You are virtually a god, when you are cycling

Paddy has a late night at the pub, and when it closes, he staggers outside in a drunken stupor. He wanders around the streets trying to remember which way to go home, and finally gives up. Paddy sits down on the street and looks all around him until a taxi pulls up beside him.
"Ah!" groans Paddy, clambering into the back and lying down on the seat. "Can you take me to number five, Fergus Street?"
The cab driver looks around at Paddy, and replies, "Hey, mister, this is number five, Fergus Street!"
"Ah!" groans Paddy. "Alright! But next time, don't drive so fast!"

In life, everybody is moving around in circles. They are always busy as if is is rush hour. And I am not talking about office hours. Busy doing what? Making a living, say many of them. I can understand if the pauper or beggar across the road says it, but the so-called rich people too are busy and don't have time for anything. Not the family, not the kids and not even the friends and wellwishers. They have ample money to last 10 lifetimes. But they can't stop from adding a couple of thousands of dollars more to their kitty. We laugh at people who are addicted to booze or cigarettes or for that matter to depression. But, we don't realise that running after money and fame is one of the worst addictions in the world. The more the merrier seems to be the watchword. But, the moot point is do they get the kind of joy like when you look at the sunrise or the sunset or when you see a toddler prancing around? Definitely not. We pay little heed to the simple joys of life, because they do not offer challenges. And anything that does not offer challenges is not worth bragging about.

Only when we realise that the ultimate joy in life comes from within, can we shun away the blues or the boredom or the depression -- the concomitants of a life running after money. And the earlier we do it, the better. Because life is too short and by the time you get a hang of it, you might not have any time left in the world to really say you have led a meaningful life.

The only thing that gives me joy in this world is the couple of hours I spend jogging around the park or cycling around the city early in the morning. My mind becomes so blank and my body so still that I can feel my energy throbbing all around me and inside me. I carry this meditative energy into my work, into my relationships, and into everything I do. And it gives me immense bliss at the end of the day, that I look forward to the next day's workout with the zeal of a child. Of course, during the day too I move around on my bicycle to keep my spirits soaring.

Could not blog for almost a week now as I was busy with planning my cycling routes and my jogging activity. Also, a diehard meditator, I go hunting for books or scour the net for some valuable tips to deepen my silent spaces.

But, I must tell you, it has been a wonderful week with lot of cycling and jogging and playful running. When you are inundated with sweat all over, and when you are so tired that you cannot move a limb, and the oxygen in the brain gives you an aha! feeling, what more do you need in this world? I am virtually a god and there is godliness in everything I do.

Cycling into the heights of ecstasy

Mandelwitz is due to be released from the mental asylum. He goes for an interview with Professor Potts, the chief psychiatrist, who tells him that he has to answer a simple question, sanely, before he can be released.
"What would be your first action," asks Potts, "when you get released from this asylum?"
"I would start a rock collection," says Mandelwitz, "and throw one through every window of this building!"
Mandelwitz is taken back to his room and another six months pass before he is interviewed again.
"What will you do first when you are released from here?" asks the head shrink.
"Well," replies Mandelwitz, "I will buy myself a new suit."
"Good," says Potts, "and then what will you do?"
"I will call up a gorgeous blonde girlfriend," says Mandelwitz.
"And then?" asks Potts.
"I will take her to a motel," replies Mandelwitz.
"That's fine," says Potts, "and then?"
"Then," replies Mandelwitz, "I will lock the door, sit her on the bed, run my hand up her stockings, rip off her garter, make a catapult, and break every window in this building!"

Every one of us is like the mad man. It is just a degree of difference. If any of you think you are any different from the mad man, put your hand on your heart and be true to yourself. Do you do what you want to do and what you like to do? And in the best possible way. And the answer would be a definite 'no'. Our worry, our restlessness, our insomnia, our nervousness are a result of a mismatch between what we want to do and what we are doing. This friction in our goals, in our aspirations, in our lives is the reason why there is so much unhappiness around the world. But don't worry, it just takes a couple of minutes every day to understand how you can get out of it. And when you know the trick, you let out a loud laugh.

One of the reasons why westerners go ga ga over meditation when they visit the eastern countries like India or Japan is that Zen masters and eastern gurus have taken them on a tour of their inner life and made them stay there for a while. It's like a miracle of sorts, for the peace, the joy, the bliss that they have witnessed cannot be compared to anything in the world. The only thing that comes near to it is the orgasmic ecstasy that one derives after sex. And that is why Osho has equated meditation with orgasmic ecstasy. And the more one goes into meditation, the more one reaches the heights of ecstasy. I have done it. I have achieved it with cycling, with running, with dancing, with walking, and with silent sitting.

It is such a wonderful feeling to be in an orgasmic high. Which explains why masters become celibates and don't get turned on by women once they taste the nectar of meditation.

It's been a long time, more than 10 days, since I've gone into cycling ecstasy. And I've done it today. And that is why the inner joy comes forth dancing in the form of this post. Biking, especially speed biking, stops the mind, throws the carbon dioxide out of the body, infuses it with a flush of oxygen and tires the body so much that when we settle down after an hour of biking, the whole body becomes an instrument of tranquility. We don't need to do meditation, it happens automatically. You keep wondering, after sitting for an hour, where all your restlessness has disappeared.

Went on a long 20 mile ride today after work and loved every cadence of it. Of course, I haven't stopped the dynamic meditation in the mornings which gives me a new high to take on the day. And when I complete it with a round of cycling in the evening my day is made. And I can't ask for more.

Sorry, I can't tell you, you're not a monk!!

A man was driving in the middle of nowhere down a secluded country road far from any cities. He got a flat tyre, and got out to walk for help. After walking for some time, he came to a small stone monastery. He knocked on the door and roused the monks. "I've got a flat tyre. Can I use your phone?" He asked.

The monks said they were sorry, but they did not have a phone. "If you stay tonight, you can get a ride on our wagon into town tomorrow," they said. So the man stayed the night, and they put him in a small room in the monastery.

In the middle of the night, the man was awakened suddenly by a noise. Not just any noise, but the loudest, most wonderful, most terrifying, most hair-raising noise ever.

He sat there, his heart beating for a few minutes, and he heard it again!Getting out of bed, he went running in the direction of the noise. It came again, making the hair on the back of his neck rise and his skin crawl. Finally, he came to a large door where the head monk was standing. The door was at least 15 feet tall, and made of solid-looking wood and metal. It had chains and bars and locks and a deadbolt on it, and was the most formidable door the man had ever seen.

"What was that sound?" he asked. "What made it? Is it behind that door?"

The head monk shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I can't tell you; you're not a monk."

As the man turned away, he heard the noise again. "You have to tell me what it is," he begged.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you, you're not a monk," said the monk.

The man tried to sleep, but couldn't get the noise out of his head. In the morning, as he was getting ready to leave, he heard the sound again. It made his ears ring and his mind whirl.

"Please tell me what made that sound," he said.

But the monks wouldn't. "I'm sorry, you're not a monk" was all they said.

The man left, and eventually got his car fixed and went back to his life. But he couldn't get the sound out of his mind. After a few months, he got in his car and drove and drove until he found the monastery again. He got out of his car and found the head monk.

"I can't forget that sound from that night I was here. Please, please please tell me what made that sound."

The head monk just shook his head. "I can't tell you; you're not a monk," he said.

"Then tell me how I can become a monk," the man said.

The head monk said "It's very difficult. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The man said "I've got to. I have to know what made that sound."

The head monk said, "To join us, you have to perform several tasks. Your first task is to count all of the stars visible in the sky."

The man thought about how hard that would be, but he had to know what made that sound. He sat up every night for a year, counting the stars over and over until he was sure how many stars were visible in the sky.

He went to the head monk and told him, and the monk nodded. "Very good. Your next task is to count all of the grains of sand on the beaches around the world."

The man knew this would be even harder, but he could not get the noise out of his head. He had to know what, what kind of animal, could make that terrible horrible mind-bending sound. So he left on his journeys. He crawled the length and breadth of every beach in the world, counting the grains of sand, and he returned to the monastery years later.

The head monk heard his answer and nodded. "Excellent. You are almost done. Your final task is to climb to the peak of the highest mountain in the world, and see yourself in relation to the rest of creation."

And the man knew this would be hard, but he outfitted himself, and he went to the highest mountain in the world, and he climbed to the top, and returned months later, older and wiser and more tired than years before when he had first heard the noise, the noise that would not leave his mind and that echoed in his every waking thought.

He returned, and the head monk saw that he was wiser, and said "At last, you are a monk. Come with me."

And they walked through the monastery, its twisting and turning halls, and as they went the man heard the noise again, over and over, and he was no longer sure if it was the noise or merely his memory of it.

And finally, finally, he stood in front of the door and the head monk opened it up, and the man saw what had made the noise.

That's where you stop telling the joke. And your listeners, if you've told it right, will go crazy, and say "What was it?" And you look at them, and you say: "I'm sorry, I can't tell you. You're not a monk."

Put your mask aside and look into yourself

A young wife was concerned that her husband didn't notice her any more and told her husband.
Well, the next day, the husband comes home and the wife asks him, "Do you notice anything about me?"
The husband looks her up and down and says, "You've had you hair done."
"No," says the wife.
He thinks for a bit and says, "You're wearing new shoes."
"No, you gave them to me last Xmas."
He thinks again and says, "I know you've had your nails done."
"No," she answers.
The husband gives up and asks, "Well I don't know, what's different?"
The wife replies, "I'm wearing a gas mask!!

Everyone of us wears masks to make ourselves presentable to the people around us knowing pretty well that we are playing a hoax on ourselves. We refuse to take off our mask lest the others consider us to be nerds. We want acceptance from society, we are constantly on the look out for their approval, and so we are desperate in our attempts to please them. Have you ever thought about why you are doing what you are doing? "But that comes naturally," say some of the smart ones, "Aren't we supposed to be one among the crowd?". Not necessarily. All you need to know is what you are doing and why you are doing it. And it is not an easy thing to do. It may be easy to earn a million dollars, but it takes a tremendous amount of intelligence to find out about the simple answers to life. And only meditation can make you aware of your life's existence. All you have to do is sit silently and observe the flood of thoughts that take you hostage without reacting to them. Slowly, the thoughts fade away into the background leaving you with an unbounded joy. From that silent space springs forth a life that is devoid of all the trammels of society. And it is that that makes a life worthwhile. Not your power, not your prestige, not your loads of money or fame. The day man realises that, he truly becomes a human being from a human doing.

All my efforts at cycling those hundrends of thousands of miles over the years has been an effort to create that silent space inside me. Cycling and meditation? What a weird combination, people ask me. But they forget to realise that when I go on a long bike ride, my body and mind are so tired that they stop their rebellious ways and give in to my soul. And a natural calmness descends of me which is beyond words. To achieve the same state, it takes years in sitting meditation, because the body and mind are not in tune with each other.

Went on a long 25 mile bike ride yesterday, after more than a week. It was a mindblowing experience, and the silence that had descended on me is too good to explain. I was simply a buddha, pure and unadulterated. That is what the buddhas has been saying all through the ages. Everyone is a buddha, only some of them realises it. And everytime I go on these marathon bike rides, I become one. So keep biking and keep healthy and happy.

How many times a week do I have to do that?

A young blonde female stock broker was bored with driving her BMW. It lacked individuality, and besides that every other girl in the office had one. She fancied something a bit more individual, perhaps a MG convertible.
That week she visited her local car dealer and spied a beautiful Jaguar XK140 convertible. It was wonderfully restored and she fell in love with its gorgeous red paint job. An empty check stub later, and off she was tearing down the leafy country lanes enjoying her beautiful new car. Her long blonde hair was flowing in the wind, music blaring from the radio, what could possibly go wrong?
At that thought there was a splutter from the engine and the car slowly coasted to a stop. She got out and lifted the bonnet and concluded after a few minutes that she didn't have a bloody clue what was wrong. Luckily she had her mobile phone with her and a quick phone call to the AutoClub and a short wait saw a bright shiny yellow van pull up behind her.
"That's a lovely car," said the mechanic. "What seems to be the matter?"
"Well, it just conked out I'm afraid."
"Let me have look." He set to work and ten minutes later the engine was purring like a cat again.
"Thank goodness," she said. "What was the matter
"Simple really, just crap in the carburetor," he replied.
Looking shocked she asked, "Oh, OK... How many times a week do I have to do that?"

Everyone who knows me asks me for tips on how to go vroom on their bikes, if at all they buy. And the first question they keep asking me is: How many times a week do I go out on my bike? I tell them it is not how many times you go about, but how passionate you are about changing your lifestyle. Everyone wants a method to take up something. And no one wants to do anything just for the pure joy of it. They don't realise that once the madness called method creeps in, it becomes like one of those office jobs. "But," they say, "if we don't have a way of doing things, how do we do them?" "Can't anything be done just for the heck of it?" I tell them. "For the pure joy of it?" They are so used to thinking in terms of corporate goals and rules, that they don't seem to be convinced with my answer and think that I am a nerd. And I repeat once again. If you can't do anything just for the heck of it, you don't have the inclination to savour the simple joys of life. It's like a kid riding a bicycle. Does he ask you for a method to bike? Not that I know of. He sees how you bike and once he learns it, he is off for the joyride of his life. However much you try to convince him, he wouldn't get off his bike. And that is the kind of attitude one should have if one seeks to appreciate cycling or jogging or meditation. Just for the pure play of it.

Except for the ride to office, couldn't go for long a bike ride today too. But managing to do the breathing exercises in the morning to keep myself in my elements. And spend a full one hour breathing my lungs out. I feel fresh and fully charged with energy once my exercise is over that I am ready to take on the world. But I miss my bike rides. Once my assignment is done, I will go on a 100 mile ride to make up for the loss. Anyone wants to join me?

What a waste of life!!

A man, who had three girlfriends, was in a quandary which one to marry. So he decides to give each one $5,000 and see how each of them spends it.
The first one goes out and gets a total makeover with the money. She gets new clothes, a new hairdo, manicure, pedicure, the works.
She tells the man, "I spent the money so I could look pretty for you because I love you so much."
The second one went out and bought new golf clubs, a CD player, a television, and a stereo and gives them to the man.
She says, "I bought these gifts for you with the money because I love you so much."
The third one takes the $5,000 and invests it in the stock market, doubles her investment, returns the $5,000 to the man and reinvests the rest.
She says, "I am investing the rest of the money for our future because I love you so much."
The man thought long and hard about how each of the women spent the money, and decided to marry the one with the biggest tits.

You cannot win in life unless you live it consciously -- with full of awareness. The confusion is going to hound you however rich or powerful you might be. Ironically, the richer you are, the crazier your life becomes. Because you have tied yourself in complex knots of power, prestige, honour, and the like and estranged yourself from the simple things in life that offer you the best happiness. So much so that you mull over even simple things like eating your breakfast or taking a shower as your mind is constantly involved in thinking about the 'bigger' things in life -- like the stock market, how you dress for the corporate boardroom meeting, or what present to take to your boss's wife on her birthday to impress her and the like.

What a waste of life. Cycling and meditation are two things that pull you out of the complex society's demands and put you on the pedestal to your personal glory. And the reason is simple. Whether it is cycling or meditation or zen, for the first time you get time for yourself -- to brood over your life -- far far away from the madness of society.

Unfortunately, for the last one week I was so involved in my 14-hour-a-day work shifts that I could not go on a long ride. Neither could I go for jogging. But the least I could do was dynamic meditation and made the most of it, even if it was only for half-an-hour. That explains why I didn't update my blog too. This is going to continue for another two weeks, but I intend to go on long rides once every two days at least. For the moment, I've been using my bike as usual to go to office -- 6 miles one way and making the most use of it going speed biking in the traffic. It gives its own thrill and the joyride after a day's work is really refreshing.