Birds need you this summer!

Tags

birds, summer, water

Love

Suresh

Seven spiritual lessons from my photography

Tags

laws, lessons, seven, spiritual

 

 

Copyright Suresh Gundappa 2009

Stay silent:  In order to get a fine picture all I had to do is to stay silent, stay aware, stay in the moment – I always found then the whole universe conspires to unfold magical moment in front of you. Almost all my  photos are result of my silence. I learned, if I stay in awareness the same magic happens in day to day life too.

Everything is connected: when you are in forest you can see tremendous synchronicity of things. Trees, Flowers, Animals, Wind, sun – everything is connected.  All you need to do is to just stay in awareness to be part of such magnificent creation. When you know everything is connected then you will realise just your intention combined with awareness is enough to create what you want in life!

Love : Love is the stuff this existence is made of, flowers release fragrance, trees give shelter, Clouds rain,  Birds sing  and none of them do it for payment, Some of them do it for joy, some of them do it because they do not know any other way. I Learned Love is one way traffic ..you got to give …and only when you are capable of giving, you will gain the capacity to receive. 

Eyes can’t see: My eyes just can’t see as it is filled too much with knowledge, my eyes interpret everything.. this is green…this red…. this a pretty rose…. In order to take a photograph you got to open your heart. you got to live life from heart. then you can see this universe in splendour.

Man is poor , Existence is rich :  After travelling across the globe and I realised it doesn’t take much to be happy, -  Rain, Sun, Flower, Forest all can bring the greatest joy. I learned it doesn’t take much to be joyful. the moment you drop all reasons to be sad, existence gives thousand and one reasons to dance. I learned to find joy in little things of life.

You cannot photograph: I realised that I can never take a good photograph, I can only borrow a image from God. Just imagine if sunlight was bad or if it was cloudy or if there was no Himalayan range of mountains!  I couldn’t have taken many of those splendid photos!  I have never taken a photograph, i just borrowed it from this splendid earth!  This moment is as it should be. I learnt art of acceptance. Everything at this moment is perfect!

Earth is my responsibility:  Such splendour, such beauty, can you imagine my great grand children may miss half of the animals, trees, birds which are around today. They all might become extinct. Earth is my responsibility, I won’t leave this earth until I plant a million more flowers!

 

Love

Suresh

stop breathing to get more out of life!

Tags

Breathing, Happiness, Pranayama, yoga

copyright Suresh Gundappa 2009

Over a period of time,Darwin theory is becoming a question mark on evolution. but this is for sure, You are not going to grow if you breath like the way you do in shallow manner

Everybody breathes wrongly because the whole society is based on very wrong conditions, notions, attitudes. For example, a small child is weeping and the mother says not to cry. What will the child do? — because crying is coming, and the mother says not to cry. He will start holding his breath because that is the only way to stop it. If you hold your breath everything stops — crying, tears, everything. Then by and by that becomes a fixed thing — don’t be angry, don’t cry, don’t do this, don’t do that.

The child learns that if he breathes shallowly then he remains in control. If he breathes perfectly and totally as every child is born breathing, then he becomes wild. So he cripples himself.

once you learn how to breath shallow then all you do is to breath shallow thru out your life. that’s you find so many people live life like death.

Breathing is the master key to this universe. If you can manage to notice your breath pattern changing with your emotions. then you will also find breath pattern which has tremendous potential. you will also find breathing pattern which keeps you happy and positive. You will find vitality and energy with proper breathing. In fact when you are happy you breath deep. other fact is also true- if you can breath deeply you will remain in awareness and in joy.

Stop breathing shallow,

Start breathing deep to get more out of life.

the reason I say stop breathing is – once you stop breathing for a moment your next inhalation is deep. Idea here is to not stop breathing but pay attention to breathing.

If you can spend at least 10 minutes in a day watching breath then you have enrolled into biggest life change program.

Love

Suresh

Leave your House! Come Home!

Copyright suresh gundappa 2008

House is not your home, House is more of a physical interpretation of your success.   House is more indication of your status, ego, fights and success. There is nothing wrong with it except it is not your Home!

“Home” is not a physical place in the outside world, but an inner quality of relaxation and acceptance.

but the irony of Man is that he spends his lifetime to build  a house for himself and his family but  it only takes a moment of awareness to come home!

Now is the time to look at whether you are allowing yourself to receive the extraordinary gift of feeling “at “home” wherever you are. If you are, be sure to take time to savor it so it can deepen and remain with you. If on the other hand you’ve been feeling like the world is out to get you, it’s time to take a break. Go outside tonight and look at the stars.

Love

Suresh

You have wings, Learn to use them and fly!

Tags

fly, Rumi, silence, Sky, Wings

Copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

You were born with potential
You were born with goodness and trust
You were born with ideals and dreams
You were born with greatness
You were born with wings
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings
Learn to use them,and fly.

-Rumi

Years back I used to fly Wing gliders and I had one small problem according to my coach!. I used to get lost while flying!  I can say my first taste of meditation occured when I took my gliders early morning. Now I have realised that I don’t have go anywhere to feel light and flight. Just silent mind and awareness is enough.

 Meditation is art of flying without wings . Go inside and find your flight! Unless you know your way into sky it’s difficult to find your path on earth!

Love and lots of it

Suresh

Thoughts are like smoke and you are the flame!

Tags

Flame, Mind, Prayer, smoke

 

Copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

Thoughts are like smoke and you are the flame. When there are too many thoughts the flame is lost in the smoke. Then one feels that one is just smoke — but I know that wherever there is smoke, there is bound, to be a flame… smoke cannot exist on its own

If you want to find your flame then you need reduce your thoughts. In order to allow energy of flame available to you, you need silence your mind. Once flame is available to you then you need not do much planning, flame will guide your life.

Art of Meditation is nothing but finding your flame. Art of prayer is nothing but burning in that flame.

Love

Suresh

Road Less traveled!

Tags

less, Risk, road, robert Frost, travelled

Copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

by Robert Frost

Need I say more?

Take risk, take a jump!  Don’t die with music in your heart! Beauty of life is that it allows you to explore, take risks. Death is very secure. All you need is a wooden box!

How would you know if have never taken the road less traveled?

Love

Suresh

No flower has ever let me down

Tags

Attention, flower, Gracie, Love, trust

Photo Copyright :http://www.flickr.com/people/alreadygrace/

Photographer : http://aparalleluniverse.wordpress.com/

I recently asked a Gardner who is famous for his roses,

“What is your secret?”

He said, “Nothing, I am just a little crazy. When nobody is around I tell these roses that I make love with them! I only love them!

No flower has ever let me down. My trust in flower is so complete and unwavering that only let down that can happen is with my trust”

Just the attention, just a loving attention to a flower, makes him immensely happy. There is someone who will be happy: the flower will do everything for him to make him happy. There is someone who is watching and waiting for his growth; he is not alone, he is not unneeded.

This whole world looks so miserable for the simple reason that we have chosen to give attention to the wrong things, things which should be taken care of but without any sympathy.

You can love somebody, but please don’t love her headaches. Just make sure that she goes and gets some Greek aspirin. More than that is destroying the person. But when she is laughing, enjoy her, don’t even ask the question, why is she laughing? When she is dancing, dance with her; don’t ask, “What is the occasion?”

Pay attention to the right things and you will see a transformation happening in the person. You can help not only yourself in discovering your inner center you can also help everybody else who is in contact with you. If you give right attention, right nourishment to his hidden treasure, to his hidden splendor, you can help your awareness to be spread like a wildfire.

Love

Suresh

PS; I have added my dear friend Gracie’s photograph to this article. Do visit her Flickr site for wonderful Flower photos!

To beg is to spoil your prayer!

Tags

Awareness, Beg, Emperor, Prayer

copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

But you are always begging. you have never prayed without begging. Your prayer  and worship – they all become meaning less because your beggar’s mind keeps functioning overtime!

To beg in prayer means you do not have enough trust in God! Just think for a moment- if you are part of this whole intent driven Universe then there is no need to ask God separately in prayers!  The moment you feel Godliness then you do not have to pray because your life then becomes a prayer!

Einstein once said” I want to know God’s thoughts rest are in details!”

To be in meditative state, means to be in prayer. To be in trust with life means is to be in prayer! To live in Happiness means you are in life of prayer!

Once you start thanking for all the beauty  around you then a different quality arises in you. Because to be thankful for what you have means you are in total relaxation. You are in total acceptance of life!

When you are at your deepest relaxation it is easy to make your thoughts into reality.If there is a intent in your mind during the un-manifested awareness then chances are high that your intent will find its way to bloom!

This is what all remarkable  teachers are teaching – Eckhart tolle, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Rhonda Byrne . They are teaching nothing new but the same thing you find in words of Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rumi and others.

Everyone of them is driving home the point that you are the creator of your world. If you can add awareness to your life then you can create world of your choice!

Learn to relax and learn to stay in awareness, Stop begging because you are the Emperor!

Love

Suresh

Kung Fu Panda – New Guru for New Century!

Tags

Kung Fu Panda, movie, Noodle, Past, present

All copyright  Dreamworks  Animation 2008

I went to see Kung Fu Panda movie along with my family.  I loved this movie.  It’s a great Kids movie with great anecdotes in between.  I have captured couple of them which are pearls of meditation.  Hope you enjoy it.  It’s amazing how one can combine wisdom and entertainment.  I grinned all the way back home thinking about it.  Do watch it with friends and family when you get time ( I declare and I promise that I am not making any money in incentives if you watch this movie!!!!)

Quotes from Kunf Fu Panda movie:

• • There are no accidents.
  • There is no charge for awesomeness… or attractiveness.
  • Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
  • One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

Love

Suresh

The authentic man is one whom the sunrise never finds where the sunset leaves him

Tags

danger, growth, Insecurity, life, Risk

Photo and Blog copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

We have been trained to be afraid of insecurity, Insecurity creates problems in you, Only death is secure and life is insecure and that’s the beauty of Life!

If you are not constantly challenged then you are not growing ! trust me!  your ability to reach heights are only tested in Insecurity.

To me insecurity means growth!  whole life we are trying for safety. Financially, politically, religiously — in every dimension we want to be secure.

thousands of you are living without taking risks, thousands of you will probably die without even trying!

Look yourself in mirror and ask

Are you living? Is there a dance in your life? Are you moving, growing, risking, taking the challenges of dangerous paths? In the acceptance of the danger, in the acceptance that anything can happen any moment, life comes to its best, to its fullest.

Meditation happens only to the courageous because to meditate you need die to the past. Meditation means you are born every moment.  Then you fresh for life otherwise your life is nothing but waiting for security ( or Death!)

Love

Suresh

God can only be experienced not expressed!

Tags

Experience, expression, God, Knowledge

Copyright Suresh Gundappa 2008

It has been one of the misfortunes of our era

God has been defined by others

you always form an opinion even before you search God

God always starts with you

in silence

in nothingness

and

the moment you drop all your knowledge

then God begins his steps towards you

God is an experience

not an expression

Only your experience of God is right

rest are words open for translation!

Love

Suresh