Tours Travel

Do Nothing Achieve Everything: Awareness and a Golden Age

Never think that war, however necessary, however justified, is not a crime.–Ernest Hemingway

There was little fanfare when Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died in 2008 at the age of 91: a short obituary and a few newspaper articles about the Beatles meeting him in India in 1968. In fact, every time Maharishi’s name appeared on the press, the Beatles made headlines. . Yet the diminutive expert who introduced a unique form of meditation to the West changed the lives of millions, from ashrams to boardrooms around the world.

Little monk – Heart like a lion
A disciple of the 20th-century Indian saint Brahmananda Saraswati of the Shankaracharya tradition, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a spiritual teacher with a master’s degree in physics. He started the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1957. Realizing that etiquette would not have the same appeal in Western culture, he changed his name and began teaching the technique he learned from his teacher using Indian mantras. specific. If you weren’t living in a cave in the mid-20th century, chances are you’re familiar with this meditation.

Educated in the sciences, Maharishi concluded that our decisions and actions are directly linked to the physiology and biochemistry of the body, as well as to the neural pathways of the brain or nervous system. Through observation and experimentation, he discovered how meditation affects the mind and body by lowering blood pressure, ADHD, and various other physical, social, and emotional disorders. Dr. Deepak Chopra was one of the earliest advocates of Maharishi in the United States.

Another advocate was physician Herbert Benson, founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital and a former professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. After learning Maharishi’s meditation technique, Dr. Benson experimented on his own. Substituting Indian mantras for other word images, he called his method “The Relaxation Response.”

Do less achieve more
Research over the last 50 years confirms what Eastern cultures have known for millennia. While he sits with his eyes closed for 20-30 minutes twice a day, beginning by repeating a mantra, the meditator is apparently doing nothing. However, while he is in the transcendental state, deep tensions are released and greater health prevails. The person returns to active wakefulness refreshed, relaxed, and able to function more effectively with less effort. Maharishi coined the two sentences “do less, achieve more” and “do nothing, achieve everything”. A student of Lao-Tsu’s Tao Te Ching will be familiar with the following:

“The further you go, the less you know
Thus the Wise does not go, but knows
He doesn’t look, but he sees
He doesn’t do, but everything is done.”

Non-duality and Yogastha Kuru Karmani
Roughly translated, the above Sanskrit phrase from the Hindu holy scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, means “established in Self, perform action.” The story told in the Gita is an allegory for every human being. The setting is a battlefield where Prince Arjuna is morally confused about whether or not to fight and kill his own relatives. Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna, “This body is the battlefield.” War is the struggle that all spiritual seekers experience when faced with the results of their actions. In other words, life is a continuous struggle when you live in the world of duality or ignorance.

In the realm of higher consciousness or cosmic consciousness, Maharishi’s teaching never approached meditation spiritually. Yogastha Kuru Karmani is as close as it gets. Supposedly, if you continue to meditate in some way, you will become enlightened and live life in unity with the Self. But what does all that mean? Maharishi’s “Do nothing, achieve everything” means that you are not the to do. However, many people say that they have practiced various forms of meditation for decades and have not yet reached that state of self-realization.

“The power of Now”
In his book, “The Power of Now”, in seminars and videos, the modern spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle describes non-duality as “being present”. When we are totally present, in the moment, without the interference of the ‘egoic’ mind, any decision we make or actions we take will be the right ones because we are not the to do. Therefore, when a person is fully present, he is living in the harmonious state of oneness with God.

In a previous article, “Raising Consciousness and the Art of Being,” the paragraph “Courage Under Fire,” I write about being with American soldiers who had to fight off a Vietcong attack on a town where I was staying. Faced with having to make decisions on the ground, the soldiers acted with unimaginable courage and profound efficiency. Without time to think, they acted spontaneously and saved my life. They were completely in the moment, which is our natural state. It was as if Arjuna was following the example of Krishna.

a golden age
Hatred, genocide and war would be impossible if the entire planet lived in the harmonious state of unity. The key is to live in that state 24/7. India abounds with stories of people who lived in caves for decades until they achieved God realization. 2500 years ago the buddha he struggled ceaselessly before sitting under a Bodhi (fig) tree for six years until he attained enlightenment. Although there may be some, most 21st century applicants are not fit for that position. However, many have lived and studied in the presence of accomplished masters for decades and are still searching for “the brass ring.”

Perhaps the earth is older than scientists think. But not. Is it possible that there was once a golden age when all humans lived with love and respect for each other? Could it be that because times got so good, people got careless and forgot the importance of vigilance?

Today there is a urgency to evolve. The growing consciousness demands it. Nobody gives you enlightenment. You don’t win with good deeds or hold back with bad ones. Everything happens according to the laws of nature, that is, automatically. The conscience does not make mistakes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *