Meena Mangalathil:

  (44) “The most coveted sense organ of a living being is the skin, where we get the sense of touch. It has a very big role in not only bringing the sense of feeling to the body but also to our very being.” All nodded. “Yes you’re right Rafael, I really do spend a lot of time in front of the mirror to make myself beautiful.” All smiled. “This part of the body has brought lots of heart aches, conflicts between people and even wars between nations. But the main issue here is, how much the skin has taken control over you.” All nodded. “Well for me, I think, it has overtaken my very being Rafael. I really cannot imagine without spending sometime making myself beautiful.” All nodded and smiled. “That’s natural. All have this tendency, Rebecca.” All nodded. “But the question is, if there is a pimple on your nose, would it affect your activities for the day?” “Definitely Rafael. I would rather take leave. I really cannot imagine everyone looking at it and lau

(43) “How are we going to say, no to beauty, Rafael?” “Its easy to be said than practiced. But just now, I’m making you aware of the troubles the five senses would create when we are under its control. When you see a delicious meal in television, naturally your mind brings the smell of it or the presenter explains it and when our ears hear it, our mind brings out the smell from memory, we feel, the food is prepared in the house and the taste buds starts to work of watering the whole mouth and naturally, the stomach is ready to have the food.” All nodded. “But alas! No food, the result, more hunger.” All nodded “Right Mark, More hunger, which means, you would never be satisfied, even if you try your level best by trying to eat with your eyes. That is what happens, if you are looking for beauty to fulfill your wish. The only way you can find beauty is, when you love your Self, which means, your soul, because you are a spiritual being, a drop of God soul, the

(42) “The next obstacle the mind puts before you is for your eyes - beauty.” “That’s true, Rafael, “A thing of beauty is  always a Joy.” All nodded. “But how long will the beauty stay?” “Yeah, until the person who enjoys it dies.” All nodded. “Exactly, its not an everlasting one or until the beauty stays. Then after that, what? search for the next beautiful thing? or person? and the next one.” All nodded “But Rafael, it seems an unending process. But how come, I didn’t notice it. When you said it, now I understand, its true, the collectors of paintings, stamps, handicrafts, photographs, painters, story tellers, literally all of us has this craze for wanting beautiful things.” All nodded. “You’re right Monica, all has it because, the mind wants to cover your goal of reaching God Soul. So the maximum time you stay back from uniting with God, the better.” “The devil of a mind. But that’s terrible. I really cannot imagine myself  creating the obsta

(41) “But Rafael, that’s terrible, my own mind, betraying me. I really cannot imagine.” All nodded. “That is what it is meant, when Judas betrayed Jesus. Judas was one of Jesus’ own, very close. But Jesus knew that. So He accepted it.” “But Rafael, I thought, it was another human being, like Judas as another person.” All nodded. “No Rebecca,  Here there is nothing of people as in human being. We are soul, a drop of God soul. Remember,  whatever is there in the universe and its people, are bunch of atoms, we are its creators because our mind created, we wanted them.   If we have to get out of it, we will have to have a map and the Bible is that - The user's manual.” All nodded. "But Rafael, do you mean to say, that I'm just a bunch of atoms created by someone, who wanted to be as such?" "You're  a drop of God soul never forget, Rebecca. But that soul is hidden by atoms created by others, yes and yourself too." All nodded

(40)  “Rafael, do you mean to say that we are the one who create our own destiny?” “There is one thing, which can create as well as break you and that is your mind.” “Mind? As in thinking and deciding thing of human being?” “Exactly. He is the obstacle creator. He always says only the opposite of what we think.” “What does that mean Rafael?” Rafael nodded. “Do you remember, in the Bible there is a part in which Eve is being tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree?” “Yes sure.” “Exactly, there is no serpent in the literal sense, it’s the mind, tempting it and giving loads of reason for making her eat.” “Are you sure Rafael,  I don’t think so.” Rafael nodded. “When you make a resolution to wake up early in the morning and for many days you try to keep it and one fine day, you feel not to get up and can you say what all thoughts go through you?” “Loads of reasons come Rafael, like, if I don’t wake up today, no pro

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or there? When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him. The obituary read, "Dynamite King Dies." And also "He was the merchant of death." This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words "merchant of death," he asked himself a question, "Is this how I am going to be remembered?" He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize. Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same.

(39) “So, you wanted to know, how to control your senses.” “Yes, Rafael, we’d like to know about that.” “The first thing you should know is, how to control yourself.” “But we have our control, Rafael.” "I would not say, that you have no control. I’d say, if you make a decision, will you be able to keep it?” “No problem, easily.” “Good. But if I say, you are taking a decision to wake up early in the morning and study, would you be able to keep it the whole year?” “That would be difficult Rafael.’ “That is what I meant, when we take a decision, try to keep it till the very end, that means, you can control yourself and that is the first step to controlling your senses.” “We’ll continue tomorrow.” All nodded . …….to be contd (40) Until then.  Take care Bye   Meena