to the same person and get our problems solved by him. For example, at a time when you are worried with certain problem, your window is closed and a friend of yours takes you to Professor Moiz (Me). A talk with him and you get a solution, because the window of his mind is open and receptive at the time yours is closed. Once you get a solution to your problem you start praising Professor Moiz. In reality there is no difference between yours and Dr. Moiz's mind; both have, the same matter. The only difference is that Professor Moiz has opened up his mind and achieved a certain level of receptivity. He keeps himself relaxed and does not take problems as problems. Instead he accepts them as opportunities for learning & growth. Every human has problems and difficulties in life; even Prophets had problems in their lives and if they had allowed these problems to overcome their minds, you can imagine what would have happened to them for their difficulties were of a very high altitude than yours and mine.

“A crises is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind”  ~Chinese Proverb They were responsible for the human race, their work was the work ordained by the Almighty. We can say that they took these difficulties and problems as challenges, and one of the reasons was their Faith. Faith in the theistic sense and is not found in many schools of thought because they emphasis on Understanding. Theistic faith is a drug for the 'Emotional Mind' and demands belief in things, which cannot be known. Knowledge destroys faith and faith destroys itself when a mysterious belief is examined  under the daylight of reason. Confidence cannot be obtained by faith since it places less emphasis on reason, but only by Understanding.

Referring to the unintelligible and 'blind' nature of faith, a philosophical Voltaire said, 'Faith is to believe in something which your reason tells you cannot be true; for if  your reason approved of it, there could be no question of blind faith.' Confidence, however, is not the same as faith. Confidence is not a mental acceptance of  which cannot be known. Confidence is an assured expectation, not of an unknown beyond, but of what can be tested, experienced and understood personally. Confidence is like the understanding that a student has in his teacher who explains in the classroom the inverse square law of gravitation .as stated by Newton. He should not adopt an unquestioning belief of his teacher and his textbook. He states the facts, examines the scientific arguments, and makes an assessment on the reliability of the information. If he has doubts, he should reserve his judgment until such time when he is able to investigate the accuracy of the information for himself. Confidence is a product of reason, knowledge and experience. When it is developed, confidence can never be blind faith. Confidence becomes a power of the mind. The question of belief arises when there is no seeing in every sense of the word. The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that, I have a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because you do not see it yourself. However, if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise. A Muslim can learn many skills from those of other religions and vice versa. There are many highly placed and learned people who belong to diverse religions and cultures. We can learn whatever is good for humanity. It is because of the limitation of the conscious mind that we create a barrier of religion, caste or sect; this prevents us from appreciating the different viewpoints. The difficulty arises when our conscious mind says no to a person if from another religion or another sect. We reject his suggestions and close OUI mind. Thinking otherwise we may be committing a sin. This is an internal dialogue, within ourselves and most of the time we are not even aware of it. Contrary to the conscious, our unconscious mind will not limit our thinking. Our unconscious mind is connected to other unconscious minds. When we pose a problem to our unconscious mind, we pass it on to all the unconscious minds. Even when we are sleeping our unconscious mind starts making phone calls to other minds as it is connected to them universally. It makes calls to Hindus, to Jews, to Christians, everyone and everywhere. Well, this was just a metaphor: this is how prayers work: Allah has a solution to our problem and the answers to our questions which he has positioned somewhere in someone's mind. When we pray, our subconscious mind starts to connect with other minds. It makes its connection to everywhere in the universe to get

a solution and when it finds the solution, it brings it to our mind, either in a form of  dream or as a thought. However, it is the one who has his mind 'open' and 'receptive' who gets the solution. Whenever you have a problem in your life doesn't matter how enormous it is, do not panic or worry. You have to take it as an opportunity for growth. A man with a receptive mind learns a lot after suffering or loss, and when the same thing happens again, he is more careful and coherent. Never worry, face problems as an opportunity and make your mind so receptive that whatever solution is to come, it comes only to you, and that will happen when the mind is receptive.

The Second Pebble

As you watch' anything a tree, your wife, your children, your, neighbor, the stars of a night, The light on the water, the bird in the sky, anything, there is always the observer the censor, the thinker the experiencer, the 1 seeker and the thing he is observing; the observer and the observed; the thinker and the thought. So there is always a division. It is this division that is time. That division is the very essence of conflict. And when there is conflict, there is contradiction. There is "the observer and the observed “that is a contradiction; there is a separation. And hence where there is Contradiction; there is conflict. And when I there is conflict, there is always the urgency to get beyond it, to conquer it, to overcome it, to escape from it, to do something about it, and all that activity involves time. As long as there is this division time will go on, and time is sorrow. '

The Second Pebble There are three types of people in this world: Those who make things happen; Those who watch things happen; Those who wonder what happened; We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be. I have  always chosen to be in the first group.  Mary Kay Ash We often hear people stating in distress, 'What difference can one person make?' A lot of times you might have said 'How can I do it alone?' A lot could be said and realized regarding the fact that it has been only a handful number of people who have made a difference in this world at any stage, since life started. The examples of our beloved Prophets, scientists and our modem day heroes such as Pakistan's national poet, Dr. Allama Iqbal, or Mother Teresa and so on. These people believed in their work, they had a mass majority against their ideas, opposing them at every milestone, however, at no point of time did they give up. The determination and belief is the reason for the accuracy and development of our modem day world. However, I will not discuss the effects of individual efforts at this point of time; instead, I will divert take your attention to an experiment on animal behavior, in the islands of  Japan. A group of scientists noticed an unusual phenomenon while working on them. Normally monkeys do not wash eatables before consumption. The experiment was conducted by teaching one monkey to wash a sweet potato. Another monkey watched and mimicked, that is, he also washed the sweet potato before eating it. After sometime all the monkeys on the island were washing sweet potatoes before eating them. These monkeys changed their eating behaviors by washing the sweet potato before consumption. After few days this new behavior somehow was picked up by another group of monkeys on another island 100 kilometers away. This phenomenon was named “Critical Mass Number” by scientists. What I am about to share with you is imperative in understanding another law of Allah, “Collective Consciousness”. If in a city, town or any place, a specific group of people change their thought or way of  thinking, with corresponding feelings and emotions then those thoughts get transferred to

others automatically. Referring to the experiment, in the beginning, this was happening only in one island; however, within a month or two the scientists from another island reported that monkeys over there have started eating sweet potatoes after washing them. It must be mentioned here that the two islands were almost 100 kilometers apart. Within a few months the scientists from almost all the islands of Japan reported that the monkeys on their islands had started behaving in the same way. It is amazing as it sounds and the subject has a scientific explanation. There is a specific term 'Critical Mass Number' in behavioral science. According to scientists if a 'critical mass number' of people start thinking or acting differently or adapt an unusual behavior, their thoughts are transferred to other people. No one has specified the exact number of  the members for a 'critical mass group'; still their collective behavior has an impact on other members of their community. The above conclusion is the outcome of a research carried out in different towns, cities and areas. Scientists collected data regarding total number of deaths in last five years, number of deaths by accidents, diseases, and old age (normal deaths), number of  divorces, number of children who stopped going to schools, drug addicts and various other issues which directly or indirectly reflect collective behavior of a society. Once all the statistics were collected, the social scientists selected an area and convened a meeting of 5 per cent of the total residents of this area. They asked each of them to adopt a new habit. Every night before going to bed they would lie down, close their eyes and think about" themselves and their surroundings. They would visualize their area as the one where all the children go to school, factories run well, rate of accidental deaths and divorces is very low and where everyone understands their responsibilities and discharges them as a part of daily life. They were further asked to think anew and behave in a positive way. A few years back, a particular class, in our society formed a negative opinion about Pakistan. They alleged that within a few years Pakistan would crumble and collapse. Within a decade their thoughts were transferred to other strata of the society and today almost every child, every adult, male and female believes that such an event is happening. People started leaving their homeland and migrated to different parts of the world. Thousands have left and a huge number is awaiting their turn. It has become a dream of every student to travel abroad for higher education and eventually to settle outside Pakistan. The members of this group promised to do as advised. After about one year new statistics of that society were collected and the scientists noticed the overall situation had improved and negative trends had plunged by about 40 percent. The divorce rate had reduced; deaths due to drinking, accidents or diseases were reduced to a considerable figure, less than preceding year, while the number of school going children increased significantly.

The number of drug addicts decreased. Less people were going to doctors because they were healthier than the past year. Only five percent of the society who had changed their thoughts and their way of thinking was transferred to other members of the society, eventually producing it into a better, a healthier society. Thousands of our educated, talented, people with potential including doctors, engineers, teachers, have migrated, and when the youth of a nation starts dissipating, the nation is at loss. A 'critical mass number' is not specific to a particular class. Any one-a doctor, engineer, professor, student, literate or illiterate, housewife, in service or jobless -- in short, people belonging to any field of life can be part of 'critical mass number'. In Karachi, some years ago, in one of my Thursday lecture sessions, I shared a vision with my pupils and that was people leaving Pakistan for greener pastures abroad will return one day, or at least want to return. Emigrants will realize soon that those living abroad are not more fortunate than those who patronized their motherland, Pakistan. It's astonishing how our thoughts transfer to different members of a society and collectively shape new trends of society. The closest example of this i s our own country. Alhumdullilah, (By the grace of ALLAH) my vision is proven today, when the incident of 9/11 made people realize how comfortable and secure and homely our motherland is. Those who migrated are trying to return and resettle here. Maybe for a few years it will be a difficult time for us, a very hard and tough time as the country develops. However, Inshallah we will survive and this country will progress by l eaps and bounds. Once someone asked me a question, “Prof. Moiz, you have been conducting these Thursday lectures for over twenty five years, what is the benefit? The answer was: To change our thoughts into positive, so that our actions are better and  deeds are just. To infuse the power of collective consciousness.

During the discourse we think and discuss, our horizons are broadened, our thoughts begin to change, and we go home with this new state of mind, a unique way of thinking and create a very powerful 'and positive influence on our family members, who in due course become positive thinkers too. At times, while talking to people, we unconsciously convey our thoughts through our words. This is transfer of thoughts by words. Another type of thought transfer is through natural connections between minds. For example, when you are in the company of people with a negative approach, eventually, you will perceive what type of people they are. I am blessed with two sons, both of whom have received their elementary education from

Karachi. Like many students today, they aspired to procure their professional education abroad. They did but so committed were they to and committed they were to serve their motherland, both came back and are now running a business organization in Pakistan. At no point of time, had it been their intention of settling anywhere other than Pakistan, neither had my wife and myself ever restricted them otherwise. However, because we never even in our subconscious mind intended of settling anywhere other than Pakistan, neither had my wife and myself ever restricted them otherwise. However, because we never even in our subconscious mind intended of settling anywhere other than Pakistan, our children did not have this thought induced in them. This is how the thoughts in our minds are transferred to other people. Consider this if my wife and myself well settled in Pakistan, intended to settle abroad, my sons would have unconsciously sensed this message, and although never spoken aloud, our mental message would have reached them, and in due course of time they might have developed an urge and desire to settle in foreign lands. The Power of Collective Consciousness is amazing, and mind-boggling. It affects people all around us without their conscious knowledge. I remember my grandfather a very pious man used to say, "Be very careful about the friends you choose, their company can make you either, a good or a bad human being". At that young age, I couldn't understand the significance of this company, today, however it is clear as crystal that what he warned me about was in fact the power of collective consciousness. Our elders have been saying "Man is known by the company he keeps", it is true as people around us influence our thoughts and behavior . Numerous examples are cited in history where groups of people have changed the course of history because of their thinking style. Their vision was transferred to the masses and people began to change. The examples of many Sufi saints whose thoughts, character and behaviors changed and transformed those who came in contact with them and some who did not even know were also influenced. In fact the power of collective consciousness is so wide spread; it influences everything around it, even the kingdom of plants and animals. It is time we understand and begin to use the creative and constructive domains of our mind to create powerful and productive vibes- which in turn will influence people around us and once we reach a CRITICAL MASS NUMBER our collective thoughts will influence matter at a deeper level which call “Quantum" level. This in turn will influence change. Yes, people will change for the better, our lives will have more meaning, our actions will be focused, and our goals will be for the good of all concerned. We will enjoy better health, prosperity and peace of mind. please remember it's always a person, one person that starts a chain reaction. Do not wait for someone else, you are that person.

Now let's understand how we can join the pool of collective consciousness. How can we change the nature and content of our thoughts? Is it possible? Is it easy? What is the procedure? How do we do it? An exhausted businessman gratefully climbed into his bed in a Washington hotel at midnight, looking forward to a full nine hour sleep. At 2 a.m., however, a loud banging on his door awakened him. It was a semi-coherent drunk, angrily calling out. "This is my room. Get out!" it took the executive twenty minutes to get back to sleep. An hour later he was awakened by the same drunk, who still claimed that it was his room. When the drunk woke him up a third time, the executive was outrageous-but this time the drunk got in the first words. "So it is you again!" he screamed. "Damn it, are you occupying every room in this hotel?" People are moving about drunk, not knowing where they are going, for what they are going, without any bearing or direction. The first step is to know where you are going. Then what is the final destination You wish to reach and how will you reach there? Collective Consciousness has to have a common destiny, an objective. Know your purpose. What needs to be thought about on, contemplated as to why? Once we are aware of the nature and contents of the thoughts that need to be stored and processed in our mind, then we are in the pool of Collective Consciousness. Out of many methods and ways, one is; simply a state s tate of one's mind- one's state of  consciousness termed as "Meditation" It is a process of thoughts, thinking of the wise, the sages; the Sufis have given it a very interesting term "'Meditation"'.  Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads  you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. ~Buddha A lot of resources are available in the world today, thousands of institutions around the world offer training on this subject, however in reality there are very few authentic schools of meditation. Let's first understand what "'Meditation" truly is. It is surprising that the word "meditation" simply denotes a certain degree and level of Concentration. One spiritual school defines Meditation as a state of 'Aloneness'. A very high kind of  blissful state, which is attained only when one, learns to be alone. It arises from one's

very being, and because it is not dependent on somebody else, it can become a continuous process, where one can be in the state of bliss forever and ever. 'Bliss' is a state, when one is not dependent on anyone and or anything. It's a 'Journey'. An inside journey towards absolute aloneness, one cannot take anyone there with him. He cannot share his center with anyone, not even his beloved. It is not the nature of things. The moment we go in this state all connections with the outside world are broken, in fact the whole world disappears, That's why mystics, yogis and Sufis have called the outside world 'Illusion' or 'Maya' not denying its existence, instead, the one who enters it is now non-existent. The silence in this state is so profound, nothing can penetrate into it, and the aloneness is so deep that one needs extreme courage. It is in this state, when one is completely drawn in, disconnected from the external world, that one experiences a unique connection with Allah. Aloneness and silence are two aspects of one experience, two sides of the same coin. If  one wants to experience silence one has to go into total aloneness. True we are born and we leave the world alone. Between these two realities we create thousands of illusions of  being together, all kinds of relationships, friends, enemies, love, hate, nations, races, etc. We create all kinds of hallucinations just to avoid one fact, 'We are alone'; whereas whatever we do is the truth and it cannot be changed. Delight in our own aloneness is what meditation is all about. The one who meditates is the one who dives deep into his aloneness, knowing that we are born alone, die alone and are living alone. So why not experience what this aloneness is. It is our very ver y Nature. .. Our very being. Sufis, mystics and yogis suggest few minutes of daily silence and aloneness. Being quiet and alone or aloof. Such a routine allows one to be in touch with one's self. In some school of thoughts, a particular day is marked for complete silence, where one makes an effort to keep the tongue, thoughts and mind absolutely quiet. There are three stages a practitioner needs to experience, each leading to a higher level. The First stage is when the five senses are shunned or internalized. One is not perturbed by the external stimulus. This is the most difficult and extensive stage as senses are geared to connect to external information and we live our entire lives remaining connected with the external world through these five senses. These senses Feed us, Inform us, Excite us, Entertain us, us , they make us Happy and Sad. There are two types of meditation broadly called 'Active Mediation' and 'Passive Meditation'. When we are in a state of meditation and we are able to maintain our 'self-

awareness', we are said to be in 'active meditation'. However 'body awareness' is distinguishable from self awareness. The question now arises as to what we mean by 'body awareness'? It is a very difficult topic, which will need your full concentration and attentiveness towards my explanation. There is a definite divine purpose behind "The way we are created by Allah". When we are in the "awake state", we need information to continue with our mental and bodily functions, hence, using these all five senses: tactile (touch), audio (hearing), visual (sight), gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell) we continue to gather information. When our eyes are open, information & images keeps coming in, no matter whether we want them or not. When our auditory sense is at work, we are receiving information. Gustatory sense relates to taste; we keep on feeling taste even when we are not eating or drinking because at all the time we taste saliva or even air. For example when it is about to rain we not only smell it but also feel that the taste of the air is different from the normal. As long as a person is awake he is gathering information from the outside world through all the five senses, whether the information is wanted, liked or disliked. Before we dive further in our quest, let us understand the role of our Brain! The brain works 24 hours a day without stopping for a single second. It resembles a computer in terms of its two fold functions. Its first function is to ‘do as directed', in the same way a computer does when someone is operating it and giving it different commands. The second function, however, of the brain is analogous to the function of a PC when it is idle. No one is operating it, still the central processing unit is on, its systems are working and all the vital processes required to live and survive are functioning. Accordingly when we are asleep, the brain stops performing its first kind of  function i.e. stops acting on our commands. But, at the same time it pursues its second function of, keeping us alive. Our respiration is controlled by the brain during sleep. The unconscious movement of our hands, legs etc all are under control. If we have a problem and want to find a solution, sleep over it and in most cases our brain finds an answer while we are asleep. If we are about to fall from our bed, our brain will alert us before such a fall. The safety mechanism does not stop, heartbeat continues, blood keeps on circulating and respiratory system does not stop. This amazing nervous system like all other systems is working in full fledge. These processes are involuntary actions which carry on day in & day out and over which we do not have any control.

While we are awake our five senses interact with the outside world; they exert themselves and gather information which is transmitted to the brain. What does the brain do with this information? The brain analysis it and makes judgments and takes decisions on the basis of this information. All this process is called Cognition. For example, you see a candle in a certain position and this information is conveyed to your brain. If it is the first time that you see a candle, the information gets stored in the brain. Now, whenever you will see a candle or its picture your mind will retrieve all the memories, feelings and emotions associated with the time when for the fir st time you saw a candle. At night, when we are asleep, all the information collected throughout the day is filed in different areas of the brain. There is a foolproof system of files and folders and every file is in a sequence. Dreams are also a part of these files and folder system. This process continues throughout the night. At some time in the night the brain stops collecting and arranging information and starts to repair and work on the maintenance of the body; it recharges and heals the body. When dreams start, the brain once again undertakes sequencing the files and putting them in different lockers & drawers. This means whether we are awake or asleep, we are, connected to the outside world and as this connection with the outside world is on we stay in a practical session. This was a difficult session and if you are still with me, another question, what is the Outside World? At this point I will compare our contact with the outside world with the one between television and the children who watch it all day? While eating or drinking sometimes, People sit in the front of the TV; eating and drinking, taking a brief break, relieving them returning back to the seats. In exact the same way, we keep in touch with outside world and gather information from it. There are two things in the outside world which are important to understand. They are 'Change' and 'Illusion'. Change means whatever you see now will not be there after sometime. Illusion refers to phenomenon 'what is visible is not there and what is there is not visible'. Or what appears to be real may not be so and vice versa. Because of these two effects a human suffers, both mentally and physically. Ideas are broken, perception changes. There is a very good advantage bout discovery. It says 'Discovery is something that you see as it is but the others do not see it in the same way.' It means your perception is different from that of the other people. You see the

same thing but the way you see it, is different. For example, here is a pen, everyone sees and thinks of it as something to write with. However, a person may perceive the pen in a different way and think of it as something to be used, for other purposes may be as a weapon. The thought of using a pen instead of  a tea spoon to stir sugar in your cup? There are so many uses for a pen. Similarly we can use many things in different ways. Our connection with the outside binds us to certain limits. We suffer as our thoughts are bound, and we cannot achieve certain positions and goals when we do not recognize our 'self'. When a person enters a state of 'Meditation', his first experience is that contact with the outside world is severed. When the person disconnects himself from the world, he has to connect somewhere as it is impossible for the brain remain blank i.e., without a thought. This brings back memories of the fine evening, many years back, when I was sitting at my teacher's feet; this __s something I used to do as a sign of respect. However this was a special day, just a day before the GURU expired and left his physical abode. After having shared many pearls of wisdoms and advice, he said... "Do you know, what is the most difficult thing to achieve?

Thinking, that I had learned much I started sharing my thoughts, "Speaking the truth is very difficult", "Forgiveness is very difficult". "Sharing your wealth with the poor is also very difficult" and maybe 'Detachment' from the world is the most difficult of all. After listening to what I had to say, he kept silent for a while and then looked up at the sky and in a very deep soft voice said, "If a person comes to me and says that he can lift a mountain on his shoulder, I may believe him, but if a person claims that he can control his mind, I would never believe him." Controlling one's mind is the most difficult task. Sufis, sages and mystics spent a lifetime learning to control their mind. Real meditation is controlling one's mind and thoughts. So, when you get disconnected from the outside world you get connected with your Inner World or Inner Kingdom. Now the mind feeds on memories, beliefs, likes and dislikes, notions, experiences etc. When a person establishes a contact with his inner self and looks inside, he can perceive

his deficiencies, negative trends and ghastly being. He learns that he has always been criticizing others, but actually the fault lies within him so, he must check this dreadful habit of criticism. He realizes his mistakes, abandons them, and discovers positive traits and acquires them. He understands, realizes, learns and notices. Thus the first and foremost advantage of meditation is, the person who meditates starts realizing. Meditation is the first step towards self knowing, Discovering one's self.

The Third Pebble

Remember, knowing is alive only when you know, when it is your' immediate, direct experience. 'But when you know from others it ' is just memory, not' knowledge.

Memory is dead. When you gather much -- the riches of , knowledge, scriptures, all around you, libraries condensed in your mind and I suddenly you become aware that you are just carrying the burden of others nothing belongs to you1 you have not known -- then you can drop it you can drop all this knowledge. In that dropping a new type of ignorance arises within you. This ignorance is not the ignorance of the ignorant this is how a wise man is how wisdom is. Only a wise man can say: I don't know. But in saying: I don't know he is not hankering after knowledge he is simply stating a fact. And when you can say with your total heart: I don't know in that very moment your eyes become open the doors of knowing are open. In that very moment when you can say with your totality; I don’t know you have become capable of knowledge. This ignorance is, beautiful but it is attained Through knowledge. It is poverty attained through richness. And the same happens With ego

The Third Pebble The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third   memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others. ~Solomon Ibn Gabrieal  Let's do a self-Analysis! Think for a while, who in a routine day in life, would go through this format? All our efforts are directed towards the external world. A world of glamour, colors, music & excitement. We seldom find faults within ourselves. We rely on  justifications, and make some very good ones, e.g. 'I get angry because the things in this world are not right or "because that person misbehaved with me". This is the way we rationalize our acts and deeds. Whereas, a student or a learner who enters the world of 

meditation, starts realizing his likes and dislikes. The things that make him angry and those which make him happy. This is the beginning, rather, the first step to selfrealization, which eventually leads to Self Purification. The firstly important advantage of meditation is that one starts a journey into his inner self and subsequently checks and controls, all the negative aspects of his own personality. I often share my thoughts with people, and now will share them with you, "We must live 'Inside' and operate 'Outside'." When you are truly living in your inner world, you are congruent and hence, the external world is witnessed, by you as an observer. Through the precious pages we have shared the journey of wisdom, and have realized, that the world is full of un-knowing people, we see or meet all around. Only education as we know it does not necessarily make us wise. It can give us tools and skills to earn a living and to follow the 'norms' of the society; however, it may not create self awareness. Schools and college or universities, do not teach retrospection and self-awareness. This wisdom is shared and propagated by those pious and motivated person who have undertaken a journey to the enlightenment and now can share the knowledge of the Inner light with us, to help us kindle our candles. I would like to share a thought of wisdom. A person was driving home from office had the misfortune of a flat wheel. When he took off the flat wheel, to change it with the spare he realized that the nuts of the wheel were lost, most probably along the road. In a limbo, he asked a passerby for the location of the nearest garage and was told it was two kilometers away. The man decided to leave his car and get new bolts for the wheel. During this he needed someone who would look after the car in his absence. Desperately looking around for someone he noticed that he was in front of a mental asylum. And one lunatic (mentally ill), was watching him from an open window. He requested him to keep an eye on his car as he was going to buy new bolts. The lunatic asked him what was wrong. So he narrated the situation... Hearing this, the lunatic advised him to take out one bolt from each of the three wheels and put them on the fourth one, this way he can drive carefully to a nearby garage. The man wondered at this sound advice and thought why this idea did not come to his mind. He looked up to the so called lunatic and said" How did you get this idea? You are in a mental asylum; you are supposed to be a mentally sick, crazy person" upon which the reply was  I may be crazy but surely I am not a fool". We may see many real fools around us. Yet in our society they hold well respected and high positions. Fools are mostly concerned with the immediate they cannot think beyond what is apparent. Wisdom allows one to transcend beyond the immediate results and look 

for permanent solutions. Wisdom is connecting with one's inner self for answers. Changes become brighter, when we divert our attention away from outside influences and focus on our inner self, through meditation. In our daily routine, it is very difficult for an individual to change. The most difficult of all is our attention, as its focus is always outwards, throughout our life, our efforts are concentrated towards trying to change others, events, situations and never changing ourselves and our doings. Think back and remember the last time, you took off from 'normal life's' limitations and attempted to discover something about yourself? Well, you just may have done it and may have found out" many things about yourself. At times during the process of self  discovery you may even tried to hide your face from your inner self. Then after a while, you give justifications and try to rationalize your thoughts and deed or convince yourself  whether all the wrong happened because of other people, situations, or was it destined by Allah Almighty? Or was the fault within the system or the government, stating that, if all this was perfect, you would not have performed any negative actions, "I did wrong because of you" this is a common phrase we hear almost daily". Let's think of the last time we took responsibility of our problems and sufferings on our self? For most of us this never happens. Our failure is because of some external force, someone or thing other than us. We are perfect. God loving, pious, human beings. The rest of the world is at fault. All people around us are culprits or fools. 1 am the wise one. If 1 became the President, Pr esident, the country would prosper and flourish. 1 deliberately ask people questions about their neighbors, acquaintances, friends, coworkers and family members. Surprisingly they have enormous information about all these people, they are well aware of all happenings in their world. A deep knowledge of  local and international political scenes, international stock market, communication and telecom, yet it's deplorable and depressing how little they know about themselves. This is because our senses are externally focused. I recall the habits of a businessman narrated by one of my teacher. This business man, in the evening would instruct his secretary, "No calls, and no visitors. visitors. It's time for me to go and meet myself myself . This is an attitude we all should form and nurture. Change in the external world is directly in proportion to internal change. We are mostly concerned about what's changing outside, without considering importance of how we are changing internally. Are we closer to Allah than before or are we drifting away from him? Are we fulfilling f ulfilling our obligations and responsibilities towards others? Are we in congruent with ecology and its changes? My teacher once said "The external world is neutral, we add colors to it". True, our inner desires, mind sets and perceptions create our own so called realities of external world. We would all agree that the world was never perfect. Situations, people, events, almost

everything changes. The only constant thing in this world is the 'Change'. When we meditate and become aware of the many aspects about ourselves, we can remedy the problems within us. A person who meditates improves his personality and this helps his self development. It's a strenuous exercise, a long process and an excellent technique that everyone striving for excellence must acquire and practice. When you follow a particular path of meditation or mind sciences from a teacher, you get moral and ethical training as well. A very practical example of this is your presence in my seminars, workshops and lectures. I know it is not easy coming here each time. The distance, at times beating heat, and sometimes other commitments, yet, most of you manage to come to this institution of knowledge, and sit attentively through the discourse. All this has a meaning, and this means you have increased your capacity of endurance and also have realized the importance of learning ,and growing; you are seekers of knowledge and believe that one learns all the time, and in learning one continues to grow. Once my teacher said "From the cradle to the grave the process of learning continues, the day you stop learning, you stop growing and when stops growing, you die, thus only dead people can't learn." Of course there is a scope for reflection here. We see generations after generations not interested in learning and growing, are they all Dead? Are we living in a society of Dead people? This is another chapter of human psyche one which hopefully I will explain detail someday, some place. Let's return to our topic, the art of meditation. When we initially start meditating, our mind tries to prevent us, by working on physical, emotional and even mental resistances. Sometimes we feel a tickling sensation in our body, our feet become void of sensations. We think of putting off the meditation, maybe till tomorrow. Even when, we set our clock  on a 10-minute timer, we feel that, it has been longer, maybe hours have passed. Such thoughts come to us because it is our own mind that is going against us. When we successfully pass through this initial stage, we come to the primary concept of meditation and start developing what is now termed as 'Creative Visualization'. This is also the 'active meditation' stage. At this stage, we begin to experience a certain degree of control over our thoughts and when this is achieved, an inner strength begins to develop in us and we begin to have a certain degree of control on our physiology and physiological functions. Now we can control our blood pressure. We need less oxygen, hence breathing becomes subtle. Our resistance to diseases and sickness enhances, as our immunity becomes stronger and we have more control over the physiological functions of the body, such as lowering our heartbeat, slowing down our pulse or controlling our body temperature. While practicing these unusual features, we can concentrate or focus our attention inwardly as well as

outwardly. What has in fact been achieved is a 'better level of focus and uninterrupted concentration'. This needs to be controlled with moral and ethical discipline also. The same concentration used for slowing down our heart beats, can be directed towards someone else - externally, and this power of concentration can affect other hearts as well. Thus, one needs a teacher, a guide, who can provide the appropriate spiritual foundation. One who discourages directing such power of concentration towards negative and destructive activities to and control one's emotions so as not to cause harm to others or get undue benefits or advantages. I remember a story of a great mystic, who had the power of  ISM-E-AZAM  (The most powerful & greatest of all names of Allah). One day his most favorite disciple requested to be bestowed with this ISM, upon which the teacher replied. You still need more time. You need a very high degree of self control, only then can you be given the sacred ISM. Time passed and one fine day the disciple was sent by the master to buy vegetables from the market. On his return, the master observed that his disciple returned very angry and upset. On inquiring, about the cause of anger the disciple informed his master about a distressing incident that occurred in the market while he was buying the vegetables. He witnessed an old man carrying fire wood on his back, when a soldier drunk with power, snatched some of the logs from the old man. When the old. man resisted the soldier, he hit him with a stick on the head and the old man fell on the ground bleeding. With no one to help the old man managed to stand on his feet and left without saying a word. "So why are you angry and upset? The master asked. The disciple said, "I wish you had given me the power of ISM-E- AZAM. I could have punished the soldier". The master looked deep into the eyes of the disciple and inquired. Do you know the identity of the old man? The disciple said, "NO". The master placed both his hands on the shoulder of his disciple and said, "He is my master, the one who gave me ISM-E-AZAM".

As we drift deeper and deeper into the world of mind control through meditation internal as well as external, supremacy starts walking towards us. There are those who use these abilities to communicate and to control entities of other dimensions. Let's be very clear that the purpose of meditation is Self Control. I suggest! You use meditation to gain a degree of control over 'yourself and never use the acquired ability for influencing the external forces or other entities. At this stage, as being your teacher, I pre-warn you that if you go after worldly benefits or supernatural beings you will go astray, that is why you have to ignore them. These unusual and so called benefits are nothing more than obstacles in the path to self-realization. Avoid them, ignore them and they vanish. Many a times, while meditating, we smell a fragrance; there are no flowers or scents, however, we feel there is a sweet smell. Sometimes we hear a very soothing and

beautiful, yet, strange music, or have a feeling of elevation, which is flying in the air, or a feeling that whatever we wish, will come true. 'Remember this and these all are obstacles or hurdles, and if you follow them you will be diverted from your goal. If you overcome these temptations it will amount to controlling great deficiencies in you i.e. your ego, greed, desire etc'. And when a person attains competence to overcome these obstacles, the first actual step and original process of meditation starts, because at this stage the concept of bodily awareness evaporates. A disciple first, receives moral and ethical training; this is a combination of the importance of love, humility, chastity and empathy. All creations of Allah are respected and so are the laws that govern the existence of all creations. Great emphasis is set on the importance of congruency, internal and external unity, faith, purity, truthfulness and nonviolence. The complete unity of body, mind and spirit in thoughts, words and actions is a must as respecting others opinions. The next is physiological training which may include some exercises, breathing control and subsequently meditation. In meditation the disciple enters a state of ONENESS. When diversities merge into one. Where difference of color, caste, religion, race, all surrender into one truth. When, the true nature and reality of  material and non-material objects begin to surface. When, one is focused on the subtle principles of existence. It is then, when meditation truly starts. 'Samadhi' in Raja Yoga or  'Fanaa' in the Sufi school of thought, represents the last stage of meditation, however, in  fact it is really, the first step. Personal identity dissolves; one loses its scope and applicability. The disciple no longer uses words I am doing this meditation.' It is said that actual meditation starts at this stage or, to be more precise, this is the first step towards Self Realization. As long as we receive external information through one or more of our five senses, thoughts will keep coming to our mind. If we block all our ways of information, close our eyes, block our ears create a barrier so that all the five senses are closed, shut tight, it is then, that internal process starts. The mind will wander inwards for information and will not be satisfied without thoughts. It means when we lose the sense of self-awareness and have complete control over our desires, the first step of the actual meditation starts. This is called Passive Meditation. In passive mediation one is part of the flow and does not have awareness of one's own self. To attain a state of passive meditation, one has to cross the bridge of active meditation. In passive meditation, there is a 'gap' in our minds and between our thoughts which is referred to as ‘void'. In the state referred to as “void" there is no sense of self-awareness. Whenever during

meditation the gap or "void" disappears then again a thought comes to us that may be '1 am meditating'. After a few moments, however, the thought dissipates and the void state comes up again. The greater the gap (void), the more passive is the meditation, so all attempts should be towards increasing the duration of void, because, this is the very purpose of meditation itself. It is at void, where it all starts - an experience that cannot be described in words, for it is not possible. To explain this only one of the senses, not all are to be used, to feel is the same, however, recall it is the state where all the five senses do not exist. It does not involve our frame of reference, or paradigm, model of right and wrong. Someone said, "There is nothing pleasant or unpleasant but thinking makes it so". So when there is no 'thinking' there are no good or bad experiences. One cannot discern it in terms of the five senses. After all senses are locked, cognition faculty is closed. In this experience object and subject merge into one another. Qualities of the object transfer into the subject and this, as I have earlier said, is the real purpose of 'meditation'. Sadly, as good as it sounds, it does not happen as easily as it is thought to be. Let me explain it with the help of an example, to make it easier to understand. There is a term often used in Sufism, 'Dhikr', meaning "to remember", somewhat like reciting the Holy Quran or maybe, the holy book of other religions. You probably would have observed people reciting Dua or prayer, with a Tasbeeh, in one hand. Especially, in many eastern cultures, it is customary for men to hold a Tasbeeh in their hands. If you were to observe this behavior, you may notice, the recitation verbal or non-verbal is void of the thought of Allah. It appears to be more of a ritual than a willful act of  concentration on the Prayer being recited. Notice them, taking active part in daily activities - interacting with others, while the fingers continuously move. It is worthwhile to contemplate whether such a recitation may not serve the actual purpose, as the heart and mind is not involved in the Dhikr or prayer. Definitely! The recitation of 'Dua' or Allah's attributes brings 'Barkaat'  or blessings; however, it is a futile exercise, in connection to achieving a state of self forgetfulness, by remembering the Almighty Allah. The tangible purpose of Tasbeeh is to forget yourself, Le., to get so engrossed in Tasbeeh that your self-awareness is completely subdued. For example, 'Rehman' is an attribute of Allah Almighty which refers to his quality of  being Merciful towards his human creatures and his entire creations. 'AI Rehman' means 'The Merciful' (' Al' is Arabic equivalent to definite article 'the').

Imagine, a person, saying Tasbeeh of 'Ya Rehman' (0 my Merciful Lord) or Al Rehman, he should be so lost in thought of his object, Le., Allah the Merciful, that he is no longer aware of his own self. Only the meaning of 'Rehmat' (divine mercy) and the concept of  'AI-Rehman' (the Creator who showers mercy upon His creatures) should be alive in his mind. Consider how strange it would be if a person reciting Tasbeeh does not even know the meaning of 'Rehman'. His Tasbeeh would be a cramming exercise. The benefits in terms of Allah's blessings will indeed be rewarded, however, the kind of spiritual accession which we seek, will not occur. Meditation also involves a similar kind of fixation with the object. The first step of meditation is to get disconnected from the outside world. A person, while meditating or reciting involved in  Dhikr, is worried about the rates of foreign currency, the latest trend in the stock market, an evening meeting, national or international political affairs etc., he does not disconnect from the outside world. Indeed, it is difficult; however actual meditation starts only after you succeed in attaining that state of mind. The next level is even more difficult; in which an inner voice guides you and asks you to look inside and see what a scoundrel you truly are. You start realizing that your life is full of lies, deceit, that you have been wearing a mask all your life. No one wants to look at the real person - the real "I" avoids this truth for as long as it is possible for him. At this stage some people get confused, incensed and at times scared. They cannot continue this practice, and hence leave it at some stage with a great conviction that they have achieved all that was to be achieved or have known all that was to be known. However, when you successfully pass through the second stage, you confront another even more difficult situation - the thought that you will have to change yourself, the Next Phase of  Meditation.

The Fourth Pebble

So, having made life into a technical process, conforming to a particular pattern of action, which is ' merely technique, naturally we have lost confidence in ourselves, ' and therefore we are increasing our inward struggle, our inward pain and, confusion. Confusion can be dissolved only through self-confidence, and this I confidence cannot be gained through another. You have to undertake, For yourself and by yourself the journey of discovery into the process of yourself in order to understand it. This does not mean you are withdrawn, aloof. On the contrary, confidence comes the moment you understand, not what others say, but your own thoughts and feelings, what is happening in yourself and around you. Without that confidence which comes from knowing your own thoughts, feelings and experience their truth, their I falseness, their significance, their absurdity - , without knowing that how I can you clear up the whole field of  confusion which is yourself? J. Krishnamurti

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The Fourth Pebble What a strange paradox! Every warrior in the path of knowledge thinks, at one time or  another, that he’s learning sorcery, but he’s doing is allowing himself to be convinced   of the power hidden in his being, and that he can reach it.  Don Juan Matus . It is worth reflecting at this point of our quest, why do we need to control our minds? Life is great for many, why not enjoy all the ills and vices and indulge in pleasures that life offers us. What is the need for penance? I always give an example about life as a large cinema screen, the larger the size the more is one's involvement in the show. Think  for a while if you own a small TV in your home such as a 12 inches screen and next to it you place a large screen TV maybe a 60 inches. Which of these you would enjoy more? Of course the 60 inches screen because the pictures are larger, clearer and more vivid. The same goes is the scene of life. The more we lose control of our mind the more the peripheral vision enlarges.. When the pictures are larger we get more involved and the more we get involved, the lesser control we have over our mind.

The show of life goes on from birth till the last breath, never ending, new actors, new themes, new dialogues keep appearing to keep us engrossed at all times. Saying that, a thought may often run through our minds, we are unable to identify between the real and  unreal? Can we distinguish whether whatever is shown on Life's screen is Truth or mere  Entertainment? The answer; most of us cannot distinguish because of the subjective involvement in the show that runs on our life screen. It controls our minds and our lives. The actors on the screen are ACTORS not real. They are performing. So life is a mirage very different from what it appears to be. And Yet! Most of us take life as REAL. The wise, the mystics have said that this life is a IIMAYA"- an illusion; not what you see, but, is what you don't see. Just like a traveler lost in a desert often sees a mirage and mistakes it for an oasis, only when he comes nearer to the image that he is disillusioned, however, .his extreme thirst at that moment makes him see another one at a distance. This is how our lives are governed. By our senses, that is, when the mind is not in our control. A mystic and philosopher once said you Better control your mind or someone else will". This may help you to understand why our mind is so busy and what it seeks all the time, what does it want? All this is necessary, as sometimes an imposter on the screen of life can prevent us from seeing actual reality. Life imposes many difficulties, having to face these, we feel terrible and this process is repeated, until we decide to finally change our state of mind and realize that it is enough now we must find out why and what causes all this pain and suffering in our lives. Our involvement in life puts colored lenses on our eyes. Strange as it may seem, these lenses obstruct our real color visions, people and events seem changed. All the time, life to us is what the lenses make us see. And in this way we go through a circle of endless pain, agony, sufferings and disappointments not realizing that all we need to do is to remove the lens.

A very common happening amongst us is that although there are so many scenes and situations in everyday life, we still focus on and realize only the thing which fortunately or unfortunately holds our concentration. The lenses on our eyes are often referred to 'as our angels of thought' we have all with differently experienced that the same situation is often dealt and observed differently while, the message learnt from it varies with every individual. It depends on which lens individual has chosen to perceive that situation. The reality may be completely different;

yet, that individual would only interpret and see things the way his lens permit and to the limited degree of its axis. However there are moments in our lives when an incident or a scene of happiness can help us to differentiate between illusion and reality This is nature's way to awaken us from the continuous attachment with the immediate, the transitory & the material world. It is these 'moments of reflection', one gets in touch with the inner self. Try and recall, when you got in touch with ALLAH Almighty? Yes indeed, it was in times of suffering & calamity. In reality when you get connected with the unchangeable, pure consciousness which is with you all the time, the real self, without the lens, without any frames of reference, merely the pure self. You need a Teacher, a Guide or someone who can help us in realizing the impermanent nature of the material world around us. Just as a doctor helps and guides one who is physically or mentally ill, the numerous teachers in every religion, every spiritual discipline have been there to help those who are inflicted and infected' with spiritual diseases or are seeking the path to salvation. These teachers and spiritual masters are the ones who help us to recognize the limitations of our senses; they guide us to see the world as it is and help us eventually, in controlling our mind so as to experience the real self. It is with their help and assistance that, we acquire a state in which we experience 'Pure Consciousness', our true nature our real self. Most of us, through the majority of our lives, stay involved in the drama on the screen of  life. We get so absorbed in the show, we think it is reality, and become a part and partner to it. We cry, we laugh, we feel tense and anxious as the drama requires us to feel and experience. Most of us are unaware that, whatever is projected on the screen is not real and it is being experienced, sensed and perceived by something more superior than the five senses. It is pure consciousness, which is the essence of our existence. Mystics teach a very interesting concept and exercise that helps people understand that what they see is a drama on the screen and they are simply observers, not the observed. This is often referred to as the "Art of Relaxing" It is said that the core of "Relaxation" is 'Letting go'. Letting go of what is not required. Most of us do not let go of our past and hang on to regrets; and the cause of our clinging to the screen is because we don't wish to let go of our past, regardless of how painful it had been. Understand relaxation and you are free from the past. Free from the obsession of the big screen. Dr. Jayadeva my beloved teacher shared an interesting story once. A woodcutter lived

with his small family in a village near a river bank. Daily in the morning he would go into the forest, chop down some branches, thank the trees for sharing its wealth, go to the market place, sell the logs and come back to his family with food and money. In the evening he would take a walk near the river bank, sing with the birds, enjoy the cool breeze and then just relax. Soon an engineer came from the city, deputed by the government to build a bridge on the river. This highly educated engineer living in this village observed that the woodcutter was wasting his time. Not able to hold his temper he approached the villager and advised him not to waste his time. Upon this the illiterate woodcutter asked him what he should do. The engineer told him to chop wood for four hours instead of two, the woodcutter asked; and then what? Well you will have more wood to sell and you ,will get more money, then what, again asked the woodcutter?, With more money you can save more and then you will save enough to buy a donkey, "Then what?" asked the woodcutter. Upon this the engineer said that you will have an animal to carry the wood, now you start chopping more wood, soon you will have more wood, more money and you can hire a manual worker." Then what?" the woodcutter asked again. Well the engineer said the two of you cut the wood, the donkey will carry the load to the market, you will have more wood, more money than eventually more people will be working for you, chopping wood, the donkeys will carry the load to the market. All you will then have to do is, just sit and relax. Hearing this from the engineer, the woodcutter looked into his eyes and said "You educated fool from the city, what am I doing now?" Just reflect for a moment had the woodcutter adhered to the advice of the educated city engineer could he ever had relaxation or peace of mind? Of course not, the woodcutter, although an illiterate person knew the art of letting go. There are three ways to approach the process of letting go. They all lead to the same result; showing you how to tap your natural ability to let go of any unwanted feeling immediately. The first is by choosing to let go of the unwanted feeling; the next is to welcome the feeling or allow the feeling to just be; the third is to allow you to look into the very core of the feeling. Try this out. Pick up a pen, a pencil, or some small object that you would be willing to drop without giving a second thought. Now, hold it in front of you and really grip it tightly... Pretend this is one of your limiting feelings and your hand represents your gut or your consciousness. Now open your hand and roll the subject around in your hand. Notice that you are the one holding onto it and it is not attached to your hand. This is true with your feelings, too. Your feelings are as attached to you as this object is attached to your hand. We hold onto your feelings and forget that you are holding onto them. It is not stuck to you. Even in our daily language when we feel angry or sad, we do not usually

say; "1 feel angry or I feel sad." We say; "1 am angry or I am sad" . We are saying this without realizing what we are feeling. We often feel they are holding onto us. This is not true... we are always in control, but don't know it. Now, let the object go. What happened? You let go of the object and it dropped to the floor. Was that hard? Of course not, that is what we mean when we say, "Let go!" You can do the same thing with any feeling... Let us take a step further and think, if you walk around with your hands open, it would be very difficult to hold onto the pen. When you allow or welcome a feeling, you are opening your consciousness and this allows the feeling to drop away all by itself. Like the clouds passing in the sky. Now students of Mind Sciences or those who seek spiritual path and guidance know that what appears as a solid, semi-solid, or gaseous object is in reality nothing but space consisting of vibrations. If you took, any object and magnified it, into extra large, meaning magnify it many times it would appear more and more like empty space. That is what you will discover when you dive into the very core of a feeling. With courage and faith if you were to analyze or simply go deep into the very core of an emotion or feeling, even pain or discomfort, there is really nothing there, except your thoughts in the form of  vibrations. Which simply implies our thoughts made it all up. There is really nothing there. As you master this process you will discover that even our deepest feelings are just on the surface, at the core we are empty, silent, and at peace, not the pain and darkness that most of us assume. In fact, even our extreme feelings have little substance, just as a soap bubble and we all know what happens when we poke our finger into a soap bubble, there is nothing there, it is empty.. . That is exactly what happens when you go deep into the core of a feeling. To be able to understand and use the techniques do keep the above example in mind and chose one particular feeling that has been bothering you in your life. Not once, but a few times go into it. May be initially it will be difficult, as your mind will play games with you. Soon when you are able to delve deep, you will find nothing. If it was merely a thought, a memory and you added emotions in it. Experience of Pure consciousness is possible only when we control our minds. Only then, we start understanding everything that our mind creates; the drama on the s creen! All that we see, experience, think, feel, taste, touch and smell are because of this consciousness. Take away this consciousness and nothing exists. My teacher used to say and I share this with you, “The light bulb in the projector is the real source of what we see on the screen, yet  most people are only involved on what happens on the screen and accept it as reality”.

Only a few understand that the show on the screen is dependent on the light, inside the projector. Those on the path of self awareness need to work really hard in order to establish themselves in pure consciousness and the path to consciousness begins first by realizing the true nature of things. Just as when we realize it is a drama on the screen we stop identifying with it and we can watch it without involving ourselves. Once on a very hot humid evening, my teacher, while giving a demonstration on breath control said, “Breath is the bridge between life and death". What separates life from death is 'ONE BREATH'. For many years I contemplated on his words,. the more I thought the more meaning I got from what he had said.. .So true, just think for a while, from the first cry of an infant till the last gasp of a dying man, there is nothing but a series of breaths. Sages, Yogis and mystics have also said that a person's age is not measured by the number of days, months or years he has lived, instead, by the number of breaths. Throughout our lives we keep on breathing, hardly attentive of its beneficial function and purpose, other than providing oxygen to the blood and removal of waste . How many of us have ever given thought about the important purpose our respiratory system plays in mind control? 'Meditation', in common parlance, means directing the mind and thought exclusively towards a single point of reference and sustaining that direction without any distractions. When we sit down to meditate, we first synchronise our breathing with the activity of our mind. I don't know about animals, however, when a human child is born; he needs to have a deep and heavy breath to survive. He struggles very hard for his first breathe-in as the lungs are filled with fluid. To take the liquid out of the lungs, doctors turn the newborn baby upside down. When the baby cries in this position, the fluid comes out and the newborn starts breathing normally. It implies the first breath is very difficult; it is made possible after a tough process and it also leaves a long term memory in a comer of our brain. It tells us that unless we struggle hard we cannot get life, because without breath, symbol of life, life is impossible. Have you ever lifted anything heavy, or performed an activity which requires extra physical energy? I'm very certain that you have, and I'm equally certain that you had to either take a deep breath and then hold your breath or simply, hold your breath while doing so, because without it you cannot lift it. You stop breathing just for while, and it is done automatically; you don't have to learn or remember it. After a brief stoppage, when you breathe, you inhale a lot of fresh air, Le., oxygen, and your lungs mix it with your blood and send it to brain cells and other parts of the body. The brains cells go into a mode of excitement or a very powerful state for working. When we inhale, our brain and body is ready to exhale and when we exhale our body and brain is ready to inhale. It is a natural process and we do not have to learn when to inhale and when to exhale.

Now that we realize, how important breathing is, not only in our lives, also in meditation, lets enter the world of breathing, in more detail. There are four stages of breathing, Inhale (when we take in air), Retention (holding of air in the lungs for a brief time), Exhale (when we give out air) and Suspension (holding breath out after exhaling). The fourth stage (suspension), seldom comes in and normally we do not hold breath out after exhaling. We sit for meditation, and outside forces like the sound of footsteps or smell of something etc., enter our brain through the five senses. Amongst all the senses, the medium of eyes is the most powerful, as more than 50% of the information we receive from the outside world is through the eyes. Ears, for auditory sense, come second. When we close our eyes our mind gets confused as 50% percent of the information flow stops immediately. To make up for this loss, our mind diverts towards the ears to get more information from outside, and if we are sitting in a soundless or soundproof room, our tactile sense (touch or skin sense) or olfactory sense (smelling) become sharp to help our mind receive full information. What if we are sitting in a clean room where there is no smell and sitting in a pose where we are not touching anything nor have anything in our mouth? So meditation is a long process of irritation, mind tries it best to divert our thoughts or to make us uneasy and also other thoughts enters us and tries to divert us to different things. We start feeling tired, our back starts aching, we start feeling sleepy or maybe there is a tickling sense in our body etc. When we overcome all these and complete this stage of the process, we have another main obstacle, our breath, which we have to control.

You may feel it strange, to control your breath. If you ever study 'Yoga Sutra', the first codification of Yoga that dates back about 400 B.C years, you will be really amazed to know that acts of inhalation and exhalation cause the mind to fluctuate. Sages and Dervish knew that the secret of mind control lies in the controlling of one's breath. When you control your breathing you learn to control your mind.

Our mind wanders just because of this act of breathing and we need to stop this by getting engaged in meditation. What we need to do first is to focus on our br eath and then start breathing consciously. I must tell you that it is a very difficult task to breathe consciously. It is one of the blessings of Allah that we do not have to breathe consciously in normal life otherwise it would have been very difficult for us. Let us do an experiment. Try consciously breathing for 10 minutes. What happens at the

end of 10 minutes, you will be tired and will feel as if you carry a heavy weight on you. However, breathing consciously means you are trying to control your breath and when you control your breath, your mind cannot go anywhere and you can focus on something. When, after sometime, you move the focus away, the breathing becomes very rhythmic and slow because when the brain meditates the body and brain require less quantity of  oxygen. This process reaches a certain point for a moment, at which the mind is fixed on an object of meditation. It is only for microseconds, that the mind gets absorbed this a point and the person loses self awareness. At this time a strange thing happens that half of our breath is inside and half is outside. It so happens while we are meditating and our breath is half  way out, that our mind gets focused and concentrates on the object on which we are meditating. Half breath inside is necessary because if we exhale completely, there is no air in the lungs, our mind becomes weak. Scientifically, being half inside and half outside is very simple; when we exhale, our brain begins going into a slower mode, into an inactive state with a few changes in its frequency. Our brain is sure that after exhaling we will inhale. If it knew that the next breath will not come in, it will become conscious. Let me explain this further, with a practical example. Suppose you are having food at a restaurant or at a cafeteria. While you still have a part of bread (chapatti), you order another. You know that till the time you finish the first, another will be on your table. However, if you know that the second serving of the bread will served after a long time or not served, you will become conscious and start eating slowly. The same thing happens with the brain during meditation. As long as the brain knows that there is no long pause between exhale and inhale, it remains careless for a moment due to which a very strong relation between 'mind' and 'brain' remains. However when there is a long pause or disconnection of breath for a few seconds something very unusual happens. When this connection- between brain and mind due to continuous breathing pattern is broken the mind focuses on the object and the brain becomes confused as to what to do. Every time when you experience this confusion, the duration of disconnection or focus of mind on the object increases. This is very gradual; it swells from nanoseconds to microseconds and from microseconds to seconds. Technically speaking, during this process of 'half way in and half way out' a vacuum is created, due to which the connection between two thoughts is also broken. A gap comes in between two thoughts and this is an automatic process. Before you finish one thought your mind is connected to another and it goes on continuously without a gap, as in normal life there is no empty space between thoughts and there is no time when a person is not thinking. That breaking point, or full stop after a thought, comes in meditation.

Hence "Meditation" is a gap between two thoughts, a point when a person goes into a state where he forgets himself or loses self awareness or body-consciousness. The purpose of meditation is to experience this emptiness or 'the void'. After this state you gain consciousness, start breathing and then again comes the void; this time for a longer duration. You do not have to make any effort; it will be done involuntarily, as it is not in your conscious control. However, if you meditate regularly, your brain gets used to this process. A special training of your brain starts every time the void increases and ultimately there comes a time when your mind finds a gap of a minute. This is a great achievement, if you can keep your brain without any thought for One Complete Minute. At present, we are in the irritation state, with our eyes open and I am sure that when our eyes are closed, we hear someone coming, our mind immediately thinks as to who has come. The mind is searching for information, even though you are restricted in opening your eyes. Sound of footsteps or the smell of perfume may give you hints, however, sitting with eyes shut. It happens because right now you are at the initial stage and you have to bear it until you get into the phase where the outside world does not disturb your inside, and that stage starts from your breath. The journey to your inside starts from the outside and its first step is 'Controlled breathing'. Your teacher guides you on how to start from the first step by teaching you some specific breathing exercises. Without these exercises one cannot start the journey, because breath is related to thoughts. Recall, how you breathe when you are angry. Your breathing almost stops when you are frightened by something. How does a person breathe in anxiety? A person suffering from depression breathes in such a way that air goes only into the upper part of the lungs and not in the lower parts. Man wants to control his anger, anxiety or depression; however, he does not have a window or a door which he could close to ward off these emotions. The only way to control them is to control breathing. If you are angry, depressed or anxious and can change the rhythm of your breath, you are capable of controlling these emotions. Your emotional state changes very easily with your breath. A simple experiment would further explain this theory to you. If you meet a tense person, ask him to consciously inhale and then exhale five to ten times. You will see that if he follows your instructions he will, within a few minutes, get relief. Let's get back to what the Fourth Pebble which started with the need to control the senses so that we don't identify ourselves with the drama of life. We live life as an observer . It is here that breathe control or learning to breathe consciously & becoming aware of  breathing helps in understanding how our senses get involved and thus involve us and we begin to feel the unreal as real. Becoming aware of breathing helps us not to get involved emotionally and we remain detached & enjoy the show. The show goes on and o n.

The Fifth Pebble

Thoughts are things. You have probably heard this idea at one time or another. You have probably nodded your head in agreement understanding that thoughts are in fact things. You probably believe this and accept that your thoughts, being things, do in fact have power. You are creating your own reality, moment by moment with the thoughts you choose to think and what you say, both to yourself and others. Let's explore this a little further. Most people will agree, and science can demonstrate, that everything in our world is a field of energy, and therefore has a particular frequency. The chair you are sitting on, your car, your cat dog, you and everything else including thoughts, have a field of energy or vibration. .

The Fifth Pebble “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes from a short visit, not  knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of   others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond   of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself  in order to give in return as much as I have received.”   Albert Einstein Our complete life is between open and closed palms, what we bring with us are our genetic inheritance, traits, characteristic, memory, Fate & genetic structure. These vary from person to person. A person who comes to us for learning usually comes with a closed mind. Genetic inheritance or gift of upbringing, we really can't say, however after a few sessions the true seeker of knowledge is able to open a window, a new window in his mind. After few weeks, the second window opens and after a few sessions in the presence of the teacher, more windows open. Every other aspect of his being remains the same, what changes, is the way he perceives different things. This change in your perception enhances limits of your personality and you become more determined towards your success and achieve many things you want to have. “At the time of birth every one of us comes with fists clinched and at the time of death  our palms are open.”  No one knows as to what a person genetically brings with him at the time of his birth. Even he himself does not know if his heart is weak or, at any stage in his life, he will have cancer, or will suffer from hypertension, diabetes or stress, or will be very sensitive or a very stone-hearted person. What we bring in our genes, we call our 'fate', as we do not know what we carry and have no control over it. We don't seem to have a choice as to where we should take birth, which country, in what religion, which home, we do not have the option of selecting our parents, brothers & sisters, social status etc. However, these are questions worth reflecting upon. Let's examine a few of these questions,

Were we born with a purpose? Were we destined to be someone, somebody? Our  parents and the family, was it destined? The nature we have can it be changed? Can we  really create a future that we desire? The answer is not that difficult, however, many of these questions bother a lot of people and instead of finding the answers - they are so bothered by these questions, life slips by and they hardly realize until it's too late. The easiest way to know such answers is through religion. Believing in the constitution propagated by generations of cause and effect, believing in a religion helps as it invariably invests belief in a larger, greater and more powerful benevolent reality which, thought cannot be seen, can be felt and expressed, but with limitations. Yet just being religious without understanding the essence and need for it can be very dangerous. Religion is a sublet of a larger system - one of spiritualism that gives shape, structure and reason to our efforts to live better and focus on something higher. To understand religion and be a better religious person it is important to understand the larger, mystic reality of  spiritualism and be a true human being first. One who is a better human being is already highly religious. Our life on this planet comes into existence due to the union of Soul with Matter. The finest form of the matter is known as ‘the mind'. In different schools of thought there are different concepts about the mind.  In one school of thought, the mind is considered as the' soul' where in another it is considered as an 'instrument'. A different, school of  thought considers the mind as a 'friend and a guide'  which acts as a companion in a  person's journey to self discovery, journey from this materialistic world to the inside spiritual world. Yet another school of thought says the mind is an instrument that makes us realize our  soul.

Mind is matter and this matter is made up of five basic elements i.e., fire, water, air, space (or ether) and earth. The proportion of each element varies with individuals and it is not possible for us to decide the proportion, it is decided by the Creator. It is a very important point to understand that each of these five elements has its own distinctive qualities. Fire, water, earth, space and air have different qualities. We have these qualities within us in the same proportion as these five basic elements are in our mind and body and these accumulated qualities are reflected in our personalities because these qualities are our birth right. One who has the element of fire in a greater proportion is short tempered, impulsive and emotional. When you come to know about these things and realize your attitude, behavior, habits and values, you form an opinion as to what type of person you are. However, the question is "do you really have the same personality in real life?"

For example, if a person thinks himself as very kind, merciful, true, honest or helpful, then is it possible that he has a similar social opinion about himself? This is where we commit mistakes because every person has a self-created image of himself. However, when you start self micro-inspection or do self-analysis with a clear concept of  healing in your mind, and realize that you have a bad temper or have more hatred within, it becomes possible for you to reduce your anger or hatred. If the fire element is in a greater proportion, then there are chances of heart disease or ulcer since, you suffer from anxiety the chances of hypertension, diabetes and the like are greater.

If one of these elements is in a greater quantity you cannot, according to the law of  nature, eliminate it because your very survival depends on these elements and their specific proportion. For example, if manage to discard the fire element, your capacity to reproduce diminishes, as this element is essential for reproductive activities. People with the water element in greater proportion, have a quality to adapt to their surroundings as water takes the shape of the object you immerse. Some people, who have earth element in abundance, cannot adjust well every place as earth has its own qualities.

There is no doubt that one may reject any of these elements but, we do have powers within us, to balance these elements or a certain element to some extent, but we will have to learn and master this power of matter and use it sensibly to our advantage.

Let us take the example of fire. If an individual has a greater proportion of fire instead of  trying to suppress or reduce the fire element, better and effective way is to increase the quantum of the water element, and the element of fire will subdued. Since the water element is increased, it counters the effects of fire and enables the person to control himself whenever he becomes angry. I must make it clear that the anger inside him will not disappear into their air, but due to the increase of water element the balance will be shifted more towards the water element and he will be in command of his senses and have the ability to weigh and make sensible decision All these techniques and practices, to balance a particular element, are taught in different schools of thought like Sufism (or Mysticism), Yoga, Tantra, Buddhism or Taoism. They all teach you how to increase the vibrations of other relative elements to balance an excessive element. When the vibrations of one element are proportionately increased there is an amazing change in one’s personality. When you increase the vibration of one

element, you are involved in controlling and healing your 'NAFS'. This concept is found in the ancient scriptures of many schools of thought, as well as in Religious books. "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind" by Dr. Deepak Chopra, has contributed a good amount of work to this phenomenon. The book deals with the concept of  'Quantum healing'. Quantum healing, works where physical sciences fail. Scientists have been able to see the cells but not the energy inside them. Darwin took full advantage of this situation and presented a theory of evolution. Amongst ignorant people then there are those whose wild imaginations create a stir in the society and many of the ignorant believe in these absurd theories. When man started inventing sophisticated instruments and devices and research advanced, some amazing facts surfaced. Marine life may once have existed on land and some great changes on the planet can have caused a series of changes in their biological and physical structure. What took to the waters to survive is today called 'marine life'. Or maybe, life was created in a _d of a fluid and many forms came on the surface to survive and after millions of years they adapted themselves to live only on land. Still another possibility is that life was created in the water as well as the dry land. These and many other scientific facts led to the discoveries, that not only, were there, various kinds of  living organisms on earth, also organisms in the marine and land also has a great difference between them. When scientists first used an "electronic microscope" to look into a cell, they were amazed to find the system inside the cell to be very complex. They tried to proceed further, however, came to stagnation a point when they realized, that it was not possible to further this research. They discovered that inside a cell there is space known as 'the quantum'. Within this quantum level, there is peculiar kind of  vibration at a specific frequency which controls the conditions of  a living thing. When the vibrations change, it influences the cell and that cell influences the whole body or system due to which we experience states of body changes, good and ill health. A focused and intense thought is affective at the quantum level of  the body (or the cell). If change in vibrations at the quantum level can be observed, diseases can be controlled. A thought is generated from the quantum level and return to the quantum level. Every thought has a corresponding vibration which is very subtle and this vibration from every single thought remains within us inside our brain in the form of  mental synapse, as well as the vibration remains in the external world around us. So, every moment you think, you are causing a vibration and that is influencing you internally as well you are

causing a change externally, provided your thought is accompanied by strong feelings and emotions. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.  Marcus A. Antonius Many aspects of  our inner self playa pivoting role in our  lives in terms of  happiness, peace of mind and fulfillment. There are many extensions, for instance values, thoughts, etc. Truth, for example, is a value that you inherit from your parents or learn from your teachers. Today, social norms are such that if you tell the truth you are condemned whereas if you tell a lie you get away with it. It means in your practical life these values stand nowhere. Our parents or teachers gave us every good module of  values; we have honesty, sincerity, truthfulness, respect for elders, etc., however all locked up in cupboards of selfishness. The question is where we place these values? We respect an elder holding a good position, and as soon as he loses his position, we kick him off. This is not observance of  value, because if  someone is elder he must be respected no matter what position he holds. In our culture as well as in the west people consider teacher, a respectable person. It means we have to respect a teacher even if he is poor, we have all the values with _s but where in life we place them or what priorities we attach to them is very important and in healing, help us a lot. I must tell you that in our life our behavior, attitude, likes and dislikes, choice, opinion, thoughts and words play an important role in respect of  health and diseases. They help us in treatment of diseases to such an extent that I cannot explain it in words. We gather here because we want to bring major changes in our thoughts and to realize values. We are here to revolutionize our thoughts because our thoughts are limited and we need to enhance them. The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without  changing our thinking.  Albert Einstein Once again I would like to remind you about a few aspects regarding healing. We need to develop our opinions, thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and ideas as the inner world and working, walking, ways of drinking and eating, etc as outer world. A few days back I was watching TV and a well known religious person was in a program having his food and I was amazed to see he was using a spoon, while there is no concept of using a spoon, for

eating food in our culture, unless it is a soup, someone else would have been okay, however, a person who talked about values, and upholding of our cultural inheritance was himself not following what he just said. "Walk your talk" as they say, reflects the perfect harmony and balance between thoughts, words and actions or, belief, speech and actions. Sometime back I was conducting workshops in America. It was a big crowd and in that crowd there were some doctors as well who invited me for lunch at Sheraton Hotel Here I must mention that over there one has to pay for his lunch even if he is invited. I always look for vegetables, as I am always very much conscious of Halal (sanctioned) and Haram (prohibited) and usually take tin packed food with me. I usually do not take lunch in Sheraton in USA as they have assortment cold salad and that I did not like. So I was reluctant but they pressed upon me and arranged a big table so that everyone could join the party. They put up some question, as they usually do, and I was giving answers and trying to satisfy their intellectual needs. One of the aspects of health I mentioned was the importance of eating with fingers. I told them that in America obesity is a major problem and if they wanted to reduce weight they should use their fingers to eat. When I finished the lecture and went to the table, I noticed that everyone was sitting puzzled and confused despite the fact that the soup and cold salad were there. I grew curious as to why they were not eating, as it was a break of only one hour, and finally asked a young lady dermatologist, "Why aren't you eating food?" She replied, "We don't know how to have soup with fingers?"

All that I am trying to ask is, does your thought come in your practical life or not, or do you apply them accordingly or not? All these things are very important in healing. The time that is coming is very competitive. There is a rat race everywhere. When we go out, there is a storm of problems in our way. Ups and downs in the market, family and inter personal relationships issues and many other issues we have to face. You would be amazed to know that majority of children are not interested in studies today. When more than 100 channels are available on the television and the computer is there with games and internet service, why should a child care for his studies? Diverting his mind towards studies is just like winning a battle and normally it is the mothers who are at the battle. Then again we have family problems. In joint families or one unit families there are certain problems to face. In short, a giant monster of problems is there to eat us alive and we have to survive in such a way that as long as we are alive we remain steady on our own feet. From getting ill to getting cured we have to survive and for that we must learn the concept of self healing. If needed we may go to a doctor or a healer, but we must

maintain the natural system of self healing to reduce visits to doctors or healers and for that it is necessary to memorize the concepts that have been narrated in this chapter. The vibration of a thought may alter or influence the behavior of cell - if there is a problem in our cells or the part of body related to those cells, we can improve the situation over there as well as cure the problem. The vibrations of thoughts activate chemical changes inside the cell and possibly internal healing can be activated. The body then heals itself. Similar result is achieved through medicines. The strength of a thought can be enhanced through FAITH and immense concentration Realize the power of thought at this point of time. Our every thought, generates a particular vibration, which in return, affects the physiology of our being. If this is the case, and our focused and intense thoughts can cause a better health and situation in the case of illness, then is it appropriate to state, that the illness itself is a mere effect of  focused and immense thought of ourselves or a collective thought from the society, since every thought ever vibrated is present in the system. Those who have learned and practice Reiki or The Fourth Dimension know that when they are healing someone by hands or by candles or by charging water, concentration of  mind plays a vital role. When they have required focus or concentration, they do not need time to charge things; just a look with concentration and a thought of healing allows the flow of energy through them into the body of the ill individual Then, it would be correct to state at this point, that the purpose of this mind, brain and the supreme intelligence granted to us by Allah Almighty is to DISCOVER. To know what we are capable of performing. So regardless, of where we are born, the apparent limitations we may feel we have, yet every one of us is proficient and influential to create a better life. Indeed, then every individual has a common purpose, irrespective of the cast, religion, nationality, gender and that is to be a source of guidance, to help and heal others. Every one requires healing. Throughout the day, different cells and tissues of our body are damaged and affected, due to many factors. During nights, when we sleep, a repair process starts, much to take care of the wear and tear to the body, caused during the day, hence the following morning we feel fresh and charged. Thoughts are very important in healing and they necessarily create the self image responsible for a better life. Our thoughts form our beliefs, values, faith, choices, likes and dislikes, in fact our entire physiological being. Our thoughts tell us, what time to sleep? When to wake up? When to eat? How to eat? What to eat? How much to eat? How many times to eat? How to work? What is work? What attitudes are required at work, in

relationships, at home? What your focus, you become. ~Prof. Moiz Hussain The power of thought with appropriate feelings can heal us or others; it can change us as well as influence people around us. Let's understand this from another dimension. Prayer, worship,  Dhikr or meditation; what's the common element in all these? Thought! Yes, as they say nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so. Thoughts make things happen. In Prayers our words are- our thoughts, same in worship, Dhikr and in meditation fixation of our thought on an object is one thought only. But it's again a thought... what about thought of going for prayers, thought about doing a good deed, thought about restraining from evil act, thought of helping; intentions are also thoughts and these when converted into actions yield results. An action could be a decision to pray, decision to meditate. Although decisions are also thoughts, however very close to actions. Once a Dervish shared with me secret of "metamorphosis", changing into anything you want, transforming into anything and like anyone. Focus on that thing, that quality, that attribute and soon you will find the same in you. It was very difficult to comprehend the idea at that time; however as time passed and I learned more, the message became very clear. Concentrate on an Elephant and you will acquire the strength of an elephant. Concentrate on "RAHMAN" recite it, feel it, absorb it and soon you will find this quality in you. While studying the Yoga sutras of Patanjali, I was amazed to find the same practice of  concentration on attributes. What it simply means that if you concentrate on power you will get power. You focus on something that is powerful and you will become powerful  just like that thing. Meditate on any attributes of ALLAH ALMIGHTY, after sometime a stage comes at which this attribute begins to shine in you as well by the grace of Allah and soon you get so deeply involved a tiny reflection of his quality is bestowed on you by his supreme mercy; though in a very meager proportion to the absolute quality of Allah. This should be the purpose of meditation, Dhikr, worship or prayer. This form of  Meditation was taught to few only as it required a certain degree of intelligence. The second method of using the power of thought was though abstract form of meditation and was taught to those who were not educated or literate. While meditating on a thing that you do not know, a person experiences a very different state which is almost equivalent to what one experiences in meditation on a meaningless thing or a concept.

However, problem arises at that stage because an illiterate or non-educated person cannot go beyond that stage known as 'Trance Consciousness', as for such consciousness literacy is required. I have told you earlier that this is the first stage in meditation when an educated person finds it easier to enter next stages. So, it is much better to meditate on a thing you know the meaning of, otherwise you will face problems at advance stages. When you know the meaning, your concepts change and that quality begins to manifest in you graced by Allah Almighty. Meditation is a highway with many branch ways. In some schools of thought breath control and awareness is an integral part. Thoughts are related to our breathing; as we change our thoughts our breathing pattern changes. In the same way when we change our breathing pattern our thoughts also change. By exhaling we get to the base whereas when we inhale our brain becomes active and fresh. The beauty here is that we all are blessed by Allah as HE has given us the choice of  thinking. We choose to think what we want to think, when we want to think, where we want to think. The question though is, whatever, wherever we think, do we think with enough Passion?" Every individual on this planet, rich or poor, a king or a beggar, sick or healthy, common or known, has minimum of two choices every morning when he wakes up. The first choice is to feel dismayed, terrible and maybe annoyed as to why you had to wake up because of work or for your children; you curse your life, your spouse, your marriage, your relationship, responsibilities and even your country. Every thought is a vibration and this type of an attitude produces negative vibes inside and outside you. You keep on sulking about your life. In this mental state every moment is painful and unpleasant, also, since these negative vibes will change your physiology, to step out of this stage seems harder and harder with every moment and you work in this state, eat in this state, communicate in this state and LIVE and DIE in this state of  mind.... Someone once said, "Your negative state is one ripple that causes many other negative reactions and situations". Let's say you woke up and felt negative about life. On the dining table while having breakfast you son in haste for school hit the table and the coffee cup fell down. Being in a negative and pessimistic frame of mind you scolded your son, which was the first by-product then he got upset, second by-product, your wife fought with you for scolding him, third by-product, you take him to school and had to rush as it was getting late and got a traffic ticket, fourth by-product. Your son reached school late got a shouting from the teacher, fifth byproduct, the teacher reprimand you for sending

your son on time in future, sixth by-product. All this and you find that you reach office late, seventh and then you get a shout from your boss for coming late, eight, and of  course the whole day in the office you grumbled and felt aches and pains in your body, this is ninth. Can you imagine your one state of mind caused nine problems for you? All these by-products are because of a negative choice which you made when you woke up in the morning. The other choice is to greet the new day with praise and thanks to Allah, for the morning, the dawn the rising of the sun. To know, it is great to be alive to be breathing to be able to stand and walk. To know, that today is a day of opportunities for creating a better worldly life and to be able to do some acts of good and piety for the world hereafter. Realize what vibrations are you sending into your body as well as this world, and what will be the effect of this cause. With this positive and empowered state of being you interact with people at work sharing your energy with them, at home with your family you share hope and love, (you forgive your son for spilling coffee on the table), you see the beauty and purposefulness in every speck of grass, every building, every house, every street. So let's reflect, does it really matter what we inherited at the time of birth? Or isn't this that the choice of Free will and Free action determines the quality of our lives, and the life hereafter.

So let's understand that in order to heal ourselves and / or others, we need to have the positive frame. This quality creates a degree of Trust in this system and the laws of the universe, leading to a state of active relaxation. The relaxation is required for healing to occur. When you are attuned to Reiki healing or any form of Natural or spiritual healing, you are instructed about few important aspects. The first and foremost is FAITH in the larger benefit. Then, HOPE to yourself or others, Hope ignites a spark that allows the person to fight disease and to surrender to the result ordained by the Creator. However the only way you can ignite this Hope is when you possess it inside yourself too. When you heal someone or yourself, you leave the results to Allah Almighty, yet you must have a hope and belief that the healing you are giving to him or yourself will be effective. I highly suggest this mind-set for doctors and healers in our country. We need to launch a crusade against illiteracy, poverty and diseases. All doctors and healers MUST believe in themselves and the words they speak to their patients. I remember, a few days back one of my disciples gave a presentation on a training program for improving communication, called "NLP", in which he used a table to

illustrate the power of thoughts, beliefs, and faith, in and during communication. Remember; whenever we communicate we use words. Interestingly, words only constitute 7% in the total communication. The other 93% of the fragments are to do with your inner being. Voice, tonality, facial expression, gestures, posture etc are the 93% and these are directly connected with what you believe or have faith in and your real intention behind communication. It means whenever you are giving hope to someone your words covering HOPE is only 7%. If you truly believe it yourself' then the rest of 93% supports that 7%, and the chances are that your message of Hope will be accepted by the listener. However, in case you yourself do not believe in it, then the 93% will go against the 7% and your mission to kindle hope will be in vain. What you do, speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say ~Ralph Waldo Emerson I am sure, every one of us could relate to this. Many a time_, an individual says something and people do not listen, and yet, someone else says the exact same words, people start accepting and following it. It is for the same reason that I explained above. The first person might be saying the same words, however, the remaining 93% might not be supporting his statement, where as in the case of the second individual, it is the fragment of 93% which drives people to listen to him and act upon his words. Several times, we see senior spokesmen, or senior officials, using empowering words, statistics, giving hope to our nation. Yet, everyone listening to them unconsciously knows and believes all said to be lies. That is because, the spokesmen may be using strong words, however, it only completes 7% of the communication, where as the remaining 93% of his own non verbal communication, unconsciously states otherwise to people, and people unconsciously understand and realize, whatever being said is false. As they say "Listen not to the words I say, but what I don't say". At times we may not even have to use words. Simply placing our palm on the shoulder of  the other person, our touch can convey an unconscious message of Hope, Love and Care. Let's sow the seeds of faith, belief, certainty, determination and hope and the power in our words will influence many lives in our country. Our inner conviction will change the entire experience of people around us as our eye-movements, our actions, the way we move our hands, the way we move our body, the tone and ups and downs of our accent, our facial expressions, our way of breathing -- all becomes congruent and then our spoken words "Don't worry, you'll be okay", will mean what we truly wish to convey.

The health-sector in Pakistan is dreadful, pathetic, if I may say so. The statistics are alarming. Do you know, for one hundred thousand mentally ill patients there is only one psychiatrist. The ratio for dermatologist per patient is eighty thousand, meaning ONE dermatologist for eighty skin disease affected people. Most doctors and healers are time pressed. Their personal lives are badly affected. They cannot provide quality time for their spouses and children. Home, is the best place for relaxation and rejuvenation and when one is unable to spend adequate time with the family, the stresses of the day are not sponged down. Then the next day one feels more in a grip of tension during work and the vicious cycle continues. Your home and your family is the best source of happiness. Be reminded and take care of  it. Many a times, high achievers do not realize the essential reality and pursue their careers at the cost of their family. At the end of the career when they turn back to find solace, it's not there. Children have grown and they too have their own lives, the spouse been turned down has involved herself in other activities, so she now is also busy. No time for you, when you need it. Why? Because when they needed you, you were not there. Remember what goes, comes back, Universal Law of Nature. So, such people realize that they have been failures. For why do you work hard, for your family and when they are not around, you are at a loss. A very busy father once went to a psychologist and asked him for some advice as the new arrival in the family was taking too much of his precious time. The psychologist advised him that if you wish one day your son to do what you really want him to do when he is grown-up and you are old; then today carry-out with him what he likes the most. If you spend time with the toddler and play his language then once he grows up he will play with you and takes care of you. Interesting message, however, most fathers will never adhere to it. A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door... Son: "Daddy, may I ask you a question" Daddy: "Yeah sure, what is it?" Son: "Dad, how much do you make an hour" Daddy: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" Son: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" Daddy: "I make Rs. 500 an hour" "Oh", the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said, "Dad, may I please borrow Rs. 300?" The man was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or other nonsense, then march yourself to your room and go to

bed. Think why you are being so selfish? I don't work hard every day and earn for such behavior from you". The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think, "May be there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs. 300 & as he really doesn't ask for money very often" The man went to the door of little boy's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" He asked. "No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy. "I've been thinking maybe I was too hard on you earlier", said the man, "It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the Rs.300 you asked for" The little boy sat straight up, smiling "oh thank you dad!" He yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled some crippled up notes. The man seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father. "Why do you want money if you already had some?" the father grumbled. "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied. "Daddy I have Rs. 500 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you" So get to know this before it is too late.

The Sixth Pebble

The world is a good place, we do ' everything to get away from it through worship, ' prayer, our loves and fears. We , don't know whether we are rich or poor, we have never gone deep down into ourselves and discovered' what is. We exist on the surface, satisfied with so little and made happy and. unhappy by such small things. Our petty minds have petty problems and petty answer, and s o we spend our days. We don't love, and when we do it is always with fear and frustration, with sorrow and longing. The Power of prayers is in the heart of one who loves all that is around as of God's. .

The Sixth Pebble  Prayers is less about changing the world than it is about changing ourselves.  David J Wolpe The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the  fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.  Mother Teresa For many years, I wondered and reflected on the purpose of various postures and positions in 'Salat' as named in Arabic or 'Namaz' as named in Urdu (Islamic prayer performed 5 times a day). I kept questioning my inner self as to why Allah asked us to perform so many physical acts during prayers. There are other religions in which form of  worships and prayers are different and vary. Sitting quietly without any movement, is the Buddhist way of worship, Hindus stand or postulate quietly in the presence of a deity, again no physical movement and no sound- silence, and at times there are chanting and singing devotional songs or Bhajans. Jews while reciting their prayers standing have a sway movement-back and forth. Yet, in most forms of worship and prayers the essence seems to more of a communion. Why then, Salat is all different to other forms. It took me many years to understand why Salat was different and yet COMPLETE, whole and in totality. This was after I learned and practiced many diverse forms of  Concentration and Meditation. We have already shared in the previous pebble that one type of Meditation is active while the other is passive. Eastern and Western thoughts of meditation are different. Here we are using the word Meditation to denote a degree of concentration which is indispensable in prayer or worship. So the term "Meditation" and "Concentration" will be used to represent the act of prayer and worship Allah Almighty. One method of meditation is symbolic and the other is non-symbolic; one less and other is meaningful In one style, the concentration is achieved through chanting a "word" or a sentence while it's opposite discourages the use of words and propagates non conceptual, as words through its tonality, create meanings and concepts. Another category believes nothing needs to be spoken as words are meaningless. The dance of the Sufis is contradictory to the stillness of the Buddhist Mediation while the Zen silent mediation is far apart from the chanting of the mantras by the Hindu Pundits or by the Jews, recitation of the words and movement of the upper part of their body.

Muslims meditate on an attribute of Allah Almighty, or reciting Quranic verses (ayats). Once you have a comprehensive view of the various forms of prayer and worship and the diversity between them it becomes easy to understand how Salat is complete. Each form of meditation has its own place, yet it is incomplete as the opposite is excluded. Salat is total, as there is recitation of the Holy Quran, as well as silence. Neither imagery nor any concept of Omnipresence, Allah is present or we are in the presence of the Divine. Movement as well as pauses in which the body is still. In many forms of Concentration and Meditation, practitioners follow a set pattern of  breathing. Breathing influences the thought process and vice versa. An individual in a state of fright has a different pattern of breathing compared to a person in state of total peace and relaxation. It is unfortunate, that even after 1400 years we Muslims, never bothered to conduct an investigation in to the benefits of Salat. For this reason, Salat has simply become ritual, performed either because of the fear of HELL or impelled by the voice in our subconscious programmed by our parents and peers. I have yet to come across any prayer or worship as complete and fulfilling as Salat. There are many aspects that we can ponder on and benefit by realizing its essence. Take for example, the immense relaxation one achieves during and after Salat. Although, there is a certain degree of physical activity, yet one feels totally at peace and a certain level of  harmony is established. When I mention the word RELAX most people consider this as irrelevant as to them RELAX is a physical activity. This has been the greatest dilemma in the Muslim world. We may have much in life; still most of us are void of wisdom and knowledge. Relaxation leads to peace and harmony, which is not possible until and unless we have FAITH. Think about it for a moment. Our entire religion is based on FAITH. We live our lives based on FAITH and DIE in FAITH. Yet a closer examination of our actions and deeds reflect absence of this most influential and imperative emotion. We believe that we have Faith yet our words and actions portray a life devoid of it. This is the reason, why Salat only comes to us as a ritual and not a catalyst for spiritual growth. Think for a moment, you enter a new building which has a very elevated ceiling and you are to stay there for a while. You would be constantly looking up at the ceiling with fear in your heart and mind about the ceiling strong enough and not falling on your head. Of  course not! We walk on the road with a firm faith that the ground under our feet is SOLID and will not give away because of our weight and the massive weight of all the cars, buses, building and people walking or standing on it. This is the level of faith we required to construct in our self in order to fully grasp and experience the total surrender

to Allah Almighty during Salat and only then we will experience peace and harmony that Salat has to offer. I mentioned about breath patterns previously and if you were to really understand and grip the concept of breath-body and mind connection then take a test. Any time you feel depressed or low energy take 20 to 30 deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling equally and be conscious of it. Surprisingly, you will find an immediate shift and change in your emotional and mental state. Try the opposite if you wish to go further in the subject, any time you are in a very good or excited mood. Slow you breathing first and then take 20 to 30 jerky, quick fast breath, no sequence no rhythm, we call it chaotic breathing, you will instantly be in state .of anxiety and maybe slight panic. So, Allah the wisest of all, MASTER of all masters, to WHOM every speck in heaven and earth belongs, makes us follow a physical movement regime for a purpose. Let's inspect this closely. As per our physiology, when the stomach is compressed or pushed in, the large muscle called the diaphragm, which is below the lung, is pushed upwards. Meaning, the lungs are not supposed to fully expand. This is how our bodies have been made, we call it Natural tone. Any time we stretch backwards the lungs can expand fully as the diaphragm is pushed downwards. Keeping in mind this medical fact, we now can understand that in stages of RUKU (bending forwards with hands on the knees, the stomach is pressed and the diaphragm goes up, hence breathing naturally cannot take place, if it does, it is with an effort. The correct way would be to exhale while going in RUKU and keep the lungs devoid of air. This makes it easier for one to curve more. The same principle applies in SAJDA. It is natural for the respiratory system to exhale and the lungs devoid of air. However, most make an effort to breathe and hold the breath. This raises the intra pulmonary pressure and it becomes difficult to remain in this position. Moreover, the state of total objectivity or oneness with Allah is not achieved when the lungs are filled with air in the above two positions in Salat. Technically speaking, our thoughts are linked with breathing. The faster we breathe, the faster is the flow of  thoughts. The opposite being the slower we breathe, the lesser thoughts we entertain. The rule therefore, is when we do not breathe we do not think, metaphorically. Dead people cannot think because they do not breathe- So in the stages of RUKU and SAJDA we are not supposed to be thinking. Many a times, people ask me how can they avoid the thoughts or shun their thoughts during Salat. Now, I can tell them not to breathe at all, so I try to explain to them why do we get so many thoughts during Salat, thoughts that normally do not appear in our mind during the day are ready to flood us in Salat. If we can master this art of breathing we will be able to achieve a higher level of concentration or lower degree of irritation. I cannot say as it varies from person to person, still defiantly a level of concentration in Salat, where we are not perturbed by thoughts and we can

experience the oneness often talked about by Sufis and Saints. This contact, oneness, closeness during Salat, prepares us for the entire days activity. Oneness with Allah means oneness with the universe. I often heard my master saying. “Be one with the universe”. At a young age, I could not understand the essence of this statement. It was only at a much later stage in life that I could appreciate the beauty and significance of "Being one with the universe". This statement has great depth for people of understanding and wisdom. When one completes the Salat and has experienced little flashes of oneness then this state of being or simply state of mind is reflected, in his work, relationship and dealings. How can we then hurt or harm anything when we are a part of it or when it is a part of us. How can one deceive, cheat or lie; it is like cheating and deceiving our own self. Can one hurt one's own body in a normal state of mind? Then how, can we hurt someone else, considering all as part of us, when our happiness is the happiness of others, when their pain is our pain. We then are simply sharing our joy and whatever we have with others and taking pain and problems of others and solving them as if they are ours. This is state in which there are no complaints, we are not asking rather enjoying the blessings of Allah Almighty. When every aspect of this wonderful and meaningful creation -the stars in the sky, the sun and the moon, every blade of grass, every flower, every thorn, every laughter and every tear is embraced as a gift of the CREATOR. Can one think of hurting then any creature on this planet? Can you even think of  throwing garbage and filth out on the road? No! Because the road also belongs to you and you belong to every street, every brick and stone, every tree and plant. Just think for a moment how would this stratum, this thinking, this attitude and this state of being would influence the lives of the people on this planet. It would bring about a revolution in the lives of people. Realize for a moment, when people. belonging to any part of this world, any religion, any sect, truly start and achieve this oneness, which always is present in the reality of Salat or any worship or meditation, every moment, every instant is then a new beginning for HOPE, PROSPERITY and HAPPINESS. As, when we become ONE with the world, every child sleeping on the road, is our child, every individual sleeping without food, is our relative, the pollution is polluting us as in we all are ONE. It is at this point when we truly will realize and start making a positive difference as we would feel the pain of  everyone, as it will be our own pain. Only then, the journey towards the truth will start, only then, we will truly understand the concept of society, only then, will we become better humans, only then we will become true Muslims, true Christians, true Hindu or true Jew, real human beings and only then, will we start realizing the power of prayer.

When every morsel of food is shared and people don't have to sleep hungry because some where someone has more than his needs. Every soul has a shelter; children don't sleep naked in cold for there are enough warm clothes for everyone. This is the society that can come into existence if we understand and derive the essence from Salat. An ideal society based on Equality and Justice. All difference and dissimilarities dissolve. One sees and perceives the connection in everything, black or white, pain or pleasure, comfort or discomfort, opposites dissolve. Every moment seems to have a purpose- everything is useful in some context. Our perspective about life changes, there is then no struggle against the universal law. One resigns to the 'Will of the Absolute.' Islam being the last of all religions and Muhammad (PBUH) the last messenger of Allah, Salat is complete as it has all forms of concentration and meditation- As Deen-e-Islam is complete, so is Salat the complete and total form of worship.

The Seventh Pebble

Death, a word that' can mean the end or the beginning, The interpretation solely depends on how we

perceive death to be. If perceived as the end, it can instill a lot of fear and 1 anxiety while if thought of as a beginning it can bring in feelings of calmness, satisfaction and hope. Many of us are troubled by the fear of the ultimate darkness, as we perceive it to be The Death. Is it really this bleak and dark? Death in spiritual disciples means a transition from one state of to another. From living to existing.

The Seventh Pebble The future of a civilization depends on our overcoming the meaninglessness and   hopelessness which characterizes the thought of men today  Albert Scweitzer Thought is the common factor of all mankind. We all think and there is no such thing as an Eastern thought, or a Western thought for that matter, there is only the capacity to think, whether one is utterly poor or very rich, whether one is a doctor, a laborer, a housewife or a student. Thought is the common factor that binds us all. We think  according to our own capacity and so do others. The fuel that runs this process of  thinking is based on our knowledge, experiences and conditioning. It is then all right to say that we all are caught in our own web of thoughts. Human consciousness still remains a mystery. Recently, I was in London; conducting a workshop on NLP an internationally acclaimed program called   Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). One of the participants was reading a magazine, during the lunch break I took a peep inside the magazine. Having found it exciting, I subscribed and the first copy I received the following month had a very extraordinary article. A scientific article on a number of researches, being carried out in the west on Human Consciousness. Being a globe trotter, I have attended numerous workshops and seminars all over the world and have met many scientists, doctors and research scholars and all of them had one common fascination - to locate or to identify what is "Human Consciousness" and so far scientists have been searching and have been completely clueless. Scientists till today, are still searching for the mind inside the brain i.e. the concept is still not clear as to what is it that we call consciousness. Scientific Investigation is still fixed on the human brain and until and unless they realize the brain and mind to be two different entities - the question of consciousness will remain a mystery. To better grasp the idea and form a concept about "Consciousness", we need to understand our thoughts. Thoughts separate and/or unite us. Thoughts allow us to see similarities and/or differences. Thoughts make us feel, they motivate, inspire and encourage us as well they can depress, dishearten or demoralize us. We are what we think  we are, and are not what we think we are not. Our life is what we think about it. Someone once said. "There is nothing pleasant or unpleasant but thinking makes it so". A depressing thought changes the body and brain chemistry and we feel sad, similarly a

positive happy thought changes the entire chemistry and we fell elated, joyful and  jubilant. Having understood how thoughts create realities, it is then essential that we must understand that our thoughts make our consciousness. Not consciousness itself, however, parts of it and the ability to cognize. Thoughts and all the effects, thoughts have put together, is a part of our consciousness. The culture in which we live, the values, norms, religion, even economic pressures, our social status and even our genetic inheritance, all is a part of our consciousness. Our consciousness includes, in the much deeper consciousness, our fears, apprehensions, doubts, as well as wisdom, knowledge, education and skills acquired by us. For generations, we have lived with fear and the same has been passed to us. Our ancestors living in caves lived a life based on survival of the fittest. There were dangers, seen and unseen. The question of availability of food and shelter was always checked. All this, created the element of fear. Through genetic transference, the fear is now in our genes. This is common in all of us. Realize what it means: it means that you and I are no longer individuals. We have parts of  our ancestors, we are connected with them. This is very hard to accept because we have been programmed since childhood, to think we are individuals. So how can we as individuals, programmed to think ourselves as separate from others suddenly, face a turning point, away from the illusion of Individuality. Let us then understand what it means to look; to look at the actuality of thought. We all think and thought expresses itself in words, gesture, through a look, or some movement. Words being common to each of us, we understand through words what the thoughts of  other people are. Is it then possible to think without thought? The old programmed thoughts. Can we be free of being programmed and look? May be this is possible for a new born child. Then, can we look at ourselves not as a separate human being, instead as a human being who is the rest of mankind? Not as a drop of water from the ocean, and as an ocean itself. One, who is not part of the humanity, in fact is the humanity, who possesses the infinite capacity to learn, to adapt and to love. In a way we have been programmed biologically, physically, mentally and intellectually. We must be aware that we have been programmed. Like a computer. So what are we? Interesting question! Are we not programmed to act or behave in a certain way or believe that we are Asian, African, etc., which makes us believe that we have a separate identity of our own and this make us different from others?

Such as are our habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for  the soul is dyed by the thoughts.  Marcus Aurelius For centuries, we have been programmed to believe in certain rules, rituals, faith and dogmas, to be loyal to a particular political party, or a communist or a fundamentalist or so on and on. These are facts, and cannot be rejected at all. What has become of man is that he hardly has space, a capacity to think something different-unconventional. What is required to bring peace and love back in our lives and the world in general is to be able to think together. Our programmed mind and brain does not allow us to do this. One of the reasons is that fear is also passed on to us through our generations. Thought of fear separates us from others. Anyone different from us, speaking an alien language, belonging to a different culture or a religion or a person of dissimilar faith, we just cannot accept anyone who is different from us. It threatens our survival and this belief creates a wall between. The knowledge, experiences and conditioning prevents us to accept someone as alike. Our prejudice, our ideals limit the capacity and the energy required to observe and investigate so as to discover for ourselves what lies behind all the misery, confusion and unhappiness in this world. To understand not only what is happening in the outside world, also the depth and significance of it inside us. We must be able to observe all this. Thinking together is very important because we have to face a world that is fast disintegrating where there is no sense of morality; respect for each other is missing, where real love is bonded in selfishness, where spiritual growth is fast degenerating. Few days back, I was watching a documentary film on 'near death-experiences'. Over 500 people belonging to diverse backgrounds were interviewed by researchers. They were asked to share their experiences. These people had gone through what is normally called, 'Clinically Dead" experience and somehow they came back to Life. This investigation was headed by two very senior anesthetists from United Kingdom. All the subjects had been declared clinically dead by their respective doctors in various hospitals. Some remained dead for few minutes while others for a longer period of time. The team of doctors were researching into Mind and Consciousness. One of the lead scientists believed that after about fifty years or so, when man will discover that mind and brain are two different things, his approach towards treatment of disease or human behavior would change completely. In fact the nature of medicine and treatment will change. Surely the world is now talking about Energy medicine instead of Antibiotics and indeed in the next few years- changes in human consciousness will be required to deal

with many diseases and disorders. We will have to change our perceptions about the world and the universe. A new thinking may be a fresh thought. This is the stage, from where man will have to start from zero and the things previously done or discovered would be useless. In the documentary they showed an interview of a top business executive placed on the cover of the 'Fortune' magazine, an indication of high success and high profile personality. He was amongst the few most successful CEO's (Chief Executive Officer) of the corporate world and his name had been enlisted as one of the most successful entrepreneurs. A business established by him years back, was now a massive enterprise, employing thousands of  people. He made millions at time in stocks and at times he earned millions in real estate business. Critically injured in a car accident, he was pronounced 'clinically dead' and revived after 30 minutes. Whatever he experienced during his DEAD condition changed his life completely. A man earning millions in a day and ruthless in his dealings with people, now is living in a small house and spends time in offering counseling to people to earn a few hundred dollars and has left all his riches and lavish way of life. What changed him? Can we understand the magnitude of an experience that makes a person leave all the luxuries of life and starts living a simple one with struggle? When interviewed in detail by researchers, he narrated his strange experience. He was taken to the hospital in an unconscious state. All of a sudden he saw his own body on the hospital bed covered in white sheet. Doctors pronouncing him dead, while 2 young doctors trying to bring him back. He could not understand the phenomena. Soon he saw a very bright light and in that light he saw three beings of light. He was able to see only the outlines of their bodies; they were made of light. When he proceeded towards them he felt thousands of bulbs glowing in his heart, a spiritual happiness he had never experienced before. It was such a feeling of love and care that he could not explain because he had never experienced any such thing in his life. With all the millions he had, the great house, expensive car and all the luxuries of life, they seemed nothing compared to this experience of love and PEACE. There was charming fragrance and light all around him and he was inclined to continue advancing towards these three beings of light that seemed to be waiting for him, to greet and welcome and to receive him. All of a sudden he felt being asked to go back, this confused him because the thought of going back had hurt him badly. When he opened his eyes he found himself lying on the bed of the hospital, with needles in his arm and oxygen mask on his face!! The billionaire narrated this event and continued his story about how after he fully recovered and left the hospital, he felt there was a great happiness inside his heart that he had never experienced and it was so intense that he was unable to control it.

"It was the time I realized that  I had wasted my whole life as I had been running after  material things--- money, possessions, fame and power etc. I called all those people who were associated with me in any way -- my competitors, my partners and my employeesand asked them to forgive me   for whatever loss I had done to them. First they were surprised, as I had never called anyone before, and when they heard  me asking for   forgiveness they were confused and were of the opinion that I had lost mental balance".

He now lives in a simple house, a modest life and offers help mostly to those who suffer from trauma, mental agony and problems in relationships. He consoles and gives advice and his words seem to create positive effects on them, as when they go back after a couple of sessions, they get the right direction in their lives. He believes he has found true meaning and purpose of his life and that he is helping others to get rid of pain and conflicts in their lives too. The fear of death that was always with him was now gone. Instead, he is awaiting his death to experience the same occurrence which he had experienced while in hospital and in state of being clinically dead. It is amazingly interesting to notice, that how different experiences in life, change our perception and consciousness about it. For some, only a small instant works, and for others and experience of Death itself, shows the true path of Life. Another very intriguing footage was about a woman who was blind by birth. She had never seen any color, shapes and objects visually. In a way she was "Disabled". Fortunately, in western society they take out prefix IIDIS" from the word Disable, because they believe that person is able to do other things. The woman got married and whenever she was asked as to what was colorful, or what was darkness or light, what if she could differentiate between light and dark, if she saw darkness? She replied that she could not know what was darkness or colorful because she had never seen them. There were, however, things she experienced and found unusual. Her marriage made a difference in her life. Her wedding ring was on her finger and she used to touch and feel it. When a person is borne blind, Allah Almighty sharpens his or her other four senses. Their auditory, olfactory, tactile and gustatory senses become better and they can hear better, smell better, touch and feel better and taste better than an average person with all the senses intact. She knew that her hair was beautiful and long and she used to touch and feel them, still she did not know their color. She had never seen a human, not even herself. She knew her body only when she touched it.

This lady once had a pneumonia attack which was so severe that her lungs collapsed and when she arrived at the hospital, she was declared as "clinically dead", as all her vital signs were zero. The doctors were trying their best to pump her heart or to continue her breath by electric shocks and other means. "Suddenly, I opened my eyes", she said to the interviewer, "and I started seeing things. As I had seen nothing before, I was perplexed  to see what was going on. I saw a women lying on a table (she could identify this person as a female because of her long hair).  At   first  I could not know who she was, but later when I noticed a ring, similar  to one I had  on my marriage, on her finger and her hair similar  to that of mine, I realized that  it was me. I saw nurses and doctors standing beside the table on which I was lying. I rose up and up and went out of the roof. For the first time I saw trees and a few things moving on the ground which I described  to my friends later and came to know that they were cars, trees and buildings. Then suddenly, there was a very bright radiant light and in that light  I saw three beings, whose bodies and faces were shinning. Who were looking like me but  I could only see outline of their bodies. My feelings of that moment, I cannot explain. I never wanted to come back but with a jerk, I opened my eyes, and found myself in severe  pain due to the complications I had."

This was the event she herself narrated. When she came back to life and regained her consciousness she was blind again .Desperately, she tried to see with her eyes, however, could not. III never wanted to come back but it seemed I was sent back forcefully as if it was not my time to go there", she said. There are many similar incidents, some might call, and some even call them events that occur in human life and in the West, scientists are involved in researches on the subtle realities of life. I have read testimonies of around two hundred people who experienced such situations and saw it in this program. The amazing part of these testimonies was that they had one thing in common; when these people were out of their bodies they were weightless, fearless, and were filled with limitless happiness and love. They had nothing to be afraid of, as there was attractive light and charming fragrance around them. All these 'near-the-death experiences' were on the beds in hospitals or clinics and scientists did enormous researches, as expected, on these people. The experiences which I read were part of the research which is still in progress. It has been said that whoever has a 'near-the-death experiences' his or her life changes completely. Negative behaviors like, deception, fraud, violence towards others, insecurities about life seems to all melt away and their attitudes and behavior changes for the better. In fact, their entire perception undergoes a major shift.

From the connection to material things and aspects of life, they realize the spiritual part within themselves, and are indeed, free from all worldly worries. The lust for wealth, power and materialistic approach vanishes from their lives because they have experienced something much greater, more profound and eternal. I am sure, without any doubt, that this happens, and by now, you would have started believing it as well. So, "How does this happen?" is the next question. Let me explain this phenomenon, as we go along in this Pebble. We belong to a school of thought that is complete, unlike from the one that discussed these things several thousand years ago and concluded that the mind and the brain are two different entities. The consciousness in brain is 'mind'; if this consciousness is removed the brain is just going to function as a computer. The sense "I exist" and its related feelings will dissipate. A good example to understand this is through an analogy. It is like, when a person is induced anesthesia, before surgery. All vital functions of the body are on, blood circulation, heart beating, nervous system and all the other systems keep on working the same way when the person is on a conscious awake state, only awareness or consciousness is somewhat suppressed so that he or she does not feel the pain. In the research I mentioned above, there was another amazing episode of a man whom brain was partly damaged. When he underwent the OBE (Out of Body Experience) and left his body, he experienced nearly the same happenings as others did, he was successfully, revived by the doctors and to the shock of everyone including the doctors, to how the part of his brain which was damaged and certain functions which he could not previously perform miraculously "Cured". His brain was functioning normally, it was healed. To everyone present near his hospital bed, it was confusing, even for the team of  researchers who later came to investigate. None could explain how it happened. The scientists, however, have started pondering on ancient wisdom, according to which there is a deepest level in all of us where consciousness resides. Modem researchers call it the 'quantum level'. This is the same quantum level. They discovered that deep into the brain cells, called neurons, there is a deepest part which cannot be further divided. Just as in an atom. Hypothetically, an electron revolves around the nucleus, between the nucleus and the revolving particle there is space. And maybe this space is "The Quantum Level" of everything. However, this is not empty in common sense of the world. If you view the sea from a height of 20,000 feet or above, you will probably see it motionless or is not moving at all.

Yet, when you see it from a height of 10 or 11 feet, you find lots of movement in it, some in the form of waves. In the same way, scientists need to view the empty space from a closer view. Unfortunately, they have not yet been able to achieve so. They however admit that they may be watching the space from a very long distance and due to which they are unable to see contents within this space, or what the space is composed of. There are theories of Photons, either waves or particles. To the students of Mind Sciences, mystics and the Sufis, this space between or Quantum level is of great significance. It has vibrations and these vibrations have a kind of  consciousness. This consciousness has a peculiar quality- AWARENESS. According to the scientists, it is the awareness that transcends time and space and usually flows out of the body and observes all the experiences. When we understand and accept this concept, we can then take a step further and pose a question, "Can this awareness come out without a 'near-the-death experience'?" This awareness of pure consciousness can definitely expand in Meditation or during Meditation; here the term Meditation is used to represent a variety of practices including intense worship, Dhikr or prayers, chanting, contemplation and so on and on. Awareness can be experienced in such states where body consciousness vanishes, and if you quickly go back to the pebbles, you would recall, this is the basic purpose of meditation itself. This consciousness wrongly identifies and recognizes itself by color, place, position, relationship, body, medium, friendship, love, caring, religion, caste and nationality and in general considers itself as an entity called "body awareness". It thinks itself as a body, whereas it is not a physical entity. During the natural process of OBE -out of Body Experience in clinical dead patients the awareness realizes itself, it is a place/state consciousness realizes itself that it was the body for a specific time and for a specific purpose. To understand it better, I would like to give an example. If you are writing something in a book, your awareness must be there or you cannot write anything on the book. When a doctor is about to give a shot to a child, he prepares himself for that and shifts the awareness of child as a weak little being, to a patient in need, and in order for the child not to feel the sting of the needle he helps him shift his awareness to something outside his room window, this way the child doesn't feel pain. Once I delivered the same concept, a live demonstration in the workshop of Hypnosis. An individual, senior official from the Income Tax department was there who claimed that he could not be hypnotized. I told him that I could do what I wanted on him without even

hypnotizing him. I took a needle. I touched and pushed him at different points and at the same time inserted the needle at a different point. Then I told him that I had pricked a needle in one of his hands and asked him if he could tell me where the needle was penetrated. Some of you who were present there might recall that he complained of pain in his right hand, which I had touched hard, while I had pricked the needle in his left hand. Why it so happened? It was because I diverted his awareness to his right hand. An individual who is famous for such things, lives in Las Vegas and perform such activities very often and I have witnessed his shows. He calls a few volunteers from the audience and while talking to them, he touches them at different points and you may or may not believe he takes off their waist belts, wrist watches, glasses and even their shirts. They being fully awake still do not realize it. Then he asks them to tell him time, or ask  for their wallets and they realize what has happened to them. Unfortunately, pickpockets use the same technique. A pickpocket touches your body at a point to divert the awareness and in the meanwhile steals your wallet from your pocket. It is amazing, how the same thought, experience, insight is used in different directions, for different purposes. Some use it for Self Awareness, some for entertainment, some for a living and some for stealing. I believe it all comes down to our consciousness.

Therefore, this awareness is imperative in our lives and instead, what we do is give it a disguise, a name, fame, position while, it does not need any disguise, as it has its own recognition and is sent by Allah. This awareness or consciousness does not belong to any group, race or language; and when you label it, it loses its own name. Now, to take it out of the body and see this world with the concept of detachment and to understand and apply it in the life is the most amazing thing. As long as it is inside us, it is limited and keeps on labeling things. You know it very well that our ability to see or hear things, have a certain limit and if we want to see or hear beyond that limit, we need helping instruments. I must tell you that we do not hear many voices although they enter our ears and get stored in our brain. It is because our awareness is not there at that time. There was a new technology instrument, a machine that was introduced few years back, however, now it's forbidden in many countries as it involved an ethical issue. Known as 'Subliminal suggestion', it was a kind of a sound recorder. When a recorded song was played on it, you could hear it in normal way, while along that song a suggestion on a very low Db which could not be heard by the ears but was picked by the brain was imbedded; since your awareness was not there (or was absorbed in the song) you could not hear it. Such suggestion would go in your mind and make you work accordingly to these suggestions. All this happens unconsciously. The machine was used for various

projects; even Coco Cola, publicized its products through it, eventually, it had to be banned. It is prohibited, still some people use it and we do not know when and who uses it or for what purpose. So as long as this awareness is inside the body, it is limited and to cross this limit it has to come out. It comes out at the time when we are asleep. Some people name it "spirit" or "soul" or call it by some other name, yet no one has seen it. It has just one name- “consciousness”. It is like an energy that is needed to light a bulb and a bulb is useless, though its filament is expensive or glass is magnificent, as long as there is no current in it. A question for the mind that seeks; How to develop limitlessness of this awareness? To develop it, one needs silence inside. Silence which will replace this panic, noises, inner dialogues and so many other noises of the heartbeat, lungs, blood circulation and many other processes that continue inside us. However, one cannot achieve that inner silence merely by closing the eyes. It needs a lot of practice which we learn in meditation. For meditation itself, the knowledge of 'what is meditation' is very much important. First we need this knowledge and then a teacher to teach it to us. There are many books available in the market on mediation. Some people buy them, study them and then become teachers, claiming to be practicing it for the last five or more years. I happen to know one of such kind too. The kind, who tells his students that he had learned Kundalni, from India however, in fact, he has never been to India. You will find lots of such people, they are everywhere. What I want you to realize is that, to make a person sit with his eyes closed, is not always meditation. If meditation could be done in this way, there would be an army of masters in meditation and the world would have changed. Fields would have been greener, fruits and vegetables would have been tastier, there would have been rain everywhere in time and we would have seen a better view of  this world, if meditations were done in this way. Meditation needs 'silence' and silence is a very dangerous thing. If you are thrown in a place where there is nothing you can see, hear, smell or feel, you will, in a few moments, start shaking with fear. You will be preoccupied by the thinking 'Where am I?', 'Who will get me out of here?' This is the real silence where a person is all-alone and is disconnected from the outside world, because as long as you are connected to this outside world, meditation is not possible. To cut this connection is the first rule of meditation. Disconnection does not mean you cut off physically. What you must realize is that meditation is a state when you have the required silence in you; no matter what happens in the outside world. It is the inner

silence. My teacher used to say, “No amount of external peace can give you peace until or unless you have inner peace." The concept of inner silence is given in almost all the religions. No matter you go towards the jungles or deserts, to develop it. It helps you cut yourself off from the outside world. Meditation is done with its full knowledge and under the guidance of a teacher who knows what meditation is and who has experienced that inner silence, because a person who has not experienced inner silence cannot teach you so. Let me explain it through an example. Imagine two people, one of whom has seen Niagara Falls and other has not. These two individuals describe a situation and scenery. The person who has not seen the fall cannot tell you the experience, no matter how much he has read about it. However, the one who has seen it will share his experience in such a way that you will get better knowledge of it. If he is really good at it, he might even excite you to an extent that you decide to take a trip yourself. Similarly, the one who has experienced inner silence is in a better position to explain it to you. When silence is there inside you, awareness shifts outside, still, before you reach that stage, you have to do a number of things. All your desires, dreams and wishes are worthless in comparison to this inner silence and you will have to shun them. Now at this level, when we meditate, we have to realize that the basic purpose of  meditation is to ignore our own self. The problem of self identification creates hurdles in the way of finding inner silence. Sometimes it happens that a person after meditating for years feels and thinks, 'I am meditating', and remember, where this "I" enters, meditation exits. Once a pious king had spent his entire life in search of God, daily he would meditate for hours, however he had the realization that he is still not one with the Lord as his body and mind consciousness- his sense of "I" was with him all the time. He searched for Dervish and Masters who could help him kill this "I" inside him, many tried but the "I" would just not go. One fine day his advisor reported that there was a very strange mystic in the city and people claimed to have been cured by him. He sent his soldiers to fetch him and the mystic refused to see the king and told the messengers if your king wants to see me; ask  him to come to me. Upon hearing the message of the mystic the king realized his mistake and immediately went off to see the mystic with a handful team of advisors and soldiers. The mystic

greeted the king well and asked him the purpose of his visit. The king explained the dilemma he was facing for so many years. The mystic advised the king to come to him all alone without any weapons in the middle of the night and he will kill his EGO with the stick he had always with him. The king looked in bewilderment at the stick and mystic's face. He did look weird and crazy. What if he hurts me? Kills me? What to do? The king left for the palace and asked his courtiers to advise him what to do. Every one told the king not to go. He will surely harm you. He is crazy and appears wild. The king goes into his chamber and thinks; I have been looking for someone who can kill my EGO so that I attain "LIBERATION", "MAREFAT", and here’s the chance. Let me go, let me take the risk. Once the king had decided he took his horse and went to the mystic, it was around midnight and except for the king and the mystic there was no soul around. The mystic asked the king to sit in front of him and close his eyes and search within himself inside himself and look for the EGO "I", once you find it let me know, my stick is ready I will kill him. The king was even more scared, but was determined to get rid of his EGO. He closed his eyes and started searching and searching. Every now and then the mystic would ask? "Have you found it"? The king would say "NO"; keep looking was the mystic's instruction. Time passed until it was sunrise. The mystic finally asked the king to open his eyes. The king did so and was disheartened that all his efforts had gone in vain as he could not locate the EGO. Seeing the sad face of the king the mystic told him that his Ego is now gone. The king looked in surprise, "how" I never found it. The mystic explained; whenever you try to find the ego it vanishes, but when you are unaware of it, it's there and running your mind. So remember become aware of your ego at all times, and then it will vanish, the moment you forget about it, it comes back. Remember the message of this pebble, "Remain aware that you are pure consciousness".

The Eighth Pebble

The ego has a ' certain quality - it is dead. It is a plastic, thing. And it is very easy to get it, because others give it. You need not seek it, there is no search involved. That’s why unless you become a seeker after the unknown, you have not yet become

an individual. You are just a part of the 1 crowd. You are just a mob. When you don’t have a real center, how 1 can you be an individual? The ego is not individual. Ego is a social phenomenon - it is society, its not you. But it gives you a function in the society, a hierarchy in the society. And if you remain satisfied with it, you will miss the whole opportunity of finding the self. And that's why you are so miserable. With a plastic life, how can you be happy? With a false life, how can you be ecstatic J and blissful? And then this ego creates many miseries, millions of them. You cannot see, because it is your own J darkness. You are attuned to it. Have you ever noticed that all types J of miseries enter through the ego? It cannot make you blissful; it can only make you miserable. Ego is hell., --

The Eight Pebble  It is not the place, nor the condition, but their mind alone that can make anyone happy  or miserable.  Roger L. Estrange. 'Love' is an emotion or a feeling or is it something else. Let's analyze our lives to understand what it means to us. We are motivated by love to act, to perform certain tasks, at times to something very difficult. However the bond that we understand as Love is a fleeting emotion. Today, you love someone but tomorrow you don't. Look around you'll see couples giving promises to each other to live and die together, but in a few years you see those people become bitter enemies. Where did that love vanish? Maybe it was never there in the first place. Someone said once, "Love is not finding the perfect person, but loving the imperfect person perfectly". Every man says he can love and then in no time, finds out that there is no love in his nature. Every woman says she can love, and soon finds out that she cannot. In every relationship initially, there seems to be a strong bond between people which appears and believed to be 'Love'. However, in due course of time and in times of crisis and change we see that bondage being very weak, meaning love was never there, must have been something else temporarily bonding relationship, may be infatuation. The world is full of people talking about love, books written on it, movies and TV show about it, yet it becomes extremely hard to love. Where is love? How do you know that there is no love? "What is this thing called Love?" It is a bond between people, things, objects, ideas, concept, beliefs, and faith; one can be in love with a pet, or a being, maybe more than one at a time. It's our capacity to stretch beyond the boundaries of our own selfishness and focus on some object other than us. However, keep in mind one can also be in love with one's own self. Let's determine and differentiate between love and infatuation or obsession. What distinguishes an attachment from purely a selfish, self interest, self satisfying relationship, to pure love? There are many signs and test which determine whether a relationship is based on a pure bond of love or selfishness. Let's examine a few of them. If in any relationship there is bargain, or an association is based on any terms and conditions in which each partner gives on the basis of receiving from the other, it's NOT love; it is a trade or business. I do

not say whether this is right or wrong, however, it is not termed as Love. Call it whatever thing but love, NO. In REAL love, there is no concept of any deals, so long as we see one person loving another only to get something out from him or her, or one is attached to another or more than one to get something out of this bond, you know that, it is not love, it is business, you give what I need and I give you what you need. Whenever there is a question of buying and selling, it is not love. It cannot be. For what if  one is not getting enough or not receiving what one wants? Will then you be able to deliver the same with the same intensity, the same joy and sense of giving? Absolutely NOT! If in the initial stages it was always a give and take relationship, it cannot happen. Giving and receiving is a very good relationship, both are equally satisfied however, the element of this thing called 'love' is missing, although it is a mutually accepted relationship. The next test is to determine, whether a feeling or an emotion is love or just a feeling, attachment, obsessions is to check whether Love is always the 'provider', and never the beggar. That is, is it always ready to give anything and does not expect returns. As long as there are expectations, it's not 'love', for in love one gives unconditionally, without any expectation of getting something in return. It's an act of Selfless Contribution- the very act of giving has all the rewards of joy and happiness. Giving itself  satisfies the lover of being able to give and never expect. We normally do not see such acts of philanthropy in daily lives. One, who is able to give without expecting, rises above self. Then comes the next test; in true love there is no fear! Where do you ever see love and fear together? Now this seems contradictory - all around we see love and fear together. Please be reminded that these two cannot be together. When love is just an emotion, a feeling then fear is residing deep down, inactive and dormant ready to strike when expectations are not met. Fear of not being loved gives rise to hate and rage. We seem to believe that love and fear are together and have lived our lives always cautious not to lose it. This is a mind set, a belief we have acquired from the society. Our entire lives are based on two diametrically opposed emotions. LOVE and HATE being one, and FAITH and FEAR being the other. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin and the same with Faith and Fear. So in reality our lives are governed by these two major emotions. The exact opposite of Love is Hate; however, the corresponding emotion that strengthens

love is Faith, Fear's corresponding emotion is Hate. There is always love and faith that supports a relationship. Hate is always due to Fear. Both sustain each other. With love never comes the idea of fear. Real love has the basic ingredient of Faith. Or that Love is knitted with Faith. Imagine a young mother in a street, if a dog barks at her, she flees into the nearest house. However, the next day she is in the street with her child and a lion rushes upon the child, where will be her position. Beyond doubt, she would be   just at the mouth of the lion, protecting her child, her love, so the love of the child conquered all her fears. Life is full of such incidents where a mother or a father, or a son or a daughter carried out a courageous act to save the life of one he or she loved. History is filled with events of  immense courage and gallantry, where fear has crushed under the power of Love. What could be dearest to anyone than one's own life? Yet in battles and wars, soldiers are ready to sacrifice their lives because of their love for their country, or faith in the cause for which they fight. In Islamic history, there are instances of intense hardships, physical discomfort and pain, emotional trauma and yet, those who had faith in Allah went through the worst, gladly accepting all the pain and hardship as a test from Allah- whom they love. Love can be for an idea, an ideology, and a belief. The creation of Pakistan again is a great example of Faith in Leadership, Love of an ideology and whenever there is Faith, it is backed by Love. The greatest example set in History of love and faith was by the grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Hussain and his comrades. Since the existence of  this world- from the first day until the complete annihilation or the last day of this world there never was and will never be any other example of Love and Faith as valiant as of  the people of faith in Karbala. The next, yet a very higher level in Love; Love is the highest Ideal. When one has passed through the initial stages of attachments and has learned to give and not fear only then one begins to realize that love was always the highest ideal. How many times in this world we see a beautiful woman loving an ugly man? How many times we see a handsome man loving an ordinary looking woman? To every single mother, her son or daughter is the best, more beautiful and handsome than other children. What is the attraction, onlooker only see the ugly man or the ordinary woman, however, no so the lover. To the lover or the one who loves, the beloved is the most beautiful being that ever existed. How is it? They say love is blind and in a positive way it is, for surely a lover only sees her or his beloved.

Let's examine this unusual occurrence in depth. The woman who loves an ugly man, what she loves and worships is not the ugly man, instead her own ideals. We all look for in others our own ideals, likes and dislikes, our choices, our notions of right and wrong, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. This applies in every case. Many of us have ordinary looking brothers and sisters, yet the very idea of their being brothers and sisters makes them beautiful to us. The philosophy is that, each one project one's own ideal and worships that. This external world is only the world of our own thinking and suggestions. All that we see is projected out of our own minds. A grain of sand gets washed into the shell of an oyster, which covers the grain of sand and the beautiful pearl is the result. Similarly, external things furnish us with suggestions, over which we project our own ideals and make our objects: The wicked, see this world as a perfect hell, and the good see this as a perfect heaven. Lovers see this world as full of love and haters as full of hatred. I remember having read a story in a book many years back and this story made me reflect on my relationships. I learned to love unconditionally and ever since that day maybe 18 years ago I have experienced many layers of this emotion with my friends, parents and children. Today I would share this with you, with a hope of the same consequence that changed my life. Once upon a time, in a distant land which was full of happiness and love where every blade of grass, every flower, every tree, every rock and every grain of salt vibrated with love. In this land, in a certain village was a family living in a farm and this family was blessed with a child. Outside their house in the meadows was a very large, beautiful healthy tree. This tree was like a member of the family. In the mornings and evenings, the family would come and sit under the tree and spend a lot of quality time there. As the baby boy started growing and when he was able to walk on his own, he would spend most of his day under the tree with the tree. This tree was the lover and the child was its beloved, every day the child would come and play with the tree, swing on its branches, sing with the birds who would com_ and sit on the branches of this tree. The tree provided shade for its beloved and both were very happy. Time passed and now the child was old enough to go to school, he was a boy now, he started going to school and the tree saw him less, still it always waited for him. The story being narrated gives a clear definition of real and unreal love. Love waits for its beloved. Ego never waits, the boy came only when he had time to play, after finishing his school work, the tree always waited and the first sight of its beloved makes the lover

dance with joy, as a true lover the tree now had to wait and wait for it beloved to come to him. Ego only comes when it wants or needs something. This is a story of love and ego. Understand this and you will know how many of us can really love. Now as the boy grew, he made many friends and had lots of activities, he spent time with his friends, played, enjoyed with them and was very happy. His priorities had changed. He no longer needed the tree. He was least concerned how much the tree waited for him. Time passed and one fine day all his friends came over to spend a day. It was a bright sunny day and they all had come back from school After the food served by the mother, all his friends came out of the house to play and they all came to the tree and they started plucking leaves, every leaf plucked made the tree uncomfortable the tree was in pain, however, it did not say a word. It was happy, happy to be of service to his beloved and his friends. Love takes all sufferings to give joy to its beloved. Ego never cares how much suffering it causes. Once on a very cold evening the family had run out of burning wood to keep the house warm, the father had gone to buy some wood, however, the boy was feeling cold. He couldn't wait for his father to come back with the logs. Being selfish, he comes out of the house and goes to the tree, and asks the tree for wood for fire, and without waiting for an answer he started chopping the branches, the tree was in agony, its limbs were being cut and the pain was intolerable, it's beautiful branches were chopped one after another, yet it was smiling. Happy it was serving it's beloved. Time passed, the boy never realized how much pain it had caused to the tree, its lover. Ego never cares for anyone- only for self. Days passed into months and months into years. The tree was lonely. The boy was now a grown up man. He was too busy in his own world and never thought of paying a visit to his lover, yet every moment the tree waited for its beloved. Finally one day he came, he was sad and depressed. How much can a lover see his beloved in such a state? The tree asked him about it, and he said. I want to go to the other side of the village. There is a beautiful girl there and I want to marry her and settle there for good. I don't have a boat to cross the river. It was a very difficult moment for the lover. It knew the answer and the price it will have to pay for the happiness of its beloved. Its own life and also that it will lose its beloved forever. Still, love does not think long to decide to sacrifice. The tree said "come my beloved and cut my trunk into half, make a boat and cross the river". Very soon it was cut into half. The boat was made and the beloved left his lover forever, without realizing that it was death for his lover. Now the tree stands alone, there is no one around. Birds do not come any longer. There are no branches no leaves no buds. Its beloved is gone forever. When the icy wind blows, it shivers in cold. It stands in sheer loneliness. Yet it has no regrets, it is not unhappy. Its life had a purpose, a purpose to serve its beloved, at the cost of its own life. Whether the

boy will ever remember the sacrifices or not, love least cares. Love always gives and gives. Everything it has, and true love never expects anything in return slowly dying, still not regrets. When we talk about emotions, the one that is most widely talked and thought about is 'Love'. Allah is pure Love and HIS love for us is unconditional. Whether we pray or not, praise HIM or not, remember HIM or not, HIS love for us is all pervading and sustains our very existence. In Eastern culture we find most people unable to talk about Love and are as afraid as of  Death, although, our lives are nourished and nurtured by this powerful emotion. Think of  where we would be if our parents especially our mother had not taken care of us when we were helpless. This form of love, amongst human beings is the most unselfish and unconditional one where one is detached from the results of one's action. This is a form of love, which has no price tag, freely given not because one has earned it, instead because it is one's birthright. Another form of love is 'Conditional love'. This is experienced as we grow up and start to interact with people around us, friends at school, teachers, cousins and so on. Because we are so used to be accepted no matter what and how we are by our parents, grandparents and peers, we do not realize that others will only love us if we are able to fulfill something that is lacking in them. We are unable to accept being loved on certain conditions. This conflict may lead to insecurity because of which people commit themselves for life, however after few years realize the intensity in the relationship is no longer there. There are things we love in our life without having to think or wonder about why we love them. Many people love the sunrise, while some love the sunset. Then there is love for nature and its beauty. Flowers, mountains, landscape, rain, clouds, river or lake, most of  these do not require any nurturing, they are there, just for us to enjoy and feel our connection with them. Then there is passionate love, such as; freedom, independence and love for our religion, our faith and our beliefs. What is important to realize that there is an abundance of love out there for us that does not require to be loved in return? It is there for us. Whether or not we admire the early morning sun, it will continue to shine for us. This lesson must be learnt as quickly as possible. For pain and sufferings are caused by our unwillingness to love unconditionally. The reason why people experience pain and suffering in love is because the way love has

been understood is wrong. What you call love is not love; it is something else. Sometimes, you are alone and sometimes you cannot tolerate your loneliness, and just to fill the gap, the inner hole, you find somebody. It is not love. Of course, things are going to be bad. From the very beginning the very base is wrong. Love is a sharing of two individuals. I call a person "individual" when he is happy with his aloneness; otherwise he is not an individual, if he cannot be happy alone. Just think. If you cannot be happy alone, how can you be happy together? Two persons are unhappy separately and you think there is going to be a miracle?-Two unhappy persons come together and suddenly happiness arises? Unhappiness is doubled-not only doubled, multiplied. Out of your unhappiness you seek the other; then the relationship is going to be wrong. Seek the other out of the happiness, and then the relationship will never be strong. Seek out of happiness from within yourself. WHAT  IS   IT THAT MAKES ATOMS UNITING WITH   ATOMS, MOLECULS WITH   MOLECULES, AND CAUSES PLANETS TO FLY TOWARD EACH OTHER? WHAT  IS   IT THAT ATTRACTS MAN TO MAN, MAN TO WOMAN, WOMAN TO MAN, AND   ANIMALS TO ANIMALS, DRAWING THE WORLD UNIVERSE, AS IT WERE  TOWARDS ONE CENTER?

When love is an emotion or a feeling, its impermanent, comes and goes. We experience many feelings so many times in our lives. They never stay forever. However any time we are able to love something or someone without expectation in return is then the highest form of Love. Then that love is no longer an emotion, a fleeting feeling, sense of  excitement or happiness; it's a state of being. My teacher once said “The richness of life is colored with Love, when you begin to love, only then you begin to live”. You cannot live your life fully until you have the capacity to love. Let's begin to love so that we are able to live our lives consciously.

The Ninth Pebble

Both the inner (spirit), world and the outer physical worlds are one and the same. Man with his mind is just 1 standing between the two worlds. Through mind (senses), we move, outside to the physical world or inside to the inner world. But in the average 1human, the senses move outward, outside into the physical world. The movement inside into the inner world is not happening because the inner senses are dormant and not functioning. To become spiritual means to activate these inner senses so that they will start working and j start moving inside so that will know the inner world too. But the senses can only move in one direction at a time. It can’t move in two directions at the same time. To make them move inside, J we must make them to stop moving outside.

The Ninth Pebble “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are  powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most. We  ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and famous? Actually, who  are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure  around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not  just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from  our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”   Nelson Mandela

Every moment that has passed will never come back. This is wisdom from the wise. The new moment will never be the same as the one that passed. What's gone is gone. So be aware. Remember things may look the same, it's not the same. Every morning it is the same sun for you, yet in reality it's not the same. The sun is one day old and so are you. How can it be same when everything every aspect of the entire material world undergoes change at all times. The sun the moon, the stars, the tree in your back yard, your parents, brothers, sisters, friends they may all look the same, but yet it is not the same. World may be the same the appearance may be the same, yet it is not the same as of yesterday. Words may be the same; the appearance may be the same, but something, the vital goes on continuously changing. Have you ever come across the same morning again? Have you ever seen the same sky again? And yet the sky is the same and the sun is the same. But it's not the same. It's either a day old or a day new; never the same.  Every moment we change - this moment to moment change is on a micro level, hence cannot be seen. Your friends, sons, daughter, parents all change, every split second. A word spoken in this moment may be repeated later but it will not be the same. The meaning may be the same but existence has changed so the context is dissimilar. Hence the purpose becomes different. Mystics have experienced existence very differently, to them life is a contradiction. Life is paradoxical. That is why it is so charming and so beautiful. It exists through the opposites. It is vast; it contains contradictions. It is new and old both. It is life and death together. These mystics live in the timeless. They don't leave any marks in time; they don't leave any signatures on time. They don't believe in signing on the sand of time.

They know it will be effaced, so there is no point in it. The inherited natural desire of the human mind is to become unique & to become special in the ways of the world, to be different than others, to have many educational degrees, to have much power, to have wealth. The mind is always ready to go on some self image trip. And if you had enough of life's excitement then comes a time when you begin to lose your peculiarity and then again the mind starts finding new ways and new means to enhance itself to again become special, to be known, to be approved or to be distinct, the mind then takes you on another path the complete opposite of material the spiritual path. Not because there is a need for it or a desire to experience existence but only because you want to be special and what can be more extraordinary that the feeling of being highly spiritual you act as if you are spiritual - remember you are not spiritual but think yourself  as a spiritual personality and subsequently become spiritual. You become a great spiritual or a religious personality, maybe a spiritual leader and start a clan of your own, or a great scholar, a man of knowledge, and some become great and known philanthropist. All this means you are unique again. Unless the desire to be exceptional disappears, you will never be extraordinary. A tree without fruit stands tall but one that's loaded with fruits stoops down. Unless you believe yourself as a part of the existence you will never become someone unique. The really spiritual person is one who is absolutely ordinary. Remember, the word doesn't mean average. The average is not the normal. The average is only "normally" abnormal; In fact, in the world, normal persons don't exist. Once a psychiatrist conducting a university course in psychopathology was asked by a student, "Doctor, you have told us about the abnormal person and his behavior, but what about the normal person?" The doctor was a little puzzled, and then he said, "In my whole life I have never comes across a normal person. But if we ever find him, we will cure him!" Most people around us think they know everything, you ask them a question they will try to answer with the conviction that they know about it. This is a fact that we must observe around us. Once a mystic was asked by a child why are the trees green? Standing next to him was an agriculture scientist. Before the mystic could reply the scientist answered

"because of chlorophyll. A little later the mystic looked in to the eyes of the child and said "The trees are green because they are green". That's the truest answer ever given. What else can you say? Whatsoever else you say you will be foolish; it will not make any sense. You can say trees are green because of chlorophyll, but why is chlorophyll green? The question remains the same. I ask you one question, you give me an answer, but the question is not really answered. There are two types of people in the world: the people who coddle and the people who don't. They look opposite to each other but they are not. They are two aspects of the same coin. The people who indulge are continuously frustrated because no indulgence brings you to happiness forever. This is quite strange, observe this that you involve into something, you enjoy it momentarily and then it is gone, then to enjoy it again you need to indulge into it again and again and the cycle is never ending. You can indulge - you can waste your life, you can waste your opportunity, your energy but enjoyment never comes out of indulgence. If indulgence could have given joy, then nobody would ever have renounced. People renounce because indulgence fails - but then they are moving to the other extreme. Thinking that indulgence has not helped, they move to the opposite. They become against life, they become anti-life, become life negative. They start destroying their being; they become suicidal. They are the two types of people you will find, in the market you will find the people who indulge, and in the monasteries you will find the people who renounce. This happens like the pendulum of a clock. The more it moves to the left the same distance it will cover to the right. People who are involved in life to the extreme, when they turn to the other side they become fanatics. The examples are around us everywhere, and usually such people find refuge in religion. And when they do they become excessive. When you are infatuated by something and for some reason you leave it then you seem to hate the very act or object you were previously obsessed with. A real man of understanding is a great combination. He knows that it is not a question of  indulgence or abandonment; it is a question of awareness. Be in the world, but be with awareness. Don't go anywhere; don't have hostile attitudes towards life. He is able to forgive himself for over indulgence and arrives at an understanding. He is able to forgive others and knows that forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realizing you were the prisoner. Parents of a young boy were very concerned about his crazy involvement in mathematics. He was a genius child but was so involved in equations that he had no time for anything else. He was getting crazy day by day. The family was very much concerned. In an attempt to divert him, his parents took him to a movie and were delighted to note that he was utterly engrossed throughout the first act.

.At the intermission, his father said cheerfully, "Well, son, I see you are enjoying the play." "Do you know," answered the son, "there were 71,832 words in that act?" It is said that the Prayer is a form of awareness. It doesn't need to be done. It has only to be allowed. A prayer dragged is no longer prayer. Prayer has to happen, it's a connection and the connection is not possible without awareness. People make incredible efforts to go for prayers and worship, but their efforts are futile as the awareness is absent. And you are helpless; you cannot do anything about it when it is not there. Or can you do something? You can pretend. And that's what happens. We all pretend that we are praying, deeply engrossed in the remembrance of Allah. You can show that you are a very pious person and the world around you would even believe so, however you are a hypocrite. You will remain a fake as long as the awareness is absent. And if you get accustomed to this, in due course of time you will forget what your connection with Allah Almighty is. You will become accustomed to the pseudo, to the pretended, to the false. So remain aware. Sometimes sitting in your bed at night; suddenly it is there. The whole room becomes full of some presence. Not that you can do anything about it. It is there. You can enjoy, you can be joyful, and you can delight in it. You can pray and feel this oneness with the absolute. Let your prayer be very spontaneous, very real. If anger is there, what else can you offer to HIM? Offer anger. If love is there, offer HIM love. But whatsoever is there, offer and never pretend something which is not there - and Allah Almighty understands. Allah Almighty is a tremendous understanding that existence shows towards you. But if you are false, then you are trying to deceive, and you cannot deceive existence, that is not possible. You can deceive only yourself. And you will go on piling up deceptions upon deceptions around you, and you will suffocate, choked in your own deceptions you will die under the burden of your own deceptions. People often come to me and say, "Where is God? We cannot see him." I look at them and inquire, "Do you really want to seek him, really? Close your eyes, "I say to them, "and look into your heart. Are you really in passionate love with God? You really want to see him?" and they are silent. I know for sure they are not searching for Allah Almighty. There are seeking solutions to their problems. The cure for their diseases, they are not interested in searching for GOD. It's shocking that for most people GOD Almighty is the

last item on their list. There are other things to do first. When all is done, and then comes the GOD. He is always the last and of course the queue is never going to end. God will never be the first this way, because in the world nothing ever is completed. You do one thing; a thousand and one things arise out of it and you go on getting more and more entangled in the world and the queue becomes bigger and bigger and God is forced farther back and back. And then you want to seek him, his mercy, and his blessings. No, it is not possible. God is life itself. God is not some far-away goal. God is like the ocean and we are like the fish, and a Darvesh has said in a reference, "I laugh when I see the fish thirsty in the ocean. I laugh. I cannot believe. I cannot trust how it is possible. The fish is in the ocean, and thirsty? And asking where is the ocean!" we live in the ocean of God. God is life's energy. He surrounds us, he surrounds everything. Everything exist in Him, He is omnipresent. This has to be understood: satisfaction comes only out of YES! Satisfaction comes only out of tremendous positivity. Allah Almighty is ACCEPTANCE with an unconditional submission toward existence. For all that he is granted, pain & pleasure, love and hate. All that we have; has a purpose, by granting us more he is testing us and by giving us less he wants to test our patience. Buddha once narrated to his disciples, "I have heard about a philosopher Who was shot with an arrow and was dying. A physician came, and the physician wanted to pull out the arrow,- but the philosopher said, "Wait, the first thing is first; who has tried to kill me? I must know whether he is a friend or an enemy, whether the arrow is poisoned or not poisoned.' The physician said, '1 know you are a great philosopher, but please keep your philosophy away from you right now. Let me pullout the arrow first; otherwise you are creating such problems, they will not be decided, and the arrow will kill you.' The philosopher said, 'do you believe in the soul? Does the soul survive after the man dies? First things first!' the physician said, 'you are a fool! These are not first things! Now the first thing is how to pull out this arrow. These things you can decide later on." Love, and love so deeply that you can find God in existence, he is already there, we need to open our hearts to see him, to sense him, feel him. Be a friend, and be so friendly that you can find him in your friend. Wherever you can be totally, He will be there. Your being totally in something is the door, the door that lead us to HIM. However it may not be easy as the mind is ambitious; it lives in the future. The mind is egoistic; it does not relax in the present; it has great plans for the future. The mind always thinks of how to become somebody and the problem is that you are already that which

can satisfy you. You need not become it; you are it. God is your being. It is not a question of becoming, but the mind is interested only in becoming - become this, become that, becoming unique. A very arrogant and ignorant king once went to a very wise Dervish and he said to the Dervish, "I have heard that you are a great mystic, I don't believe in such nonsense, and I am going to kill you unless you can help me to have a revelation from God. If you are really a mystic, then do the miracle. Can you help me to have a revelation from God?" The Dervish said, "Done and done! This very moment it can be done. You just go outside, stand under the sky." The King said, "But it is raining." The Dervish replied "Don't be worried. You stand in the rain for fifteen minutes and look at the sky, and there will be a revelation." Unwillingly... but the King thought, "What is dangerous in this? Let me try. At the most, I may get a cold, that's all; but let me try. And the king said, "Remember, if no revelation happens I am going to kill you." The Dervish said, "You go. It always happens; it has never failed me." The king did as told and came back soaked through to the skin. "Look  at me," he wailed. "I didn't get any revelation. I only felt like a blithering idiot." "Not bad," laugh quietly the Dervish. "Don't you think that was quite a revelation for a first try?" The mind can be stupid if it is seeking to be special. Mind wants to be become something unique, someone different and this is the greatest stupidity of human race. It is here that the religion showers revelation for our reflection. We don't need to become anybody; we are already that - we are The supreme most, the best of Allah' s Almighty creation -Ashraful Makhluqat. If you ask me what is submission and what is the meaning of submission, I can talk for hours and you will get a conceptual understanding of this term "Submission", but that won't be of any use. Look around you'll see millions of people following different religions on the basis of mere conceptual knowing; they loot, plunder, kill and each one thinks he is highly spiritual, very close to God, he is better than the rest. One follower of  a religion believes the others will go to hell and only his religion is the best and will take him to Heaven. To that person Allah only belongs to him, listens to him and will only favor and grace him. To know what is submission you have to taste. It is a taste. If you taste it you know it. If  you don't taste it, you can't submit yourself. To know the taste of a mango you got to eat a mango. To know what submission is - SUBMIT yourself, your will, to the will of Allah Almighty, you will then have the experience. Without your own experience, whatsoever I say will be a tautology. You ask what surrender is. I say surrender is 'Let Go'. But what

am I saying? Will you ask what to let go? It is merely talking; I have not answered you. I say a let-go is being in Love with Allah. It is a dialogue again; I am not saying anything. You will say, "What is falling in love then?" the question remains the same, and all answer will go round and round and round. Until you fall in love with Allah Almighty, until you submit your desires, choose likes and dislikes to His, let go off your EGO and you will taste the submission. Religion helps us to submit by giving us a path of actions and a set of attitudes. Please don't ask me the meaning again, all your lives your have been running after meanings, never the taste, never the experiences. DO it now. Be courageous. Let it be an experience. Accept Allah's will and the doors of His mercy, His love and grace will open to you. By “Surrender”, in the west, a very idea arises - as if you will be dominated by somebody - because surrender has a very wrong association. It has become almost a political word in the West. The Nazis surrender; that's how it has become associated with politics. A surrendered one is the one who is defeated. The west is so scared of the word "Surrender", especially after World War-II, they are trying to control the whole world, conquer every threat, no matter how weak the opponent is, conquer them or else one day they may defeat you and you will have to surrender. This FEAR of surrender has created chaos in the world. Innocent and the weak are being oppressed. The merciless and unjustified killings of innocent people in Iraq, the weak and unarmed citizens, women and the children killed, humiliated in Palestine, the hungry unclothed in Afghanistan; observe how the fear of submission and surrender has given rise to violence, hatred and injustice in this world. It's shocking that the term "Terrorist" is used for those who are merely defending the right to Live & to survive, whereas the suppressor are the heroes. In the East we have a totally different meaning for the term. It has nothing to do with war and nothing to do with defeat. Haven't you heard of the proverb that in love defeat is the only victory? If you are defeated in love you have become victorious. Yes, that's now somebody else is going to oppress you, exploit you that you are becoming a slave. No, it is noting of the sort. The surrender in the East is used as a technique. Religion guides us towards submission as a mean to salvation. Never be afraid of it as you are giving yourself to no man, but the creator. He knows better what's good for you, more than you do. Submit your will to his will means you have accepted him as all knowing, all pervading. You trust and believe in him as the sustainer, that he loves you and his love for his creation is infinite. It is this love that needs to be accepted and understood. This is submission. Once your trust and love him totally only then you surrender your will to his. Now, you know why people are religious but not spiritual. They follow rituals and dogmas but can never submit themselves. I o ften wonder whether

we Muslims are aware that during Prayers the head of the person goes down in submission, but not the person himself. Understand this. Your head bows down, but not YOU. Allah wants us to submit totally, not only our physical parts, our heart; our entire being must surrender and submit to Allah Almighty. Throughout your lives you search for a shoulder to give your responsibilities away. You do this because you continuously depend because you don't want to take your own responsibility. You want to throw the responsibility on somebody else. You are in search of a father figure; you want somebody to lead you. All that I am going to ask you to do is remain aware. And I am here so that I can make you a little more aware, to share my love with you so you can become a little more loving. I'll be friendly with you all so that you become friendly with others. When you decide to take a step towards God it means you are ready for submission. When you go to a school it means you are ready to learn, when you prepare to offer your prayers you are ready to be in the presence of God. Every step we take in a certain direction we are ready to embrace its effects. However taking a step forward towards surrender and submission is uncertain. We don't know God yet. How can we know? We never met him, seen him heard him. We only know him through your parents and peers, maybe through the religious scriptures we have read. We only have him in our thoughts our belief. We have heard a lot about him, but never experienced him. Hence to most of you it is terrifying, going into wilderness, an unknown territory. And yet you say you believe in the unknown but are scared to explore, and experience God. Most people want to know beforehand. This is how our minds are made up. We call it mindsets. We want to know everything before we decide to submit. We can't take a risk-this is what the mind speaks inside our head. If you will surrender, you will know; you cannot know beforehand. So it is only for very courageous people. If you are ready to go, it is going to happen; and then you will know the meaning. Then too you will not be able to tell somebody else what the meaning is! The meaning is in the taste, in the experience. "How to surrender and what to surrender?" is the question often asked?  Abandon, give up, let go of whatever the Allah wants you to discard. Accept and take what he wants you to accept. Reject all others and worship no one except him alone. Ask from no one except  him and have unconditional faith that he alone is the provider, that all that comes in life comes as a test and trail for you. Seek no one except him; love no one more than him.  Live your life moment to moment; don't leave any unfinished business before you sleep. Share with others whatever he has granted you.

Detachment or T AQW A is the covered entrance; once you have entered- you have accepted his will and he has accepted you - then there is a deep conformity, than you trust him totally, unconditionally. Now He will open the doors to deeper realms of His being, He will bring you closer and closer to Himself. That's  MAREFUT. The next happening will be slow; drop by drop your own awareness about self will begin to dissipate. If you are totally surrendered, then it happens. Sometime it takes time. Inch by inch you drop your ego and more and more His grace and mercy penetrates in you. Then one day, without any warning it happens. You suddenly become aware that it has happened: now his NUR (light) exists in you. Your heart beats with his ZIKHR (remembrance) Sometimes it takes years, sometimes days, sometimes minutes, sometimes not a single minute. It depends on you, how much courage you have. In the West something new is happening - a new courage, a new spirit of inquiry. It always comes whenever a country becomes materially rich. It loses its spirit. Outwardly it is rich but it becomes inwardly poor. It loses courage, it loses potentiality. It starts dragging. In the West people have become materially rich; they are well-fed, science has come to a certain point from where religion can be contacted, and people have seen material affluence. Now they would like to see something beyond it. To them now material is not enough. They seek happiness, peace and Love. It is not enough. So if you are ready, don't ask "what is surrender?" Surrender. I once heard a heartwarming story of an illiterate villager who had completely submitted himself to ALLAH. He used to till a small piece of land. On every Friday he would attend the Juma congregation (Friday prayers) at a Mosque in a nearby village as his village was small and did not have a mosque. In order to go to the next village he had to ride a boat as there was a river dividing both the villages. The Maulana (religious leader of a prayer) leading the Friday congregation had been seeing this farmer for a long time and admired his faith in God. Once during Friday worship he reached late and the Maulana asked him as to why he was not on time. Upon this the villager replied with modesty that the person who runs the boat service came late and he needed the boat to cross the river. Spontaneously the Maulana remarked "You trust ALLAH so much then why do you need the boat? Just recite his name and cross the river by walking on the water". The villager had such immense faith that he believed in the remarks of the Maulana. The Maulana forgot all about it and time passed until one day the villager invited the Maulana for a meal at his place. Together they went to the river bank and found the boat had already left with people for the other side. Seeing this the Maulana excused the lunch offer and postponed it for the next Friday, as the boat will take time to come back.

Upon this the villager took hold of the Maulana's hand and said, we don't need to wait for the boat, lets walk on the water and cross the river. "Are you crazy?" remarked the Maulana, How can one walk on the water. Upon this the villager replied I do all the time when the boat is not here. I just recite ALLAH's name and walk on the water. The Maulana was dumb folded. This is the taste and experience of 'Total Submission'. So we seek God not because we love him. But because we want to get something from him, our needs are more important to us than the love of Allah Almighty. We seek him out of our own selfish motives. Throughout our lives we toggle between the fear of Hell and the reward of  Jannah or  Jannat (Paradise), all our motives behind actions are guided by the fear of Punishment or expectancy of Reward. Can we really love Allah Almighty without fear, can we stop ourselves from doing wrong not because of fear of hell but because out of pure love for Allah. Hazrat Ali Ibne Abu Talib once said, "I worship Allah Almighty not out of fear of hell or for the reward of Jannah, but because there is no one worthy of worship than HIM." This is Love, this is total unconditional submission. This is the height of realization. There is no one worthy of worship than HIM. When we transcend beyond reward and fear of punishment, then our relationship with the creator is of a different level and nature. Reflect on the eight pebble in which we talked about what is this thing called Love? Whenever there is a give and take in any relationship it's not pure love. It's bargaining, its business. In Pure love there is no fear. Pure love is unconditional; Acceptance in totality. We understand this as IINAFS-e-MUTMAINNA". There is no internal or external struggle, one is in complete harmony with all that's around in nature and with the creator, one who observes all as God's creation and understands the connectivity and coherence between him and all around. So before you submit yourself totally to Allah Almighty, first meditate, first feel your own being, first pray. First grow into love, first become love and then seek the path of  love of Allah Almighty. I have observed that if you are unhappy you will find somebody who is unhappy too. Unhappy people are attracted towards unhappy people. And it is good, it is natural. It is good that the unhappy people are not attracted towards happy people; otherwise they will destroy their happiness. It is perfectly okay. Only happy people are attracted towards happy people. The same attracts the same. Intelligent people are attracted towards intelligent people; stupid people are attracted towards stupid people. You meet people of the same plane. So the first thing to remember is to develop qualities

Allah wants you to develop in yourself. If you are compassionate, merciful then you will meet the most compassionate the most merciful. Learn to spend some time alone, and you not always seek company of people. The wise sages have always lived aloof and desired loneliness, and if you can be happy when you are alone, you have learned the secret of  being happy. Now you can be happy anywhere and everywhere. Then you are also happy with God, you will not seek soluti6ns to your problems. Just being in His presence is all you seek. And remember if you are happy then you have something to share, to give, give in His ways, and give yourself to Him. I teach you now, that the first and the foremost thing to do is to love toward yourself. Don't be hard; be soft. Care about yourself. Learn how to forgive yourself again and again and again - seven times, seventy-seven times, and seven hundred and seventy-seven times. Learn how to forgive yourself. Don't be hard; don't be antagonistic towards yourself. Once you love yourself only then you will be able to love the others, when you can forgive yourself only then you will have the capacity to let go and forgive others. Until and unless you have peace and calmness in your being you will never find it outside yourself. The external world is a manifestation of our own inner being. What we create in our own mind is projected outside us and the events, people and things that we experience are created by us and us only. Hence never blame Allah Almighty for mishaps, sufferings and problems in your life. Remember; you created it and with His grace and help you can solve it. Someone once said; “Prayers will not make the mountain small but will make the climb easy”. Don't ask Him to solve your problems, to heal you, to give your wealth and happiness. Instead ask Him to give you the courage, the wisdom, the patience to deal with life and to come out as a winner and a seeker. Seek His divine grace and mercy for your inner peace, ask Him to grant you the space to love yourself first and then this love in your being will project outwards and you will be able to love all His creation. Remember your inside attracts. It is natural. Stones attract stones; flower attracts flowers. And then there is a relationship which has grace, which has beauty, which has a benediction in it. And if you can find such a relationship, your relationship will grow into a prayer... your love will become an ecstasy... and through love you will know what Allah Almighty is. And this will only happen if you do it yourself. Remember it is your own heart that has to beat the trumps of love.