Nightly talks by Swami Swaroopananda will help
Swami Atulananda – 
As creatures of this earth, we all want something; desires alone express as life; but as human beings, it is only our prerogative to become someone in this world.
We have dreams, aspirations and ambitions in our lives.
They motivate us to achieve and give us goals to reach.
These goals, when fulfilled, add meaning to our lives.
Some want to be a mother, others an engineer while others a psychiatrist and so on.
Whatever be our goals we set out to achieve, we find ourselves fighting against three factors. They are 1. Competition – with others who want the same thing as us 2. Time – Meeting deadlines and expected timelines for certain goals to be achieved and 3. Mind – Our own mind and its tendencies to deviate from our goals.
Preference Indicators
In order to overcome these challenges, we find some performance indicators are kept in front of us that us help in (a) Mapping what is needed to reach the goal (b) Keeping our performance on track with our goals set and (c) Bringing out our potential at work by aiming higher than we ever have.
Despite such motivators, we find that after many attempts at becoming, a few of us either end up envying the success of others or even worse many of us begin to see a lesser man in the mirror than he had hoped to be.
This surely cannot be the fate of one who is the crown of creation, can it?
Thankfully, this is not the case.
Life in Standard Definition
Such success and apparent failures need not define us.
Often, the performance indicators used are based on external measures and are not flexible enough to accommodate the uniqueness of the performer.
Hence, even if it brings an above average amount of success, this is usually accompanied by a huge amount of stress as well.
These indicators do not inspire us to perform great deeds.
These indicators are not just seen in businesses; nay, they are reflected in every field of our life – social, moral, religious or ethical.
We are seen constantly measuring ourselves; our worth, our upbringing, and our choices through the standards of others.
These expectations put pressure on ourselves but the real harm is; it makes us believe that we are inadequate and incomplete if we do not conform.
Life in High Definition
The blooming of a flower from being a closed bud cannot be forced externally.
It is only through an internal unfoldment that the bud can reach its full glory.
Yes, the flower needs water, healthy soil, good sunlight and constant care of the gardener; all of which it borrows from its surroundings but none of them can make the bud bloom by their will.
However, it is not by wishing the world has no expectations off us, that we are able to reach our best, but by assimilating all that is good from the world.
The world’s religions, when carefully and sincerely studied by man who thus wants to bloom like the bud, reveals the techniques towards reaching such perfection.
In the Vedas, the sacred abode of knowledge referred to by the Hindus, we find the mightiest of declarations: “Shrinvantu Vishwe Amritasya Putra” (in Shvetāshvatara Upanishad, Chapter II, Verse 5, meaning, “Listen, O the children of immortality the world over…).”
The implication
The implication is that each being is potentially perfect but ignorant of his or her own potential. Their entire journey in life is to therefore take whatever is best from the happenings around them and with the help of the scriptures as a guide, rediscover their full potential in life.
His Master’s Voice
This is no false promise made to us, as it has been proven time and again through the presence of many Masters appearing in various forms under many religions.
These great souls, are said to have realized their own true potential and even though they appear to the uninitiated, to be nothing more than ordinary, it is this very humbling quality in them that shines the brightest and sets them apart.
It is our great fortune to have among us one such soul in the form of His Holiness Swami Swaroopananda, the direct disciple of His Holiness Swami Chinmayananda and the current Spiritual Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.
Swamiji, as addressed with reverence, is at once a Master of Vedanta, a revered and compassionate teacher, an enchanting orator who possesses all the qualities that the scriptures describe as the ‘person of steady wisdom’, who is learned in the theory and also a man of experience.
His wisdom is deeply rooted in the timeless Knowledge of the Upanishads and his skill in delivering that experience in a tangible form is unique indeed.
Krishna’s Powerful Instructions
KPI – Krishna’s Powerful Instructions are a series of free public talks in English scheduled to be held Green Bay High School Performing Arts Centre, 161 Godley Road, Green Bay from April 23 to April 27, 2017 from 730 pm to 9 pm.
The series provide an opportunity to listen to this Master and take on a journey into the depths of your own divinity only to rediscover who you really are when all the labels given by the world are removed.
The power of Knowledge can liberate us from our sense of limitation and take us to a higher standard of life.
Do not miss this rare opportunity.
Swami Atulananda Saraswati is Resident Teacher and Spiritual Guide at Chinmaya Mission based in Auckland. He also oversees the activities of the Chinmaya Centres in Nelson and Wellington.
Photo: Swami Swaroopananda
