How to organise a Baby Shower at office?

Never realised that celebrating a baby shower in a corporate setting can be so much fun to organize. 

The opportunity came when working on the 'Johnson's' brand, with 2 of our HR managers 'eating for 2' in the 125th year of the brand's existence... we decided to celebrate with a surprise baby shower for the mums-to-be.

Searching for 'how to organise...' ideas on the internet was an obvious choice, but not too many novel options came up, so here's a round-up of how to celebrate the 'bun in the oven' in an office set-up.

1. Have a customized official invite sent out [without marking the mum-to-be, of course ;) ]

2. Put up pink & blue balloons & streamers with some good music in the background. Stock up well on some pink & blue leave-behind blank notes as well that you want the audience to fill in with their good wishes & hand-over to the mum-to-be on the way back.



3. Celebrate with games that involve the mum-to-be [reward winners with some pink & blue baby goodies - we had a few exclusive Johnson's & Aveeno baby products to give away and the audience lapped it up]

a. Guess the birth week/ time: Ask the mum-to-be to guess theirs on a separate A4 sheet and put up a large-size chart for the audience to mark their guesses - select the winners basis those who come closest to the mum-to-be week/ time slot indicated on the A4 sheet coz mum-knows-best :)
[One of the mums actually came back after the baby was born to send me a message about how we'd been pretty close to predicting the right week/ time for her baby's arrival]

b. Child-star quiz: As per the local culture, child stars may be from varied fields like movies, sports, TV shows viz. local dancing/ singing stars. Below is an example of a painstakingly compiled, Bollywood quiz we played which resonated very well with the audience; goes without saying, the expectation is that the child will be born a star*

-Appeared as a child actor in Yaadon ki Baarat (1973), when he was just 8 years old.

*Aamir Khan

-Sang quite a few popular songs as a child in movies like Rangeela (1995) and Akele Hum Akele Tum

*Aditya Narayan

-He was the ‘Farex’ baby of the early 90s. In other words, this actor started modeling and was a brand ambassador of a leading food brand, when he was in his diapers! He debuted in Bollywood when he was 9 years old, in  Mr. India.

*Aftab Shivdasani

-As a child artist, this leading Bollywood actress of today starred in a movie called Sangharsh (1999) which had Akshay Kumar in the lead role. She was just 6 years old at that time.

*Alia Bhatt

-A child arist in many films including Koi Mil Gaya (2003), she debuted in Bollywood as a lead actress with ‘Aap Ka Suroor’ (2007). She is a prominent actress in South India.

*Hansika Motwani

-A child artist in a movie called ‘Bhagwan Dada’, when he was just 12.

*Hrithik Roshan

-Born in a Kashmiri Pandit family, he was a successful child artist having acted in serials like Gul Gulshan Gulfam and movies like Hum Hai Rahi Pyaar Ke (1993).

*Kunal Khemu

-An adorable debut as the cute kid of Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998) Then, only ten years old, this actress went on to more roles and then finally debuted as an adult in a supporting role in the movie ‘ Student of the Year’.

*Sana Saeed

-Faced camera for the first time at the age of 8 in the now memorable ‘Complan Ad’.

*Shahid Kapoor

-She debuted as a child artist in a devotional Tamil movie ‘Thunavian’, at the age of 4. She was the go-to-girl for child artists in South Indian movies. She also made a debut as a teenager in Bollywood with the movie Julie (1975).

*Sridevi

-A child artist made an impact in Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom when she was just 9. Also, who was her co-star.

*Urmila Matondkar & Jugal Hansraj

-Made her film debut with a leading role in Kabir Khan's 2015 drama film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, opposite Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor & Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

*Harshaali Malhotra

c. Passing the parcel until baby-kicks: This is a fun-twist to the passing the parcel game.. hand-over a placard with a picture like the one above to the mum-to-be and ask the audience member on whom the parcel stops every respective round to perform their act until the baby kicks [of course, only the mum can ratify when the baby has kicked and can ask the member to stop their act ;) makes for a fun exercise trying to get the mum-to-be to agree]



4. Have a mum-to-be cake and oh-so-yummy baby shower cup cakes [along with other snacking options]: Pre-order these well in advance and the mum-to-be will reminisce the memory for a long-time to come...

5. Surprise the mum-to-be by having her hubby/ parents join the celebrations - this is literally like the 'icing on the cake' and something she's been least expecting [you'd be surprised how easy it is to figure out the contact details for the family members - I just spoke to the office creche in-charge for the pre-registration the mum & dad-to-be had made for the creche services later]



6. End with a mum-to-be hamper wishing her luck in the wriggly, noisy joyride of motherhood; the leave-behind notes by the audience can be circulated as well for them to customize their messages [We had our HR head, Shivena handing over the hamper to the mums-to-be - Roma & Apeksha]

A baby shower at an office is not only reflective of the camaraderie and bonhomie in an office set-up but also speaks volumes about the people practices and support that corporate establishments like J&J extend to mums-to-be, enabling them in their journey of being born into mothers :)

TattvaTales - Part VI

Gautama, the father of Nachiketas, was performing a sacrifice. Nachiketas asked his father: “To whom will you give me?” The father replied: “To Death I will give you.” Nachiketas went to the house of Yama, the Lord of Death. He stood there for three days and nights without receiving any hospitality, as Yama had gone out and as there was none to receive him.

The Lord of Death returned and found Nachiketas waiting in obedience to his father’s promise to give him to Death. Yama said to Nachiketas: “O Brahmin; as thou, a venerable guest, hast dwelt in my house three nights without eating, choose now three boons in return.” Then Nachiketas first asked that his father might again be pleased with him. Yama said: “Your father will recognise you as before. He will sleep peacefully at night and when he sees you released from me, he will lose his anger.” The second boon was that of the heavenly fire and Yama said that that fire will be known to him and called by his name. As for the third boon, the boy asked for the secret of Death. “There is that doubt, when a man is dead—some say that he is and some say he is not—this! I should like to know. Tell me, O Lord of Death, thy secret. Can man escape from thy clutch?”

Yama said: “Do not ask that. On this point even the gods of olden times had doubt. Verily, it is not easy to understand it. Subtle is its nature. O Nachiketas! Choose another boon.” Nachiketas said: “These things are ephemeral. They wear out the vigour of all the senses. Even the longest life is short. It is nothing when compared to Eternity. Keep thou thy chariots, the damsels, the dance and music. No one can be made happy by wealth. Give me the one boon, the only boon I seek—How may man escape thy mouth?”

Lord Yama found out that the boy was a qualified student for the attainment of Jnana or wisdom of the Soul. He told him how man might escape from the hands of Death. He said: “O Nachiketas! Just listen to me with rapt attention. I shall tell you the way to attain Immortality. Man is bound by desires. The desires are born of the senses. These bind him to the wheel of birth and death. He must destroy the desires and subjugate the mind and the senses. This is the first step to be taken. The body is like a chariot, the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins and the intellect is the driver. The Atman or the Self is the Lord of the chariot.

The sensual objects are the roads. The horses gallop after the objects of senses and carry the chariot with them. They must be guided along the right path. He who has no discrimination and whose mind is always uncontrolled, his senses (horses) are not controlled like the turbulent horses of a driver. He does not reach the goal, but enters into the round of births and deaths. But, he, who has understanding and whose mind is always controlled, his senses are under control like the good trained horses of a driver. He reaches that goal whence he is not born again. He reaches the end of his journey, that highest place of Vishnu.

Meditate on the One, the Eternal, the Atman, which dwells in the cavity of the heart. Fix your mind on the Supreme Self. When all the desires of the senses are destroyed, when the knots of ignorance are broken, then you will attain Immortality or Self-realisation or Brahma-Jnana. Thus you may conquer Death. O Nachiketas! This is the secret of Death.

During the 1857 Indian independence revolution, a silent naked sannyasin was passing by the cantonment of an English battalion. The soldiers caught hold of him and asked him, ”Who are you?” But as he was in silence he did not reply. Because of his keeping quiet they became suspicious of him and one soldier pierced his chest with a spear. The sannyasin had taken the vow of speaking only once at the time of death: he had been silent for the last thirty years.

When the spear pierced his chest and the blood gushed out, then he spoke only one sentence of the Upanishads: tattvamasi, shvetketu – means “you are also that, Shvetketu”. People gathered round him and asked him, “What do you mean?”

He said,”I mean that the divine can come in any guise; he will not be able to deceive me. Today he has come with the spear in his hand. The spear has pierced my chest but I can see that inside the soldier it is only him. He cannot deceive me.” The blood was oozing out of his chest, but the sannyasin was dancing because he could see godliness in his murderer.

­­­­Bhishma’s father had granted him a treasured boon. ‘I grant you a boon. You can hold death at arm’s length. You can die when you please.’ After a long life of righteous action and purity in every aspect of his illustrious career, Bhishma delayed his death until the end of the Kurukshetra War. Throughout the battle, Bhishma gave his inner blessing to the virtuous Pandava brothers and told them they would attain victory over the Kauravas. Although he was obliged to fight on the side of the Kauravas, his heart was with the Pandavas because theirs was a righteous cause.

In vedic literature, there is a beautiful analogy of a bowman.

When the bowman shoots the arrow, the arrow once shot cannot be recalled back. Suppose this arrow shot misses the target. Now the bowman prepares himself to shoot another arrow with much more focus, alertness and awareness he had while he shot the fist arrow with the motive of getting to the target this time.

So now, the bundle of arrows in the quiver on his back is the Sanchit Karma. Being one of the three types of karma, it is the sum of one’s past karma – all actions( accumulated good and bad) born out of ones past life.

The first arrow shot by the bowman that missed the target, was the prarabdha karma. The past that has already began to take effect, he has to experience it. He has no control over his prarabdha. He can merely learn from his past actions and thus prepare for his future which was the second arrow that he was preparing to shoot. But with more alertness & awareness this time, the second arrow that becomes his agami karma. He now has total control over his actions and can rectify them so that his future actions will now be perfect to produce good karma (good agami karma).

There is another beautiful analogy also. The granary represents the sanchita karma; that portion taken from the granary and put in the shop for future daily sale corresponds to agami; that which is sold daily represents prarabdha.

Sanchita karma is one of the three kinds of karma. It is the sum of one's past karmas – all actions (accumulated good and bad) from one's past life follow through to the next life which becomes the prarabdha and those that fructify with time either the next moment, several years or even next birth is called as agami karma.

TattvaTales - Part V

Once Hanuman was sitting in a garden in Ayodhya singing Ram bhajans when Sri Ram came there. Immediately he called out to Hanuman and said, “Hanuman, I have always wanted to ask you something but never had the time as both of us are always busy. What exactly is the relationship between the two of us?” Hanuman thought for a while, scratched his body like a monkey and then said,” Oh Lord! Dehabuddhya Daasoham, jeevabudhya amsoham, aatma budhya Ramoham. As a finite body, I am limited while you are unlimited and so thinking of myself as this body, I am your humble and obedient servant. As the mind and intellect I can reach out and expand my consciousness. I can accomplish many wonderful things, but these powers are still limited as compared to yours. My mind and intellect is merely a part of the cosmic intelligence and thus I am only a part of you. However, as the Self which is beyond all dualities, I am none other than you!” Sri Rama was very pleased with Hanuman’s answer as it brought out all the three standpoints of the relationship between the individual and the Lord.

A god and a demon went to learn about the Self from a great sage. They studied with him for a long time. At last the sage told them, "You yourselves are the Being you are seeking." Both of them thought that their bodies were the Self. They went back to their people quite satisfied and said, "We have learned everything that was to be learned; eat, drink, and be merry; we are the Self; there is nothing beyond us." The nature of the demon was ignorant, clouded; so he never inquired any further, but was perfectly contented with the idea that he was God, that by the Self was meant the body. The god had a purer nature. He at first committed the mistake of thinking: I, this body, am Brahman: so keep it strong and in health, and well dressed, and give it all sorts of enjoyments. But, in a few days, he found out that that could not be the meaning of the sage, their master; there must be something higher. So he came back and said, "Sir, did you teach me that this body was the Self? If so, I see all bodies die; the Self cannot die." The sage said, "Find it out; thou art That." Then the god thought that the vital forces which work the body were what the sage meant. But. after a time, he found that if he ate, these vital forces remained strong, but, if he starved, they became weak. The god then went back to the sage and said, "Sir, do you mean that the vital forces are the Self ?" The sage said, "Find out for yourself; thou art That." The god returned home once more, thinking that it was the mind, perhaps, that was the Self. But in a short while he saw that thoughts were so various, now good, again bad; the mind was too changeable to be the Self. He went back to the sage and said, "Sir, I do not think that the mind is the Self; did you mean that?" "No," replied the sage, "thou art That; find out for yourself." The god went home, and at last found that he was the Self, beyond all thought, one without birth or death, whom the sword cannot pierce or the fire burn, whom the air cannot dry or the water melt, the beginningless and endless, the immovable, the intangible, the omniscient, the omnipotent Being; that It was neither the body nor the mind, but beyond them all. So he was satisfied; but the poor demon did not get the truth, owing to is fondness for the truth.

Uddalaka had a son called Shvetaketu. When he was twelve, his father said to him, ‘It is time for you to find a spiritual teacher. Everyone in this family has studied the holy scriptures and the spiritual way.’ So Shvetaketu went to a teacher and studied the scriptures for twelve years. He returned home very proud of his intellectual knowledge. His father observed him and said, ‘My boy, you seem to have a high opinion of yourself; you are proud of your learning. But did you ask your teacher for the spiritual knowledge that enables you to hear the unheard, think the unthought and know the unknown?’ ‘What is that knowledge, Father?’ asked Svetaketu. ‘Just as by knowing a lump of clay, everything that is made of clay can be known, since any differences are only words, and the essential reality is clay. In the same way by knowing a piece of gold, all that is made of gold can be known, since any differences are only words, and the reality is only gold.’ Uddalaka responded, ‘My teachers must not have known this or they would have taught it to me. Father, please teach me this knowledge.’ ‘I will,’ replied his father. ‘In the beginning there was only Being. Some people claim that in the beginning there was nothing at all and that everything has come out of nothing. But how can this be true? How can that which is, come from that which is not? In the beginning there was only one Being, and that Being thought, “I want to be many so I will create.” Out of this creation came the cosmos. There is nothing in the cosmos that doesn’t come from that one Being. Of everything that exists, this Being is the innermost Self. He is the truth, the Self Supreme. And you, Shvetaketu, you – are that!’  Shvetaketu asked, ‘Please teach me more about the Self, Father.’ ‘Let’s start with sleep. What happens when we sleep? When a person is absorbed in dreamless sleep, he is one with the Self although he doesn’t know it. We say he sleeps but we mean he sleeps in the Self. ‘A tethered bird grows tired from flying in every direction, finding no rest anywhere, and settles down at last on the very same perch on which it is tied. In the same way the mind, tired of wandering around here and there settles down at last in the Self, its life and breath, to which it is bound. All creatures have their source in that Being. He is their home; He is their strength. ‘When a man is dying, speech folds into mind, mind folds into life, life dissolves into light, and his light merges into that one Being. That Being is the seed, the truth, the Self, and you, Shvetaketu, you – are that!’

‘Please tell me more, Father.’ ‘My son, bees make honey by gathering nectar from many flowers to make their honey, so no one drop of honey can say that it came exactly from one specific flower. You can’t identify the juice of one particular flower in the honey. And so it is with creatures like us who merge in that Being, whether in sleep or death. ‘And as the rivers that flow from the east to the west merge in the sea and become one with it, forgetting that they were ever separate rivers, so all creatures lose their separateness when they merge into pure Being. Whatever creature it may be – tiger, lion, wolf, boar, mosquito, worm – it only becomes aware of a particular life when it is born into it or is awake. ‘If you strike at the root of a tree, it bleeds but still lives. If you strike at the trunk, the sap oozes, but the tree lives on. The Self as life fills the tree and supports it; it flourishes in happiness gathering food through its roots. However, if life departs from one branch, that branch withers, and when life leaves the whole tree, the entire tree withers. Remember my son, your body dies, but your Self does not.’ Uddalaka told Shvetaketu to bring him a fruit from a nearby banyan tree and to break it open. Shvetaketu did and said, ‘There are seeds inside, all very small.’ ‘Now break one of the seeds and tell me what you see.’ ‘Nothing, Father.’ Uddalaka said, ‘My son, this great banyan tree has grown from a seed so small that you cannot see it. Believe me, an invisible and subtle essence is the Spirit of the whole universe. ‘Now, take this salt and put it in some water and bring it to me tomorrow morning.’ The next morning Shvetaketu looked for the salt but couldn’t find it because it had dissolved. Uddalaka asked his son to taste the water. ‘Salty,’ he said, adding, ‘the salt will always remain in the water.’ “That’s right. The salt permeates the water, just like the Self. Even though we cannot see it, the Self is within all things and there is nothing that doesn’t come from Him. “This invisible and subtle essence is the Spirit of the whole universe. That is reality. That is truth. And you, Shvetaketu, you – are that!’

‘I know not what he knows, but I know he knows’

Thus the pupil fulfilled from the Master goes

A learned visitor had darshan of Swami Sivananda when he expressed to Swamiji certain doubts which Swamiji readily cleared. He first said, “Swamiji, I want to know something about Samadhi. The scriptures say that a person who has attained Samadhi would not publicly say that he has attained it. Then, how are we to know that such and such a man has attained the highest wisdom or not?"

Swamiji replied, "We can know it by observing his actions, behaviour, talk, equal vision, peace, bliss, perfect serenity, balanced mind under all conditions, cosmic love, and steady wisdom."

"How can he himself know that he has attained Samadhi?" was the visitors next question.

Swamiji answered. "If his experience tallies with the experience of the seers of the Upanishads, if he enjoys absolute bliss and peace, if he maintains unperturbed serenity of mind under the worst situations, if his doubts have been rent asunder, if he beholds unity in diversity, if he feels that he is the self in all beings and the whole world is his body, if he is perfectly free from desires for sensual objects, Raga, Dvesha, egoism, anger, lust, mineness, pride and attachment, he can be sure that he has attained Realisation."

TattvaTales - Part IV

Once Narada said to Krishna, “Lord show me Maya.” After a few days Krishna asked Narada to make a trip with him towards a desert. After walking several miles Krishna asked Narada to fetch some drinking water. Narada entered a nearby village and knocked at a door which was opened by an extremely beautiful young girl. At the sight of her Narada forgot everything and began talking with the girl. That talk ripened into love; he asked the girl’s father for the daughter; they were married, lived there and had three children. After twelve years his father-in-law died and Narada inherited his property. He lived, as he seemed to think, a very happy life with his wife and children, his fields and his cattle, and so forth.

Then came a flood. One night the river rose until it overflowed its banks and flooded the whole village. Houses fell, men and animals were swept away and drowned and everything was floating in the rush of the stream. Narada had to escape. With one hand he held his wife, and with the other two of his children; another child was on his shoulders and he was trying to ford this tremendous flood. After some time the child on his shoulders fell and was swept away by the current of the water. In trying to save that child, Narada lost his grasp of the other children who were also lost. At last his wife was also torn away from his tight clasp and Narada was thrown on the bank, weeping and wailing in bitter lamentation.

Behind him came a gentle voice, “My child, where is the water? You went to fetch a pitcher of water for me, and I have been waiting for you; you have been gone for quite half-an-hour.” “Half-an-hour!” Narada exclaimed!  Twelve whole years seemed to have passed through in his mind; but in fact all these scenes had happened in half-an-hour only. And this is Maya.

Such is the power of Maya that has created this boundaryless cosmos from beginningless time and shall continue to do so endlessly. 

“A man died, leaving behind 17 elephants as his only wealth. He had three sons, According to his will; the first son should get one-half of his wealth, the second one-third and the third one-ninth.  Now how could the sons divide 17 elephants among themselves in the manner stipulated? The king, who happened to be passing by on his elephant, said he would solve the problem. He alighted from his elephant and put it beside the 17 of the dead man’s. He said he had added his elephant to the 17 to make the number even. So the first son got one-half of the 18 that is nine elephants. The second got one-third of the 18 that is six. The third got two, one-ninth of the 18 elephants. The king said: “This leaves one elephant, the one I added to your father’s collection. I take it back now that the division of the elephants among you is over.” The sons were happy that the division was in accordance with their father’s will.

However, was the division indeed in accordance with their father’s will? It was not. In the story example above, did the 18th cow exist? Was it different? It appeared to exist, and different but did not exist in the dividing among the brothers. It was a mere illusion that they had kept to the provisions of the will. Such is the nature of illusion that we take comfort from what we see as just and get upset over what we perceive as unjust.”

An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics. The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on top of his desk and wrote on the board:

"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair. One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.

A week later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an "A" when he had barely written anything at all.

His answer consisted of two words: "What chair?"

In the below analogies of Mahabharata & Ramayana respectively, the concept of evolution of five elements and the three qualities of Sattva, Tamas & Rajas from Maya is explained.

The Pandavas in Mahabharata represent the 5 elements which in turn represent the 5 energy chakras in our spinal column. The chronology is also critical here to understand the process of creation of the 5 elements from the subtle to the gross – Subtlety is measured by an object’s pervasiveness & the number of perceivable qualities it has.

Yudhistira – Yudhi means in the battle, sthira means tranquil or undisturbed. Yudhi-stra is the symbol of peace and the sky or ether element. Sky is the bridge of transcendence to the conscious state and represented as throat chakra (Vishuddhi chakra). Ether remains unchanged, and undisturbed by the violent plays of nature’s forces; it is the first element with the quality of sound – Sound travels in the medium of space & space has an inherent sound.

Bheema – is Prana, the Power of Vitality, the Air Element in the Dorsal Center, or Anahata Chakra. He is the son of the Vayu deva, the God of Wind. Air has the qualities of sound & touch, therefore, it can be heard & felt. The aspiring Sadhaka, practices his Pranayama that is controlled by this center, thereby calming the breath and controlling the mind and all of its sense objects. The breath has got such strength that it can destroy all tendencies of the mind. That is why Bheema kills the 100 sons of Dhritarashtara.

Arjuna – Arjuna the third represents fire element. Rajju means rope or bondage and na means no. This represents that we are really not bonded, but free. Arjuna represents the liberating thoughts in us and brings peace. Arjuna is the enquiring mind. The enquiring mind burns like fire and destroys the darkness of ignorance. This burning fire is what needs to be given direction and that is why out of the 5 brothers Arjuna was taught Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna thus represents the fire element symbolized as the navel chakra (Manipura Chakra) which has the qualities of sound, touch, form and therefore, can be heard, felt & seen.

Nakula, is Adherence, the Power to Obey Rules of Dharma, the Water Element in the Sacral Center, or Swadhishthana Chakra. Water element has the qualities of sound, touch, form & taste and can be heard, felt, seen & tasted. As such, Nakula represents adherence to Dharmic principles which allows the Sadhaka to control mental tendencies.

Sahadeva, is Restraint, the Earth Element in the Coccyx Center, or Muladhara Chakra. Earth element is the grossest of the 5 elements with qualities of sound, touch, form, taste & smell – it can be heard, felt, seen, tasted & smelt. Sahadeva is the Power of Resistance by which restless outer sense organs can be controlled.

We can see that the Mahabharata is not just another grandeur story that happened long time ago. It is something that is happening right now - Inside us. Every moment we live, there is a Mahabharata happening with an interplay of the evolution of the 5 elements within us.

Ramayana is not a mere story. It is the story we live every moment of our lives.

Dasaratha symbolises the intellect that controls the senses. The three queens of Dasaratha are the three Gunas known as Sattwa (tranquillity), Rajas (activity), and Tamas (malice, ignorance, darkness). 

Vasishtha and Viswamitra are the gurus who guide the intellect. Rama is the transcendental Self and Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna (Rama’s three brothers) are the triple manifestations of God as immanent, God as in-dwelling spirit, and God as soul, respectively.

Manthara (the maid servant) symbolises the negative qualities that poisons Kaikeyi (the Rajasic-Tamasic mind). Demons and demonesses in Ramayana are the evil propensities in us. Ravana is the Rajasic ego. Kumbhakarana is the Tamasic ego. Vibhishana represents the Sattwic ego. Rama’s wife Sita is the Cosmic Energy (Kundalini) abducted by Ravana, the ego, for wrong use.

So, through (with the help of) Hanuman, symbolising Pranayama, or rhythmic breathing, you will find the location of Sita, the energy and convey the news of Rama, the Self. Rama’s destruction of Ravana and Kumbhkarana symbolises the destruction of Rajasic and Tamasic egos. The installation of Vibhishana symbolises the establishment of Sattwa Guna and equanimity through Self-realisation. Union of Rama and Sita is the union of Shakti with the eternal consciousness of the true self. Rama’s coronation symbolises the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This, in short, is the esoteric meaning of Ramayana.

Once a rich man was passing through a forest, when three robbers surrounded him and robbed him of all his wealth. After snatching all his possessions from him, one of the robbers said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him.' Saying this, he was about to strike their victim with his sword, when the second robber interrupted and said: 'There's no use in killing him. Let us bind him fast and leave him here. Then he won't be able to tell the police.' Accordingly the robbers tied him with a rope, left him, and went away.

After a while the third robber returned to the rich man and said: 'Ah! You're badly hurt, aren't you? Come, I'm going to release you.' The third robber set the man free and led him out of the forest. When they came near the highway, the robber said, 'Follow this road and you will reach home easily.' 'But you must come with me too', said the man. 'You have done so much for me. We shall all be happy to see you at our home.' 'No,' said the robber, 'it is not possible for me to go there. The police will arrest me.' So saying, he left the rich man after pointing out his way.

"Now, the first robber, who said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him', is tamas. It destroys. The second robber is rajas, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in a variety of activities. Rajas makes him forget God. Sattva alone shows the way to God. It produces virtues like compassion, righteousness, and devotion. Again, sattva is like the last step of the stairs. Next to it is the roof. The Supreme Brahman is man's own abode. One cannot attain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one transcends the three gunas." 

TattvaTales - Part III

Raja Janaka ruled over the country of Videha. He was once reclining on a sofa. It was the middle of the day in the hot month of June. He had a short nap for a few seconds. He dreamt that a rival king with a large army had invaded his country and slew his soldiers and ministers. He was driven out of his palace barefooted and without any clothes covering him.

Janaka found himself roaming about in a jungle. He was thirsty and hungry. He reached a small town where he begged for food. No one paid any attention to his entreaties. He reached a place where some people were distributing food to the beggars. Each beggar had an earthen bowl to receive rice water. Janaka had no bowl and so they turned him out to bring a bowl. He went in search of a vessel. He requested other beggars to lend him a bowl, but none would part with his bowl. At last Janaka found a broken piece of a bowl. Now he ran to the spot where rice water was distributed. All the foodstuff had been already distributed.

Raja Janaka was very much tired on account of long travelling, hunger and thirst and heat of the summer. He stretched himself near a fireplace where foodstuff was cooked. Here some one took pity over Janaka. He gave him some rice water which was found at the bottom of a vessel. Janaka took it with intense joy and just as he put it to his lips, two large bulls tumbled fighting over him.

The bowl was broken to pieces. The Raja woke up with great fear. Janaka was trembling violently. He was in a great dilemma as to which of his two states was real. All the time he was in dream, he never thought that it was an illusion and that the misery of hunger and thirst and his other troubles were unreal.

The queen asked Janaka, “O Lord! What is the matter with you?” The only words which

Janaka spoke were, “Which is real, this or that?” From that time he left all his work and became silent. He uttered nothing but the above words.

The ministers thought that Janaka was suffering from some disease. It was announced by them that anyone who cured the Raja will be richly rewarded and those who fail to cure the Raja will be made life prisoners. Great physicians and specialists began to pour in and tried their luck, but no one could answer the query of the Raja. Hundreds of Brahmins well versed in the science of curing diseases were put in the state prison.

Among the prisoners was also the father of the great sage Ashtavakra. When Ashtavakra was a boy of only ten years of age, he was told by his mother that his father was a state prisoner because he failed to cure Raja Janaka. He at once started to see Janaka. He asked the Raja if he desired to hear the solution of his questions in a brief and few words as the question itself is put or full details of his dream experience may be recited. Janaka did not like to have his humiliating dream repeated in presence of a big gathering. He consented to receive a brief answer.

Ashtavakra then whispered into the ear of Janaka, “Neither this nor that is real.” Raja Janaka at once became joyful. His confusion was removed.

Raja Janaka then asked Ashtavakra, “What is real?” There upon there was a long dialogue between him and the sage. This is recorded in the well-known book, “Ashtavakra Gita,” which is highly useful for all seekers after Truth.

Cobb: You create the world of the dream, you bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it with their subconscious.

Ariadne: How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think that its reality?

Cobb: Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on.

Ariadne: I guess, yeah.

Cobb: So how did we end up here?

Ariadne: Well we just came from the a...

Cobb: Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?

Ariadne: We're dreaming?

Among Sigmund Freud’s conclusions in the famous ‘Interpretation of Dreams’, he says nearly all dreams are 'wish-fulfilments', that is, they reveal a deep motivation or desire which wants to be fulfilled, often a wish going back to earliest childhood - dreams are the arena in which the unconscious mind could express itself, and they are primarily concocted to represent the fulfillment of a wish.

One of Freud's key points is that dreams are always self-centered. "The wishes fulfilled in them", he writes, "are invariably this self's wishes". When other people appear in a dream, often they are merely symbols of ourselves or symbolized what another person means to us. Freud believed that whenever a strange figure entered his dreamscape, the personage undoubtedly represented some aspect of himself that could not be expressed in waking consciousness. 

Certain Karmas are worked out in dreams also. A King experienced a dream in which he acts the part of a beggar and suffers the pangs of starvation. Certain evil Karmas of the King are purged out in this experience.

If a man is not able to become a king on account of evil influence of some planets, he plays the part of a king in his dream. His strong desire materialises in the dream state.

One derives more pleasure in dream than in the waking state when he experiences pleasant dreams because the mind works more freely in dream.

The strong thoughts of the waking state find expression at once in the dreaming state.

When a strong desire is not gratified in the waking state, you obtain its gratification in dream. The mind has more freedom in the dreaming state. The mind is then like a furious elephant let loose.

Bhrigu approached his father, Varuna, as a spiritual preceptor and asked to be taught about Brahman.  In response, his father declared, "Brahman is That from which the world has proceeded, That by which the world is sustained, and That into which the world dissolves.  So practice austerity and reflect, my son, and discover what Brahman is.

Following his father's instruction, Bhrigu practiced reflection for a year on what he had studied in the scriptures as well as his own experience. Bhrigu concentrated on the idea of anna or food that nourishes and sustains all beings. Then he returned to his father with his conclusion as the physicality of food to be the first principle, which pervades all matter and nourishes it. Varuna quietly replied, "Continue practicing austerity and reflect; delve deeper into the origin of food"

Bhrigu continued the practice of manana (reflection), and after another year of practice he returned to his father with the conclusion that prana is Brahman.  Matter in itself is blind and inert, but a subtle energy, or vital force (prana), moves and sustains every atom and electron in the vast universe of matter.  Again Varuna, with a twinkle in his eye, told his son to continue practicing austerity.

Upon further reflection, Bhrigu realized that there must be mind behind prana.  The world is not in a state of disarray or chaos.  There is a tremendous design behind everything.  Bhrigu therefore announced to his father that mind is Brahman.  Unsatisfied with his son's level of realization still, Varuna sent Bhirgu back to continue the practice of manana.

Upon deeper reflection, Bhrigu realized that intellect or vijnana was higher than the mind, which ever fluctuates due to sensory input, thoughts and desires.  It is intellect, vijnana that has the ability to organize and direct the thoughts in a particular way.  "Intellect is Brahman" claimed Bhrigu, but again, Varuna instructs his son to continue reflecting.

As his practice deepened, Bhrigu was led to inquire what exists beyond the intellect.  He realized that a deeper part of his being, the unconscious, continues to exist even during deep sleep.  Further, the bliss of Brahman diffuses through the veil of the unconscious since the ego is temporarily absent in deep sleep and one is closer to God.

Going beyond the unconscious plane of ignorance through the experience of samadhi or super consciousness, Bhrigu had a direct experience of the bliss of Brahman--the true nature of Brahman. When he relayed to his father that ananda, or bliss, is Brahman, his father became extremely happy, and told Bhrigu that it was no longer necessary to practice austerity.  By negating each previous level of understanding, his reflection had finally led him to the highest experience of Brahman. The atman, the Self, is manifested in five different sheaths, five different energy levels, each as essential and central to the knowledge of Brahman as the other. The understanding of the five koshas leads one back to the Self.

Know only that which makes the unknown known,

Before the sands of fleeting life are blown

What you think you’ve grasped is but a void

The bird in hand is that one which has flown

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Infinite consciousness is the screen on which the hero & heroine are dancing. The white screen is immaculate, unmoving, on which alone the moving shadows can give the story. Without the screen – no movie! What is without which, nothing can exist? That substratum that supports is consciousness. Movement or change can be perceived only against a motionless background. But you are not aware of that. Your attention is on the movie… But, when the film breaks… Ah! The screen is seen.

Between every 2 bogies of a train there is a gap. So also, between 2 thoughts there is always the underlying consciousness.

The above Part III covers the three states of waking, dreaming & deep sleep as well as the five sheaths. It closes with an introduction to 'Atman' or the true 'Self' which is different from the three bodies, the witness of the three states and is beyond the five sheaths.