NOBILITY

Nobility is purposeful and unconditional abstinence, which manifests as deliberately shying away from all wrongdoing under all circumstances, including ethically and morally challenging situations and dilemmas such as having to kill someone in self defense or having to lie to save someone's life.

When we develop nobility, we become increasingly intuitive, and creative, and learn to handle most challenging situations. We begin to understand that in reality, there are no dilemmas, only artificial difficulties. We begin to keep our minds open to all possibilities instead of simply assuming that there are no options but to kill or to lie in some situations.

Nobility is the highest degree of courageous intention and greatest will.

The courage required for purposeful abstinence from wrongdoing (such as killing or lying) cannot be matched by any amount of courage required for worldly achievement.

Refraining from fighting for any cause—even the cause of justice—is an example of a noble action. Tremendous bravery and courage is needed.

We cannot fight a cause without bravery and courage. That is true. But the degree of bravery and courage we require to refrain from fighting is significantly greater. It is easy to be brave and fight another person who is unjust. Self-defense is even protected by law. However, in most cases fighting is driven by the emotions of anger and fear, which are rooted in ego. A worldly person cannot fight an unjust person without feeling angry or restless. Even if the fight is won from a physical, monetary, or social perspective, it is never won from a spiritual perspective because of the mental impurities caused by the fight. Therefore, for a spiritual seeker, such victories are a loss.

Whenever the ego is involved, no real victory is possible.

Only a noble person can arouse enough bravery and courage to refrain from fighting, because the ego desperately wants to fight. The ego cannot tolerate injustice. It wants fairness and recognition. By purposefully abstaining from doing what the ego wants, the noble person does not let the ego have its way. Overriding the ego’s wishes requires courage. Therefore, refraining from fighting is possible only for the noble ones who, in my opinion, are greater than the greatest warriors.

It is not at all easy to face someone who is inflicting pain without fighting back. It also requires tremendous bravery to endure physical pain without fighting back. It needs nobility to maintain composure and compassion while being mistreated or mishandled by others.

Noble ones neither fight nor give up. They serve.

When we fight, it is always us versus another person or us versus some organization. When we serve, this is not the case. We simply serve a cause or a principle. For example, if you are living in a city where the municipality is corrupt and you want to do something about it, instead of fighting directly with the municipality or with corrupt officials, simply serve the cause of anti-corruption by writing articles in the newspaper, conducting seminars, arousing grassroots activism, developing social awareness, taking part in lobbying for anti-corruption legislation, and so on. In this way, you avoid directly fighting with specific individuals and there is much less opportunity for the development of anger, hatred, animosity, and so on.

In this way, the ills of the world can be removed: by not directly fighting another person but by serving the cause for one and all.

In order to respond in this manner, first we have to develop the four elements of love: loving-kindness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity to some extent. Then we have to arouse nobility in situations where we must refrain from wrongdoing. In this way, we become fit to serve the world. After we train ourselves in loving-kindness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity and we train ourselves to refrain from wrongdoing by speech, action, and vocation only then we should serve for the deliverance of all beings.

Understanding love is a good beginning, if your goal is to develop nobility. (Pl click on the link below)

http://www.soulresearchinstitute.org/love.html

The Virtue of Truthfulness
Truthfulness simply means being grounded in reality and upholding it. It means not lying. It also means expressing the facts as they are.
People who lie have the tendency to be greedy, fearful, weak, lazy, and worrisome. They are not courageous or patient enough to face the truth. They are not audacious enough to face unfavorable situations. By lying, they find an easy way out. But they harm themselves by lying, because they reinforce in their consciousness unwholesome mental elements, such as greed, hatred, delusion, sloth, torpor, and restlessness. The more people lie the more fearful, greedy, weak, lazy, and worrisome they become, which in turn leads them to lie again.
Lying is a vicious cycle. It’s important to break out of this cycle as soon as possible. Otherwise, it soon becomes a disease of consciousness.
Nothing else strains and disturbs the consciousness as much as lying does. Nothing else increases the chances of developing illusion, delusion, or ignorance more than lying does. People who lie fool themselves, because truth actually cannot be hidden. Therefore, lying must be abandoned completely by developing the virtue of truthfulness as follows.
· Doing what you say you will do
· Saying what you mean or intend
· Neither exaggerating nor understating facts, which means expressing facts as they are
· Not speaking cleverly or scholarly or vaguely to intentionally hide the truth
· Not speaking too much
· Speaking only the truth, and standing up for it at all times in all situations

In addition, the virtue of truthfulness can be developed through the practice of soul meditation as follows.
· Remaining mindful of every word of your speech
· Not reacting to the greedy, fearful, or unwholesome thoughts that generate the tendency of lying
· Giving wise attention to the impermanent and impersonal nature of such tendencies, and allowing them to subside in mind on their own before they gain enough strength to turn into the verbal action of lying
· Concentrating on upholding the truth unconditionally, at any cost

The consistent practicing of truthfulness makes us courageous, fearless, decisive, energetic, zestful, intuitive, and carefree. Truthfulness effectively boosts the energy we have available for action. Truthfulness is the fastest way to achieve perfection in our actions, and the easiest and surest way we can feel good about ourselves is to speak the truth. The quickest way to get rid of hatred, envy, avarice, worry, and doubt is to wholeheartedly embrace the truth. When we speak truthfully, we purify our communication. Also, we make many friends since we are perceived as trustworthy.
Developing the virtue of truthfulness is especially useful for those who are lazy, greedy, possessive, weak, and delusive in temperament.

The Virtue of Non-violence
Non-violence means not hurting or harming another living being in any manner, and not violating the peace of others. It means becoming non-resistant. In daily life, if you consider this not as a philosophical view, but as a pragmatic definition, it will be of great benefit to you.
Violence generally results from a strong sense of separation between the world and us. Practicing non-violence slowly removes the sense of separation by loosening the grip of the ego. As we loosen up this grip, we become more inclined towards developing loving-kindness and compassion. Ultimately, these two divine qualities no longer remain a mystery. Due to the practice of non-violence, they start making sense as we experience their power in our life.
The virtue of non-violence can be developed through the following practices.
· Not killing another living being
· Not hurting or harming anyone in any way, either by speech or by physical actions
· Not intentionally disturbing others’ peace of mind
· Not encroaching upon others’ space, but rather giving space to all to live and evolve
· Not forcing or pushing anyone for anything, even with good intentions
· Accepting circumstances and situations as they are without resistance and without losing your ground. Be like a bamboo tree, which neither resists strong winds, nor gives up its ground. A bamboo tree simply bends when the wind is strong and stands upright when the wind abates. It “wins” without fighting

In addition, the virtue of non-violence can be developed through the practice of soul meditation as follows.
· Remaining mindful of all physical and verbal actions
· Not reacting to the fearful, hateful, or unwholesome thoughts that generate violent tendencies
· Giving wise attention to the impermanent and impersonal nature of such tendencies, and allowing them to subside in mind on their own before they gain enough strength and turn into violent physical or verbal actions
· Concentrating on developing the divine qualities of loving-kindness and compassion

Developing the virtue of non-violence is especially useful for those who are aggressive, possessive, passionate, or hateful in temperament.

Chance, Fate, Destiny, and Luck

Many deterministic thinkers do not like the idea of finding the real purpose of life because they believe everything is destined. They believe in fate and providence, and so live passive lives. Some who happen to be unsuccessful in life consider themselves unlucky and some who happen to be successful in life consider themselves lucky.

Even great physicists like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein firmly believed that whatever happened in the universe had to be predestined. According to them, the universe ran like a clock. In classical mechanics, there was no such thing as chance. Everything was bound by fate or destiny as determined by the known laws of physics. This was most exemplified by Einstein’s famous statement, “God does not throw dice.”

Although later developments in quantum mechanics decisively proved that everything in the microscopic world is probabilistic and happens by chance (based on conditionality), Einstein was not willing to accept this fact. He even modified his theories of relativity to remove aspects of chance (probability) from quantum mechanics. Another physicist, Niels Bohr, once chided him, “Don’t tell God what to do!” Eventually Einstein gracefully accepted his mistake with a statement, “I have earned the right to be wrong.”

Classical mechanics does not allow chance, and quantum mechanics relies solely on it. In soul mechanics (for details, visit www.soulresearchinstitute.org), on the other hand, chance, fate, and destiny are fundamentally similar except for their potency in generating a particular manifestation of the volitional force. Fate is stronger than chance. Destiny is stronger than fate. On a scale of probability of generating a particular manifestation, you could say that chance is at the lowest level. Fate is in the middle, thus having a greater chance. Destiny is at the top, thus having the greatest chance. Most of the significant events in our lives occur due to fate or destiny, rather than by chance or luck. Luck is just another word for chance taken personally.

There is a greater chance of leading happy, peaceful lives if we generate wholesome volitional forces. There is a greater chance of leading painful, unhappy lives if we generate unwholesome volitional forces. Those of us who perform wholesome deeds have a greater chance of having good fortune than those who perform unwholesome deeds. If we choose to perform only wholesome actions and abandon unwholesome actions, consistently and ardently, we can change the direction of our fate and destiny. However, we must not wait. We must make right choices right now. The longer we wait, the harder it is to change our fate or destiny for good.

In short, we always have a chance in life to make it better. We are not bound by some fixed fate or destiny. So we need not blame fate or destiny for our misfortunes.

Nothing goes unnoticed in the universe. As was said earlier, soul mechanics is a perfect accounting system. It produces immediate results, as well as long-term results that can eventually change our luck. However, do not overreach and try to identify with it or to own it. Just as there is choice without a choice maker, there is luck, but no owner of it. There is fate, but no owner of fate. There is destiny, but no owner of destiny.

Chance, fate, and destiny are simply volitional phenomena that produce a karmic drama. In this drama, you are stuck playing the lead role as long as you identify with it or “own it” due to ego. When ego is finished, the drama ends, and real life begins. What begins is the unfolding of your real life purpose, leading to happy abiding and bliss.

Soul Meditation: A Vehicle for Developing Higher Intelligence

Soul meditation is the result of my awakening experience (described in the Introduction). Although I say I developed it, what really happened was a spontaneous creation. Here, I am conveying it to you in a structured manner that is the result of further reflection.

Soul meditation is like a spiritual vehicle with a four-wheel drive. The four wheels are analogous to the four intertwined practices of mindfulness, non-reaction, wise attention, and concentration that make up soul meditation. The practice of mindfulness develops present-moment-awareness and serves as a foundation for mental development (somewhat equivalent to IQ). The practice of non-reaction eliminates mental impurities, such as greed and hatred (equivalent to EQ plus the emergence of SQ). The practice of wise attention removes delusion, generates equanimity, and fuels understanding (equivalent to SQ plus the emergence of soul intelligence). When mindfulness, equanimity, and some degree of understanding are combined with higher levels of concentration, the mind is purified, sharpened, and perfected, ultimately leading to the awakening of soul intelligence. The stronger, the better tuned, and the better balanced the four wheels are the faster will be the development of higher intelligence. If you were to thoroughly investigate the depth and breadth of human suffering, you would come to realize that they are the direct manifestation of the lack of mindfulness, non-reaction, and wise attention. Because these elements are always present in soul meditation, it is a sure way to attain freedom from suffering.

Soul meditation is the result of my awakening experience (described in the Introduction). Although I say I developed it, what really happened was a spontaneous creation. Here, I am conveying it to you in a structured manner that is the result of further reflection.

For more information, visit www.soulresearchinstitute.org

How to find life's purpose

When there are no selfish desires or goals, the purpose of life is illuminated in our consciousness. From this perspective, you may realize that the real purpose of your life is invariably rooted in desireless, choiceless actions. If you can discover this real purpose, you can change your life from misery to mastery.
A simple, pragmatic way to find your life’s purpose is to start minimizing unwholesome actions and start maximizing wholesome ones. Whenever there is a sense of greed or hatred, you ought to abandon the action. Whenever there is self-interest or delusion, you ought to abandon the action. See list below:

Greedy Actions (To Be Minimized):
Acquiring
Accumulating
Attaching
Clinging
Conning
Corrupting
Craving
Dominating
Exhibiting
Excessive cheering
Excessive consuming
Excessive entertaining
Excessive partying
FlatteringGambling
Hoaxing
Intoxicating
Lying
Longing
Lusting
Stealing
Scamming
Sexually overindulging
Passion
Patronizing
Pestering
Possessing
Showing off
Stalking
Womanizing
Hateful Actions (to be minimized)
Accusing
Aggravating
Arguing
Antagonizing
Being Mean
Competing
Complaining
Condemning
CryingEnvying
Fighting
Forcing
Getting bored
Hating
Killing
Punishing
Polluting
Regretting
Resenting
Slandering
Deluded Actions (to be minimized)
Advertising
Becoming suspicious
Believing
Bewildering
Celebrating
Dogmatizing
Endorsing
Fearing
Feeling restless
Forgetting
Grieving
Holding back
Indoctrinating
Lazing out
Manipulating
Judging
Justifying
Mystifying
Opining
Overreaching
Performing rituals blindly
Politicizing
Standardizing
Self-mortifying
Self-aggrandizing
Self-satisfying
Worshipping without understanding
Worrying
Wholesome Actions (To Be Maximized)
Admiring
Agreeing
Appreciating
Attending wisely
Balancing
Befriending
Caring
Concentrating
Contemplating
Cooling
Cooperating
Detaching
Developing pure understanding
Devoting
Discovering
Empathizing
Enabling
Enjoying
Equalizing
Establishing faith with understanding
Fearing wrongdoing
Forgiving
Gifting
Giving
Gladdening
Guarding mindfulness
Healing
Helping
Honoring
Investigating
Just being
Lightening up
Listening
Neutral observing
Neutralizing
Meditating
Moderately consuming
Neither believing, nor disbelieving
Non-adhering
Non-discriminating
Non-disturbing
Non-forgetting
Non-hindering
Non-opposing
Non-resisting
Non-wobbling
Observing silence
Penetrating
Promoting virtue
Promoting welfare
Purifying
Rejoicing
Remembering
Removing others’ suffering
Renouncing
Resolving
Respecting
Resting
Serving
Simplifying
Smiling
Studying
Sympathizing
Thanking
Trusting
Wielding
Wondering
Worshipping with understanding
For more information, visit www.soulresearchinstitute.org

Karma

Just as the ideas of physical action (force or motion) and space-time are pivotal to describing the mechanics of physical objects, the idea of volitional action is pivotal to describing the mechanics of non-physical objects.

Volitional action means mental action, but not just any action, such as thinking or feeling. It is a mental action that has an ethical quality of wholesomeness (good) or unwholesomeness (bad).

All mental phenomena involve volition, the universal mental element that is ethically neutral. When volition combines with wholesome or unwholesome mental elements, it gives rise to either unwholesome mental action or wholesome mental action: the two types of volitional action. Thus, a volitional action is always ethical. Here, ethical does not mean moral, but having the mental quality of being good or bad.
Water is colorless. When you add blue or red color to it, it becomes blue or red water. Volition is like water and volitional action is like blue or red water.

As volitional actions occur they accumulate and form volitional patterns due to grasping or clinging by a person’s mind. These are known as volitional formations. For example, non-greedy actions done over a period of time give rise to a formation of generosity. Non-hateful actions done over a period of time give rise to a formation of love and kindness.
Karma is a popular Eastern term primarily used in regard to volitional action, but also in regard to volitional formations. Many people wrongly assume that there is an individual soul that generates karma. Many also misunderstand karma as a storehouse of things or deeds possessed or owned by an individual soul. Contrary to these beliefs, you don’t carry around good or bad karmas (volitional formations) in your spiritual suitcase. Karma is simply a volitional (mental) phenomenon that underlies the mechanics of soul.

For more information, visit www.soulresearchinstitute.org