 
 A COSMIC DRAMA

by

AiR

Are You Enjoying The Show?

  * COSMIC DRAMA

Are You Enjoying the Show?

by

AiR

Copyright © AiR Institute of Realization 2018

AiR asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

ISBN 978-93-5311-496-1

All rights reserved.

No part of the content (of this publication except images) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in India by Navya Graphics, Bangalore.
    CONTENTS

Part F

Live! Don't Just Exist!! Realize the Truth! | 70 - 79

---|---

AFTERWORD | 80 - 87

POEM | 88 - 92

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | 93 - 99

When You Replace

Hope With Surrender...

And Accept Rather Than Wonder... Then You Truly Enjoy The SHOW!
    In Gratitude to

my Guru, my Master

"Everything is a drama. It's the Leela of the Lord." – Dada often says this. Whether amidst a joyous festival or while recovering from a serious illness on a hospital bed, Dada has often mentioned to me. "We must surrender. We must accept the Divine Will of the Lord. He is the Master. He knows best. We must not question. We must not expect. Rather we must accept. We must surrender and enjoy the wonder of the Lord. This is all part of His Leela – His show. We must enjoy the show!"

I bow down in gratitude to my Master, my Mentor, my Guru – Dada J.P. Vaswani who has taught me to live with the realization that this world is not real. It's just the Lord's Cosmic Drama. "We are travellers", he says. "We come and we go. Unfortunately, we start thinking that this world is ours and that everything is real. We start believing that this is my house, my car, my money and my family, and we get attached to people and things and we suffer. Because of this, we misunderstand the Cosmic Drama to be real".

Dada has taught me how to truly live and enjoy the show. As we come and we go, we should make the best of our life trying to realize its true meaning and purpose, trying to
    realize who we truly are and trying to realize God. I devote and dedicate this little book to my Master. The words in this book are a reection of what he has taught me – reection of the most amazing and pure thoughts that emanate from a source that is Divinity. Dada's humility, love, joy, peace and tranquility and his whole life itself is a testimony to this Cosmic Drama being an illusion. He has travelled around the world making a difference in people's lives. His presence is enough to touch, trigger and transform people. He has done that to me. I humbly bow down to Dada with gratitude and continue to seek his blessings as I try to live in this Cosmic Drama, enjoying the show!

This is "The Leela" of the Lord

I am Enjoying the Show.

Dada J.P. Vaswani
    PREFACE

The earth is like a big stage. Everything that happens on this earth is nothing more than a drama. It is just a show. While everything that happens in this world appears to be real, it is not. We are all actors. We come on this earth stage, perform our part in the Cosmic Drama and we go. As actors, whatever is our role, we must achieve our goal, doing our best and making the drama a success.

We should realize that there is a producer–director of this Cosmic Drama called life. He is the one who has produced the show. He has written the script, chosen the actors, produced and directed everything that happens on the earth stage.

Unfortunately, we consider this drama to be real. Although we are just actors, we get attached to our role in the drama. We become emotional with whatever is happening on the stage, not realizing that after all, it is just a "show". This show, like any theatrical show, is full of action, fun, suspense, excitement and mystery!

The biggest problem is that we don't enjoy the show. We nd fault with other actors, we question everything that is
    happening on the stage forgetting that it is just a drama. We don't enjoy the amazing show that is unfolding before us moment by moment on the earth stage. We don't realize that our life is a part of this amazing drama and whatever is happening on the earth stage is not real. If only we realize the truth that our life is a drama and we are just actors who come and go, we can really enjoy the show called LIFE!

Do you believe that everything happening in your life is not real? It's just a drama – a Cosmic Drama. Most people don't! They think life is real. It's not like a dream, which is an illusion. Unfortunately, while we think dreams are dreams, we think that our "waking life" is real – when in reality, it is a myth, a mirage, an illusion. Just like dreams are unreal, everything that's happening on Earth is just a drama, a show. Because we are unaware that life is a drama, we suffer. If we realize that everything is a Cosmic Drama, then we will truly enjoy the show called Life.

Read this book as if it is a fairy tale, a novel. But reect upon the message. You will realize that whatever is happening on the Earth stage is denitely happening, but just like in a theatre, life is no more than a global show. If you don't realize that the show is just a show, during the show, for sure you will know when you reach the end!

Life is a Drama.

We come and we go....

But before the curtains are drawn, We must Enjoy the Show!

Part A

THE EARTH IS A

BIG STAGE

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    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

Have you ever imagined this earth to be a huge stage – A stage that is hosting a mega drama? The biggest show you could ever imagine?

What happens on a stage? Actors come and actors go. Each does their part. There is a theme, a concept and a storyboard. People enter, perform and leave the stage. There are musicians who play music, and singers and dancers who create entertainment. There are lights controlled by technicians, and there are special effects. And there are choreographers, supporting actors, and everything else that make a drama happen. Most importantly, there is a producer–director of the drama – the one who conceptualizes and creates it. The Creator of the drama is responsible for putting the whole show together.

Can you ever imagine this humongous earth to be nothing more than a platform where a show called "Life" is being staged? 8 Billion people in one show! This is what makes the show on earth so amazing! First, imagine the earth to be a stage. Then imagine 8 billion people acting on that stage. When the curtains are drawn, we wake up from our sleep and start doing our part in this Cosmic Drama called life. It is the Japanese who wake up rst on the earth stage with the special effects of sunshine in the East, while the

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    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

people in the West are still fast asleep. Soon the Indians and the Arabs will wake up and participate in the drama. There will be transactions, prot, loss, love, hate, and everything else on the earth stage as the clock ticks. Some people sing and some people cry, as the drama of life unfolds every day, moment by moment.

People are born and people die on the earth stage as ignorance blankets humanity. We think that the drama is real. We cry as our near ones depart, not realizing that this is just a drama.

The earth stage is so amazing! It is not just human beings who are actors. We also have so many animals that appear on the stage. Dogs perform as pets, as cats chase rats, and elephants roam in the jungles on the earth stage. Trillions of birds, sh and insects come alive on the platform to participate in this drama called life. As the sun moves from Tokyo to New York, the skies form a great backdrop for clouds to be projected, and rain showers create romance on the stage as twinkling stars appear on the sets as we move from day to night. In the storyboard, there is a moon that reects the sun, and there are gardens of owers that bloom with roses, daffodils, and tulips giving a fragrance to the earth stage making it so exquisite. Kudos to the Creator of this Cosmic Drama! What an amazing

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    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

imagination and tremendous effort it must require to put up such a mega show called Life!

As the drama unfolds, the earth rotates on its own axis as if a magician is holding it with his magic wand. It hangs in nowhere and spins on its own with synchronicity, which is beyond perfection. The Maverick doesn't stop at this! As it rotates, it revolves around the sun – a shining star that is billions of miles away in an unknown destination. The Producer's creativity runs wild, as there are seasons that unfold on the earth stage. While it is summer at the North Pole, it is winter in the south and blankets of snow appear in contrast to green carpets across the earth. The Creator of the drama has such a fantastic imagination that He has rainbows in the skies and millions of colourful birds. He did not miss the opportunity to ll the oceans with sparkling sh in an underwater paradise. All these make the earth stage so dynamic and full of life!

And then the question arises – is the earth stage real or just a drama? To those who are engrossed in the show, it looks so real, but to those who realize the truth, the show on earth is no different from a show staged in a theatre. It is a seamless show of performances as people come and go on the earth stage. Each actor lives his part as if it is real, only to realize that it was a show when he reaches "The End".

5
    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

We come with nothing and we go empty-handed, but we start believing that everything is ours. The one who plays Alexander the Great on the stage called earth doesn't realize that he is no better than Alexander the world conqueror on the movie screen. Only here on earth, he, unfortunately, thinks that he is truly a king who owns everything. He doesn't believe that it is a drama.

In reality, the earth is a big stage and everything is a show, a Cosmic Drama. But most of us live and die without the realization of this truth. Like all those dreamers who think that their dream is real, but who realize the dream to be just a dream when they wake up, we too realize that the life on earth was just a dream after the show is over at death.

What is life and death on the earth stage? On any stage, there is an entry and exit of an actor, along with a role that the artist has to perform on the stage. The entry on the earth stage is called birth and exit, death. This Cosmic Drama is far more exotic than any other show as we evolve and go through life as per the directions of the Creator. We have no control over our entry and exit, but we are free to play our part the way we want to. We have a free will to choose how to act in the life movie that is being screened on earth. It is strange that we consider the movie to be real as we continue to be part of the Cosmic Drama. We are so

6
    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

enamoured by the world that we forget to go on a quest and realize the truth. Before we know it, it is too late. We were so intrigued by the show that we forgot our own purpose while we were on the stage. We came and performed our part and left. We never bothered to nd out what the earth stage is, where the other actors came from, where we would go after the show is over and who was the Creator of this Cosmic Drama. Suddenly, we are faced with death, and before we know, we are ejected out of the earth stage!

Movies were introduced in the early 20th century, and people were wonderstruck to see how such creativity could be projected on a screen. In a few decades, the black-and-white movies gave way to colour movies, leaving the audience in awe and dancing in excitement. The industry advanced and movies became three dimensional, where objects in the screen seemed to pop out as viewers wore 3D glasses.

Man further invented cameras that captured motion pictures with a 360-degree view, and we have now moved to concepts of virtual reality. Theatres pride themselves on special effects like winds, fragrances, and moving chairs, which offer people a real-life experience. The earth stage seems to be far more sophisticated with highly advanced

7
    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

technology beyond the understanding of scientic wizards.

On the earth stage, the actors feel that it is real, and everything that happens cannot be a projection, a movie or a drama. How can the wind that blows, the water that ows and the sun that glows only be a projection? The Creator of the earth stage is so powerful, so dynamic that the actors are enveloped in an illusory blanket, not realizing that the earth is a big stage and life on it is nothing more than a Cosmic Drama.

This Cosmic Drama is a truly amazing show! It is beyond human comprehension and so intriguing and engrossing that humanity hasn't been able to understand it. Where did we come from, how was the earth created and how did life in the plants, and animals come about? Who made the mountains and the trees, the rivers and the seas? We human beings just concocted the Big Bang theory. We believe everything came about with one Big Bang. Such an amazing drama – such an exotic earth stage – was caused by just one Big Bang? Even if this great imagination was true, who caused the big bang and how did it happen?

The Cosmic Drama is so amazing and beyond human conceptualization that we cannot comprehend it.

8
    THE EARTH IS A BIG STAGE

Centuries ago, we believed that the sun rose from somewhere in the east and set somewhere in the west till we woke up to the reality that although it looks like the sun is moving from east to west, it is not! It was part of the Cosmic Drama, wherein the earth was rotating on its own axis, making it seem like the sun was moving. On the discovery of the earth's rotation, we were embarrassed at our own ignorance.

We human beings can't even imagine the globe to be a big stage and everything that happens on it to be nothing but a Cosmic Drama. We have not been given the sense to comprehend this. It is only a very few who realize the truth. They understand that life is nothing but a Cosmic Drama unfolding on the earth stage, produced and directed by a Cosmic Power.

One Million Years

OR

One Billion Years –

What is the Earth's Age?

We don't Realize the Truth....

It's just a Virtual Stage!

9
 Part B

WE ARE JUST

ACTORS

10
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

Not only is this earth a humongous stage that rotates by itself, revolving around the sun, it also has an amazing cast of actors that make the Cosmic Drama so thrilling! Each one of us is born at a particular time to specic parents in a place and country as destined. We then grow up, nurtured by our parents and teachers. Just as actors are coached to become stars, we too get ready for our role to be played on planet earth. The only difference between theatre and life is that we don't know we are actors and we perform as the cast of the Cosmic Drama as if this show called life is real. The truth is that nothing is real. It's just like a drama. We enter the stage, play our part and nally bid farewell at the time of our departure, death. Yes, the earth is a huge stage and all of us are mere actors playing our parts in the Leela – the drama of the Cosmic Power.

Who are we? Where do we come from and where do we go? Have you ever thought about this? We just zoom from womb to tomb. In the beginning, we are too young to understand. As we grow, we get too involved in the show. By the time our intellect matures, we are already attached to people and things and then, it is too late. Before we realize, the show is over. We don't even go on a quest to search for the true meaning and purpose of life. We are born through our parents and they, through their parents. But how did all this start? What is the explanation of the mystery called "birth"?

What happens at death? Do we die or is it just our body

11
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

that dies? Where do we go after the show on earth is over? Such important questions, but we don't have the time to nd answers! We are so engrossed in the Cosmic Drama that our priorities zap us. We forget that our purpose is to realize the truth about life.

We start our role with birth and end it with death. We have to play the part of a son or daughter, a brother or sister and go on to become a father or mother. It is all part of the storyboard. The Cosmic Power, the Creator, has it all planned out. We don't have a choice to choose many of these things. We are born as Christian, Hindu or Muslim. Can we change that? Can we change our gender or our nationality – we can't. The producer–director controls it. Our role is also predetermined. Of course, we have a choice to change, willpower to act the way we want, but the role is xed. It is like driving a car. We can't change the road; it is already paved. But we can drive fast or slow, turn left or right, stop or accelerate. We have a choice. The Cosmic Drama unfolds every morning on planet earth. And we, mere actors, think of it as a reality called life.

What is the goal of humanity? It seems that every human being on earth is seeking happiness. We are attracted towards pleasure, and we desist pain. Everybody on this earth stage lives by this pleasure–pain principle. As each one of us lives our life, we seek to be happy. Happiness is different for different people. Somebody may be very

12
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

happy living in New York, but somebody else may hate the sight of skyscrapers. There are people who experience Nirvana on a beach, while some think of it as boring. It is strange, but different things make different people happy. The temperament of the actors is unique just as each one has their own unique ngerprint. Such is the creative power of the cosmos. We believe that both nature and nurture combine to create the actor, who performs on the earth stage. While there are different things that people around the globe prefer, there is one thing in common. We all seek happiness.

As we are seeking joy, peace and bliss, we misunderstand this show to be a reality called life. We nd pleasure in things because we think we are this body, mind and ego. We fear death because we think "WE" will die. We get angry with people who take away our possessions because we don't realize that this is just like a game of monopoly. We take the Cosmic Drama to be real, and thus we suffer.

Instead of living with contentment and fullment, we struggle in a war of achievement. We let greed become our need instead of fullling our goal. We steal, lie and cheat to make money, only to leave it all behind! What a shame! But why do we do this? Because we don't realize that we are just actors and that the earth is just a stage and everything happening around us is a part of the Cosmic Drama.

13
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

Why do we live in fear and worry? Why are we stressed and frustrated? The answer is simple. Would you go to a movie and be worried about what you see on the screen? Would you fear a tiger chasing the actor on a television screen? Of course you wouldn't, though some ignorant people do because they think it is real. Most intelligent people know that a movie is just a movie and a television is just an entertainment box. It is not real. But unfortunately, most of humanity believes the Cosmic Drama to be real. Thus, we fret and fume. We hurry and worry. We zoom to our tomb, stressed and frustrated. Would we behave negatively if we knew that this was just a drama? Our misunderstanding of the truth is the cause of our tensions. But there are a few who realize the truth. They live a life of eternal joy and peace.

In the theatre called "LIFE", there is no end. Death is only a bend to transcend. But we don't realize it. We think life has a start and death is the end. But we don't realize that after the show is over, we have to continue, playing another role with different costumes and a different name in a different story.

The Cosmic Drama is eternal. It is a Leela – a theatre of a power beyond our comprehension. We cannot understand this show, nor question anything that happens on the earth stage. As actors, it is our job to do our part in the best way possible. As we play our part, we seek happiness and we

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    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

are as happy as we make up our minds to be.

Happiness doesn't depend on what happens on the stage but rather, on how we react to what happens. If we resist the show as it unfolds, we will be miserable. But there is a way to be happy. We should live as spectators, surrendering and accepting the Divine Will of the Creator.

We should accept the earth stage to be a theatre, and we need to realize we are just actors, and nothing is real. We should surrender to the Cosmic Power, the producer, accepting his direction, his story, and dance to each tune as it appears, no matter what. We have to learn to laugh and live, smile and give as we perform on the earth stage, knowing that our attitude and our choice of how we react and interact with the other actors will determine the level of our happiness.

There are people who resist every scene and who question everything that happens on the stage. They cry till they die until they exit from earth. There are people who are unwilling to accept what other actors do, not realizing that everything that is happening on stage is controlled by a power who produces the show. We are mere actors. We have no say in what is happening. We can only do our part in the best way we can and enjoy our sojourn on the sets as the movie called life continues to unfold.

As actors, what can we do on the earth stage? We may say

15
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

that we can play our parts to the best of our abilities. But is that all? Is there nothing more we can do? Yes, there is something more we can do. Unfortunately, we don't realize it.

The rst thing we should do is that we should do our job well. We should not compromise on our role and in our tasks. I love the story of the carpenter who worked for many years until he grew quite old. Then, one day his boss told him to build the last house of his life. He told him, "Autograph your exit with excellence. Let this be your best house ever," and with a smile, he left the carpenter to do his job. Time went by and the house was ready. The carpenter built the house with least interest. It was his worst job ever. He took no ownership and did not complete the house to any sort of perfection. He used the cheapest materials and everything in the house seemed to be in a substandard condition. He was least bothered. When his boss came to inspect the home that was just built, he did not enter. He rst asked for the key of the house and then before entering the house to inspect it like he normally would do, he did something distinctly different. He told the carpenter, "You have worked with me for 25 years. In return for your services, I gift this house to you!" And he handed over the keys to the carpenter.

The carpenter was in tears. He didn't expect that he would be given the house as a gift. And now, his own lethargic

16
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

attitude and lack of enthusiasm had left him with such a poor-quality home. We should not be like the carpenter. Till our last breath, we have to strive to do our best and nothing less than that. But there is one thing that is more important than doing our best. We should go on a quest to understand the meaning of life and to realize the truth about this Cosmic Drama.

We should not forget the truth that we are just actors. We need to realize that just like we check-in to a hotel room and check-out, our journey on earth is like a vacation in a resort where nothing belongs to us. We can enjoy the trees, the breeze and the seas, but we must not become prisoners to things and people, thinking that the stage is our eternal home.

Don't we know this fact that nobody belongs here? We are travellers who come and go. We are mere actors on this earth stage. Because we forget we are just actors, we start belonging to people and think that our possessions belong to us. But nothing belongs to us. Everything is like a loan that we have to return. Everything is transitory – it comes and it goes. Every sunrise ends with a sunset and birth ends with death.

The producer has created a special role for each one of us on planet earth. It is planned. We can't change that. Each character must nish his duty, complete his script, sing,

17
    WE ARE JUST ACTORS

dance and say what he must. Our performance should not be incomplete. We should not cut corners because it affects the overall show on the earth stage. It is not a mono act. We are part of a cast of several people that perform the drama together. We can't suddenly and abruptly end our act. It spoils the drama. We should gracefully do our part in sync with the others on the stage.

Actors don't just act. All actors dream to make their movie a success. Every good actor tries to make it to the Oscars. We too, as actors, should not bow out of the earth stage without an award-winning performance. It is only then that we have truly lived!

We don't realize we are just

Actors who Act....

But Life is not Real.

It's a Drama, in fact!

18

Part C

WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

The earth is a gigantic stage. More than 8 billion actors, at present, are doing their bit to make the Cosmic Drama exciting. There are waves in the seas, fruits on the trees, butteries and bees. But this magic show has a magician. It is His show. He is the Producer–Director, a Cosmic Power, unknown to man. If I told you that the mobile phone in my hand just appeared from nowhere, you would not believe it. Someone manufactured it and transported it before it reached me. If a simple mobile phone has someone as its manufacturer, then what about the entire world? Could it have just come about without a Creator?

Even imagining the power of the Creator is beyond human comprehension. The Cosmic Power is omnipotent – all-powerful; omniscient – knows everything; and omnipresent – present everywhere. We are tiny, insignicant actors. We are not even a speck of a speck of the Cosmic Show. You may be Peter living in London. Peter is a speck on Oxford Street. Oxford Street is a speck in London. London is a speck in the UK. The UK is a speck on the earth and the earth is a speck in the cosmos. We must bow down in humility to the Divine Power. This is His Cosmic Show.

How did this world come about? People wonder. But it is not so difcult to understand. If a spider can create a web from itself, why can't the Cosmic Power create the cosmos? While we human beings – who are mere actors on

20
    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

this earth stage – attribute creation to a Big Bang or to the theory of evolution, the truth seems to be far different. The cosmos seems to be a manifestation of the Cosmic Power. The power is the cause. The earth and everything on it are its effects. Just like gold is a cause – rings, chains and bracelets are just effects of the cause, which is gold. Mud is the cause. The pot, the plate and the statue – all these objects that are made of mud – are the effects of the cause. If you remove the cause, there will be no effect. If you remove gold, there will be no jewellery. Without the Cosmic Power, there will be no cosmos. This is the Law of Causation. But we actors are unable to realize this truth.

While we have a written history of just a few thousand years, geologists and historians believe that the earth is millions or even billions of years old. In a dream that lasts two or three minutes, we often traverse decades in time only to wake up to realize that the dream was an illusion. When we wake up from the cosmic journey, probably then we will realize that this cosmic show is a manifestation of the Cosmic Power and is no more than an illusory dream.

There is no doubt that there is a producer–director of this Cosmic Drama on earth. But who is this Cosmic Power? Where and what the power is – it is unknown to man. We have not been given the sense to comprehend the Cosmic Power. If I tell you to close your eyes and see me with your nose, can you do it? You can smell with your nose, but it is

21
    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

impossible to see me with your nose. We as actors on the earth stage have not been given the sense perception to perceive the Cosmic Power.

However, there is no doubt that a Cosmic Power exists. This Cosmic Drama on earth has not happened by accident. Some people who question the existence of a Cosmic Power are like blind human beings who say that there is nothing in this world, just because they are blind. Just because they are blind and they do not have the perception of sight, they conclude that the world and everything else in this world doesn't exist.

No doubt we don't know who, where and what the Cosmic Power is, but there is no doubt that a Cosmic Power exists. It is the Cosmic Power that has created the earth stage, the 8 billion actors on it and all else that exists in the cosmos. The sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the animals and the owers are all part of the cosmic magician's magic.

The Cosmic Drama is truly amazing. It is beyond words! We cannot express the beauty of the Cosmic Power. One who has such an amazing creation must be far more outstanding and mere adjectives will fail to dene such an amazing power. We can at best be awestruck at the amazement of His show.

As the Cosmic Drama unfolds, we as mere actors on the

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

stage should be amazed as to how the producer–director has created the sets. On the touch of a button, the sun rises and the global stage is full of light. Isn't it truly amazing? A storm sets in and in a moment, the entire ocean is turbulent. Life comes to a halt as hurricanes and tornadoes attack the earth stage. Yes, the Cosmic Power has an amazing range of special effects that are projected on planet earth as the Cosmic Drama unfolds. We may be looking at a lush green valley up in the mountains, but in moments, a blanket of fog can turn the entire city of green into a blanket of white. All these magical special effects are only possible with the power of the Cosmic Creator. It is the Cosmic Creator who has created everything, who is capable of such magical and miraculous powers that make this Cosmic Drama possible.

This Cosmic Drama is unique. It is unparalleled. There are 6000 languages that people speak on the earth stage and the 8 billion actors each have their own unique ngerprint. The Creator of the Cosmic Drama is a superpower beyond human comprehension. His creative imagination is unbelievable. If you look at the colours of birds, owers and sh it can only go on to show how creative and imaginative the Cosmic Power is. Everything on earth is so beautiful that it can only be a reection of the beauty of the Cosmic Power. Unfortunately, we are so caught up in the reality of life on earth that we do not value or appreciate the Cosmic Drama and the production of the show.

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

If only we really valued the drama created by the producer–director, we would bow down to the creative power and change our paradigm of life.

We are born and then we die. We wake up, we dream and we sleep. We become glad, and no sooner, we become sad. We take revenge just as we forgive. First, we grow and then we shrink. Can you imagine how the Cosmic Power must have conceptualized this drama? With oceans between continents, special effects like hurricanes, tornadoes and tsunamis, the Cosmic Drama is a blockbuster! Each actor has 7 wonders within – the eyes, the nose, the ears, the tongue, the hands, the head and the heart that allow him to perform at his best. Dogs wag their tails and monkeys jump from tree to tree, as bees pollinate producing owers and roots create shoots and fruits on the earth stage. There is amazement in everything that is projected on the earth screen. Not just on earth, even in the skies, there is magic; there is day and night. The sun rises as a ball of orange and soon turns gold. It then moves overhead till it nally dips on the other side, reecting upon the moon to create night. The Cosmic Power has not even spared the waters. A whole new world welcomes the underwater adventure seekers as they snorkel and scuba dive to see millions of colourful sh, whales, stingrays, sharks, dolphins and penguins. It must have been a humongous task for the Cosmic Power to create such an expansive and diverse cast for His drama, His Leela to be

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

projected on His stage – the divine earth.

Have you ever wondered at the power of the Creator? The earth is nothing, just a dot in this space of the cosmos. When you travel out of the earth in a spacecraft to the moon, the earth looks like a tiny ball from a distance. What is the earth in the context of the entire cosmos? Just a dot! There are millions of stars, moons and planets that lead us to innity. The mind of man is not capable of dening the size of the cosmos. Such imagination is beyond human capability, but there is no doubt that the earth is a little ball, a tiny dot, like the head of a pin, considering the size of the cosmos. We are tiny dots on earth. We are absolutely insignicant when compared to the power of the Creator.

The producer is super intelligent. His creation is magical, mystical and perfect. Do we wake up in the morning and look out to see if the sun has failed us? Never! Do we throw a ball up in the sky and hope that it will come back to us on the ground? We know beyond doubt that the ball won't bounce away into the sky! We don't doubt it because we believe that the Cosmic Power has laws like gravity and rotation that run the Cosmic Show. These cosmic laws never fail us. They endorse the existence of a Cosmic Power.

Everything that happens in the cosmos is due to the super intelligence, the omnipotence of the Cosmic Power. How

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

else could the Creator plan a ball-shaped earth rotating on its own axis, revolving around the sun in symmetry and synchronicity? There is no crash, no accident. His show is perfect. Can we doubt His intelligence? Monkeys don't give birth to dogs and human beings live with millions of neurons and blood vessels that don't burst. The heart beats, the lungs breathe and the kidneys clear the body waste as 8 billion human bodies work perfectly performing their part on the earth stage. Of course, the drama also has heart attacks, kidney failures and coma as a part of the cosmic show. This seems magical, truly impossible to man, but it is made possible by the Cosmic Power.

We actors on stage still question whether everything that we see on the earth stage is real or just a manifestation. It is both! Every drama is real. The actors, the music, the lights, and the stage are all very much real. But the show is just a show. So also, everything on the earth stage is real – the 8 billion people, the animals, the plants, the owers and the stars. However, while everything that we see seems real, it is all a Cosmic Drama, a projection or a movie. The earth and life on it, and everything that we see is nothing but energy. It is the energy of the Cosmic Power that manifests as you and me on the earth stage!

The fact that the earth and everything on it is a Cosmic Drama is not a fairy tale. Science today endorses that this is

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

not myth. It is a reality that physical matter is no different from energy. Through his formula E = mc2, Einstein had stated decades ago that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another.

Scientists accepted this formula, but only recently took it to new levels of discovery. In recent experiments, scientists were trying to study the smallest particle of matter beyond molecules, atoms, electrons, neutrons, and photons – right up to quarks – using sophisticated equipment for investigations. In one such experiment, scientists were abbergasted when a tiny particle of matter under investigation suddenly disappeared. While they wondered what had gone wrong with the experiment, they nally concluded that the particle might have converted into energy. Their conclusion was conrmed when the particle of matter reappeared. They coined this discovery as Wave–Particle Duality. It coincides with Einstein's theory that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another. Scientists don't dispute that we human beings who look like matter could essentially be trillions and trillions of energy particles, which when put together, appear as you and me.

Scientists also believe that our body cells are being constantly recreated as they are regenerated naturally.

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

What does this scientic theory lead to? This means that every cell of our body dies and is reborn. In a matter of 5 to 7 years, our entire body is new. Our heart, our kidneys, our skin and our bones are completely recreated every 7 years. Therefore, a man who is 50 has already changed his body 7 times. How can we be this body, which we will not be in 7 years?

Science now agrees with spirituality that everything in this world is energy. All along, science did not believe that matter can be energy and energy can be matter, despite the existence of such a theory. But now science believes that we could be made up of trillions of energy particles because matter and energy, according to science, is convertible. This is what spirituality had said thousands of years ago.

With science endorsing that we human beings could be nothing but energy, what does this infer? It infers that all matter on earth is energy that appears as matter. The earth itself is energy that manifests as everything we see on earth. With this discovery, that everything in this world is energy, we cannot deny the presence of an omnipotent cosmic energy that forms the cosmos.

While we accept the presence of cosmic energy, we are unable to relate this cosmic energy to a Cosmic Power. The cosmos is controlled by cosmic intelligence. Is this cosmic

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

intelligence different from the cosmic energy? We have no option but to believe that the cosmic energy is no different from the Cosmic Power. This Cosmic Power manifests as the cosmic energy in anything and everything on the earth stage.

This Cosmic Power is eternal. The producer–director lives beyond the show. We are actors. We come and we go. The earth is a stage. The settings change. But the Cosmic Power is eternal, immortal and beyond comprehension. We don't know anything about the Cosmic Power, except that such a power exists. We on the earth are proof of the existence of a power, just as a drama in a theatre is proof of the existence of a producer–director. We are mortal in this human body. We come and we go. Some believe that we play different roles on the earth stage as the drama unfolds. The body dies, but we are reborn in new bodies based on our karmas, our past actions. Some believe that there is no rebirth after death. Our role on the earth stage starts and ends, but the Cosmic Drama doesn't cease. The Power creates the show. The Power manifests as the show. The Power never dies.

There are several Cosmic Laws that the Cosmic Power has created for the cosmic show to be managed. He has set these laws in motion and let the Cosmic Drama unfold without His intervention, day after day. What are some of these Cosmic Laws? Laws that work throughout the

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

universe – in every city, in every country; laws that work for everybody; laws that are universal – such are the Cosmic Laws of the Cosmic Power.

There is a Law of Order in existence. The Law of Order ensures that everything in the cosmos works in an orderly and sequential manner. There is no disorder or chaos. Each event of the cosmos is linked to the previous and next one and they together become the cosmic show. We are all a part of the giant cosmic puzzle. Such is the cosmic Law of Order.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how everything in this world is so orderly? Why is it that birds y so beautifully, sh swim with such natural grace? How come there is no accident every now and then? It is incredible how a normal human being can breathe, walk, and talk with such perfection. How is it that my mind and my body are so well synchronized? All these are possible because of the Law of Order. The Cosmic Power has created a law that everything should be in order. Of course, there are some accidents, but that is part of the Universal plan. The Cosmic Power approves some amount of disruption.

Another Cosmic Law is the Law of Cause and Effect, popularly known as the Law of Karma. Nothing happens by chance. Everything has a before and after relation. Our own actions become a cause for our future destiny.

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

Therefore, our present actions will dene our future, just as our past actions dene our present circumstances.

What is the role of Karma in the Cosmic Drama? Karma is a law that prevails in our life. The Cosmic Drama seems to be based on the Law of Karma, which states that what you give, you get. As you sow, so shall you reap! Actors on the earth stage are not being micromanaged. They are given a role and they are allowed to perform. Why is it that some actors are happy and some unhappy as they live on the stage called the earth? This is because of the Law of Karma. The Law of Karma decides who is happy and who is unhappy based on our past actions.

As we perform on the earth stage, all our actions receive corresponding reactions. Not only do we receive reactions during that scene of the show, our actions are compensated even in future shows. This means to say that actors on the earth stage, based on their actions, not only receive reward or reprimand on the earth stage during this life, but also carry it forward to the next life. Their next role will depend upon their Karma or their actions. If their Karma was good, then the next role will be a role of pomp and power. It will be a role of a hero. But if their Karma was bad, they will come back on the earth stage in an insignicant role, probably that of a villain to suffer on the earth stage for one more act in the Cosmic Drama. None of the actors can escape from the Law of Karma. The Cosmic

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

Drama runs in an auto mode. The Cosmic Drama doesn't need moment-to-moment direction by the Cosmic Power. The Law of Karma automatically sustains the Cosmic Drama of life on earth.

There is a cosmic Law of Energy or Vibration. Everything in the universe vibrates and has energy. Quantum physics endorses the fact that everything moves, and is in motion. The Law of Energy is, in fact, a law on which the entire cosmos is based. Actually, science is stunned to realize that we human beings are not physical matter that we seem to be. We are energy. We appear to be the body, but in reality we are trillions and trillions of energy particles that together appear as the body. This is a law that is being discovered and rediscovered to realize that everything that we see is nothing but energy in motion. Einstein had said it decades ago in his formula E = mc2, where he spoke about so many laws related to energy and matter. But we human beings are still to understand the Law of Energy. The Law is simple. Everything is energy. Everything transmutes or converts from one form to another. Everything is in motion and the entire cosmos is based on this simple Law of Energy.

The cosmos also works on the Law of Balance. Have you noticed how a family struck by a tragedy cries, but in a matter of days, the extreme pain suffered subsides and they reconcile with the reality and the balance is restored,

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

bringing peace and tranquillity.

The human body goes through a serious attack in terms of its physical health, but then soon, there is balance. Even if there is death, death is soon balanced by life. Yes, the Lord has created the Law of Balance where everything in the universe is beautifully balanced. Summer is balanced with winter, just like pain is balanced with pleasure and loss with gain. The law states that everything comes back to equilibrium and to a prior balance.

Another Cosmic Law is the Law of Compensation, and it states that in the cosmos, for somebody to win, somebody has to lose. Good compensates evil, just as sweet is compensated by sour. Thus, the cosmos works with the principle of moderation. If there were no moderation and no compensation, then the cosmos would be a land of extremes. Everything would be an extreme! But if you look at it, nothing is an extreme. The Lord has moderated everything. And everything works in such an orderly fashion, such a balanced fashion. In fact, all the Cosmic Laws together synchronize and work with perfection. They do not conict with each other.

The Law of Cycles is a Cosmic Law that ensures things go around in circles. It works along with the Law of Balance and the Law of Sequence and Energy. The Law of Cycles also appears in the rotation of the earth. It is cyclic; it

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

happens exactly once in 24 hours. The revolution around the sun is again cyclic – it happens exactly in 365 and ¼ days. Haven't you noticed that there are cycles – cycles for a woman's ovulation, cycles for an egg to be produced by a hen? There are cycles for everything. The Lord has created such an amazing set of cycles that everything works in an organized manner.

Finally, there is a Law of Opposites. Everything in the cosmos has its opposites. There is male and female, up and down, truth and untruth, just as there is east and west, cold and hot, love and hate, light and darkness. Without the Law of Opposites, how could the cosmos exist? Imagine if the human race and other forms of creation were all male, how could the universe go on? Imagine if there was only suffering, how would people live? The Lord has created opposites in everything. Just think about how powerful the Cosmic Power must be to create such wonderful Cosmic Laws – laws that make the cosmos run in an automatic manner without intervention, without a need of the producer–director shouting out commands – what we must do. Such is the Cosmic Power and such are the Cosmic Laws. All these Cosmic Laws work together for the Cosmic Drama to unfold.

Why this show? Who knows? It is His show – it belongs to the Cosmic Power. We are just actors. Actors don't question why a show in a theatre is produced. They come,

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

they act and they go. But they have a choice – to act or not. But we don't. We do not have a choice to act. Such is the Cosmic Drama. We have been given the willpower to choose, to decide, to react. But every morning, whether we like it or not, we wake up as per the will of the Cosmic Power. Every night we sleep just like actors taking a break in between scenes. We have freedom in action, but not freedom from action. Till the Cosmic Power wants us to act, we continue acting. Then nally, when he wants us to get off the stage, He causes death and there is no breath. Our show is over, but the Cosmic Drama continues.

Nobody knows why we are born, why do we die, and why this cosmic drama unfolds the way it does. We can think, guess and imagine, but very few people realize the truth.

Less than 1% of humanity goes on a search to nd out the truth. Of these people, 1% discover the knowledge that may be the truth. Finally, of this minority, less than 1% realize the truth about the Cosmic Power, the Cosmic Drama and everything else. Thus, less than 0.0001% of the actors on the earth stage come close to understanding the mystery of the Cosmic Drama.

We should surrender to the Power. We don't have any other choice. The actors have to obey the producer–director. Otherwise we, as actors, will be out of the show. We human beings are tiny specks on the earth stage. We are

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

insignicant. We are nothing on our own. We should realize this truth. We should accept and surrender.

The goal of life is not just happiness, but rather to realize the truth. This leads to ultimate happiness that comes from liberation from prisons of misery and sorrow, but we don't realize this. We actors on the earth stage must learn to live with humility and gratitude and with reverence to the Cosmic Power who has produced this Cosmic Drama.

In Broadway shows, the actors must follow the Producer–Director's commands. This is a must for the show to be a success. The earth stage is no different. Only we actors have been given a mind, an ego, and an intellect to drive our body to choose how we act or live on earth. The Producer–Director doesn't scream out commands, but the Cosmic Drama is such that it seems completely automated. Some actors act and others react, and the show goes on. While we do our part on the earth stage, seeking happiness in this Cosmic Drama, we should not forget to acknowledge the presence of a Cosmic Power, the Creator of the Cosmic Drama who has created the earth stage and everything on it.

The entire Cosmic Drama is so perfect. It's so amazing! Obviously, some Super Creative Power is in charge. Not only should we acknowledge the presence of the Cosmic Power, but we should also bow down in awe, accept the

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    WHO IS THE PRODUCER–DIRECTOR?

production and direction of our life show, do our part in absolute surrender and joyously accept the Divine Will of the Cosmic Power.

The Earth goes around....

Who makes it go? It's a Cosmic Power, Who is managing the Show!

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 Part D

THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

The Cosmic Drama unfolds moment by moment. The show goes on. Some countries sleep as others wake up at dawn. But the show doesn't stop. It is global. The Cosmic Power never sleeps. This is seen on the earth and everything else in the cosmos. We may pause for the scene to change, making way for other actors, but the show doesn't stop.

The Cosmic Drama seems to open its curtains every day as we wake up. And when we sleep, we think that the drama has ended. But that is true only for us. As we dream a fantasy or a nightmare and wake up to a new day on the cosmic stage, the Cosmic Drama continues to unfold with all its magic and mystery. There is a birth somewhere, just as there is death somewhere else. Winter in the North corresponds to summer in the South. The Cosmic Creator has His own imagination that makes the drama unfold moment by moment with thrill and excitement.

READY, ACTION, ROLL! Shot 1, Take 1!

This is what we see happening on Broadway shows and lm productions because these are just earthly dramas. The heavenly drama is far more sophisticated. The entire cosmos is beautifully designed and beyond the imagination of the actors.

When the producer calls for action, we should move. We

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wake up, we breathe, we walk, we talk, we eat, we reproduce, we live and we die. The show must go on! With Faith, Hope, Trust and Enthusiasm, we need to do our part.

Every day is a new scene for us actors on the earth stage. We think that the show is divided into day-tight compartments. We have days, weeks, months, and years – even pentads and decades that create life. But time is just a concept for us actors. It is the distance between one moment and another, till it is time for our show to be over. We come and we go. As the clock ticks between sunrise and sunset, we call it a day. We wake up and we sleep, playing our part in the show called life.

But do we wonder about the relevance of waking, dreaming and sleeping on the earth stage? Who are we in reality – the waker or the dreamer? We condently believe that dreams are an illusion. But what is the guarantee that what we experience when we are awake is the reality? This too could be just like a dream that ends at death. What happens to us during deep sleep? The body and the mind are both asleep, and we experience complete bliss. Who is it that experiences the bliss? Who are we in reality – the body, the mind, the ego or further still an energy that experiences the 3 states of consciousness in the Cosmic Drama? We are both, actors and audience in the Cosmic Drama, but we have no clue about the production and

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

direction of this show.

Everything that happens in the Cosmic Drama has its own unique signicance. Why are some rich and others poor? Nobody can answer this question. If we believe in pure luck and chance, then it is just a game of dice in the Cosmic Drama that causes this. But if we trust the Cosmic Power to be intelligent, then we accept the Law of Karma. This law states that our actions, good or bad, will eventually return to us. What goes around comes around.

Birth, death and everything else on the cosmic stage is not by incident or accident. It is a well-planned storyboard that runs on Cosmic Laws. Is a good movie or theatrical show produced by random acts? Of course not! A lot of planning, hard work and execution lead to its success. The Cosmic Drama is no different. Where we are born, when and to whom, and the circumstances of our life are not pure luck, but rather divine destiny based on the Law of Action and Reaction. We create our own destiny. Just as we see people on earth succeed with their past performances, we actors on the earth stage create our own destiny through our own actions. It may seem to be just serendipity or fate, but it is a magnicent show on earth that unfolds as per the will of the Cosmic Power, based on our own actions.

As the Cosmic Drama unfolds, we experience waves of joy

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and sorrow. There is pleasure and pain, sun and rain, loss and gain in this vibrant Cosmic Drama. We human beings want to be happy and so we have desires. When desires are fullled, we become happy. But every unfullled desire makes us miserable. We chase pleasures and think that achievement will give us happiness, only to experience a merry-go-round that makes us glad and sad in circles. No doubt that the First Peak of Happiness is Achievement, but there are other peaks beyond.

Few of us are lucky. We discover the Second Peak of Happiness – Fullment that comes from contentment. We do not let our greed become our need. We exit from the achievement journey of pleasures and nd peace on the plateau of fullment. Fullment is contentment that one experiences after achieving success that's noteworthy. It is living with faith, laughter and enthusiasm, building a universal connection. It is living with meaning, purpose and inspiration, making a positive difference. Still, we experience waves of joy and sorrow as we age and reach our end. Most of us live and die experiencing the ups and downs in the Cosmic Drama as it unfolds.

A very few – a rare fraction of humanity – climb the Third and Final Peak of Happiness: Enlightenment. They are liberated from misery and sorrow as they escape from a prison of ignorance. They realize that whatever is unfolding in the world is nothing but a mega Cosmic

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Drama. While we seek happiness in the Cosmic Drama, eventually we all die.

What is death in the Cosmic Drama? It is quite different from what we actors experience and understand. To us mortals, death is the end – we die. But on the cosmic stage, we never die. Death is not the end. It is just a bend to transcend. The body dies, but we who are alive in the body don't. We move on.

To us human beings, we are this body–mind complex that lives and dies. But in the Cosmic Drama, the truth is different. At death, one of the following two things happens. When the body dies and the power inside us departs, the mind is reborn on the earth stage and plays a new role in the Cosmic Drama, with a new name and body based on its past actions. This happens again and again until we realize the truth. There is the second scenario, where on death, we realize we are not the body that dies. There is no mind. It is an illusion, and the energy within us becomes one with the Cosmic Power, the Producer–Director of this Cosmic Drama.

For those of us who live and die in ignorance, we experience rebirth in the Cosmic Drama based on our own karmas, or actions of our previous life, again and again. For the few who realize the truth, the drama is different.

Each of us actors is alive in a body, driven by a mind and

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

ego. We act according to our own free will in the role of the character that we play in the Cosmic Drama. These free-willed actions determine our future destiny. If we live a good life on the earth stage, our next role in the Cosmic Drama will be blessed with happiness as we are reborn or start a new role on the earth stage. If we live with cruelty and let negative emotions drive our actions, our rebirth on the earth stage will be in a role of misery and suffering.

The cosmic show operates on these Cosmic Laws – there is no other practical explanation regarding why bad things happen to good people. The only possibility is we are reborn based on the actions of our past character roles in the Cosmic Drama as we lived and died on the earth plane in the past.

The Cosmic Drama is very real, just like any other movie. The only difference is the fact that it is a drama, a show or a Leela of the Cosmic Power. Those who realize the truth eventually understand that like a movie, life on earth is just a show. Like in a movie, there are real actors with real roles and real circumstances and they act with real emotions. But it is all acting. It's all a drama. It is just a show.

Of course, some people wonder how this can just be a show! What else can it be? We human beings don't know what the mystery of life and death is. We know that we

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

come empty-handed and we go empty-handed and we know that there is a power that controls life. Other than this being a Cosmic Drama, a big show on the earth stage, there is no other possibility.

We don't realize that we are nothing. We are just energy. We are a part of the Cosmic Energy that is universally present. Everything is Energy. This is nothing else but Energy. It seems that it is "Us": you and "ME"– Mind and Ego, but in reality, everything is "HE" – the Holistic Energy.

The Law of Causation can explain this remarkably well. It is a law that explains how every effect emerges from a cause and without the cause there can be nothing. Everything on the Earth seems to be REAL but it is in fact just an effect of the Cosmic Power, nothing else.

What is the Law of Causation? It is based on 3 tenets:

  1. For every effect, there is a cause

  2. The effect is nothing but the cause in a different form

  3. If you remove the cause, there is no effect

Gold is the cause. Ring, necklace, and bangle are effects. They are nothing but gold in different forms. If you remove the gold, nothing remains. There will be no ring,

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

bangle or necklace. Mud is the cause. The pot, the plate and the statue are the effects. They are all made of mud, different forms of it. If you remove the mud, nothing remains. The Law of Causation is very simple. It only goes on to prove how we become nothing when the Cosmic Power within us leaves. The 5 elements that we are made of disintegrate into dust. We exist because of the Cosmic Power. We are another form of the cosmic energy. Without the cosmic energy, we are nothing. The Law of Causation clearly shows that the Cosmic Power is the cause. We are the effects.

As actors, what is our challenge? We must understand our role and achieve the goal of life, which is to realize that we are not the body, the mind or the ego. We are the energy, the soul, also known as Chi, Prana or Atman.

Most of us actors on the earth stage don't realize this truth. We live and we die. We laugh and we cry. We experience birth and death, but we never realize the truth.

We don't think of this life to be a Cosmic Drama. We don't acknowledge the earth to be a huge stage and we don't bow down and surrender to the Cosmic Power, the producer and director of this show – the Cosmic Drama.

From womb to tomb, it is His game. We don't realize this because the drama seems to be so real. Real tears ow from living eyes in real life situations. We cry when somebody

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

dies and we celebrate the birth of a family member, not having the faintest clue that it is just a show. We don't even go on a quest to nd out the truth that life is just a drama – a drama that takes us from womb to tomb. We zoom without experiencing life the way we should. In fact, we don't enjoy the show because we are so busy struggling, believing the drama to be real. We think that all our relationships on earth are permanent, although we see them break as people depart from the earth stage. It is so obvious that it is a show of the Cosmic Power, but we live and die in ignorance.

Once, some saints from the mountains are said to have visited a king and told him that they wanted to give him a precious gift. It was a fruit and the one who ate it would become immortal. It was one of its kind and there was no other fruit like this on earth. The king was very pleased and carefully preserved the fruit of immortality. He was just about to eat it when he realized what use would it be to live forever without his beloved queen. So instead of eating the fruit of immortality, he went to his queen and asked her to eat the fruit. He wanted his queen to be alive till his last breath. The queen was excited to receive the fruit. Unfortunately, she was in love with the king's charioteer, and she thought that her beloved should live forever. She gave the fruit to the charioteer after taking a promise that he would not share this secret with anyone. The charioteer was happy to become immortal, but he was

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

in love with a dancer and wondered what use life would be without the dancer. He gifted the fruit of immortality to the dancer so that she could become immortal. The dancer knew that her life was a life of sin. Her profession made her expose herself to so many men and she was quite frustrated with her life. She started thinking about who would be the most worthy person who should live forever. She knew that the noblest in the kingdom was the king. She went to the king and offered him the fruit of immortality. The king was shocked! How could the fruit reach this dancer? He called the queen and after much questioning, he came to know the entire story. He was heartbroken. He wanted to give the gift of immortality to the one he loved, but he was cheated. However, the king was a wise man, and he knew that everything that was happening was just a Cosmic Drama. He gave up his kingdom and went into the forest to seek the Truth.

We too experience life and its disappointments, but we must not question what happens and why it happens. Whatever happens in the Cosmic Drama happens as per the will of the producer. People will come and people will go. Such is the show. Because of our ignorance, we think it to be real. We question and cry. We hardly live. We exist and die. We should not question the producer–director. We need to trust the Cosmic Power. We have to surrender and accept. We should just do our best; He will do the rest. As actors we cannot understand why some things happen

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

on the earth stage. There is a meaning and a purpose in everything. Whatever happens – it makes us evolve as we live, doing our part. Several experiences teach us how to act on the cosmic stage.

If only we realize the truth of the Cosmic Drama, that this is just a show of the Cosmic Power, that we are just actors who are powerless specks of nothing, we will never question whatever happens on the earth stage.

If only we realize the awesomeness of the most unimaginable Creator, we will bow down in humility, surrender and acceptance rather than question the producer of the "Life Show".

In fact, those who live with devotion and reverence, they fall in love with the Cosmic Power. They are in so much awe of creation that not only do they bow down to the power in surrender and acceptance, but also crave for nothing else but the Creator. They develop a triple longing for the Master of the show. The triple longing is deep love and passion. It is the cumulative longing of the desire that a miser has for gold, a lover has for his beloved, and the longing that a child has for the mother it has just lost. The true lovers of the Cosmic Power live each day with this triple yearning till they realize the truth and become one with the Cosmic Power.

It's His Leela, His show. It's not our business to question.

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

We are nothing. The Cosmic Power is everything. We are not alone; the Power exists. Because of ignorance, we are trapped in a body–mind complex and become actors on the earth stage. We should learn to surrender and accept His Divine Will.

Is it possible to actually accept whatever happens on the earth stage? No, if we think that life is real, it is practically impossible. We groan and moan in misery as we move from birth to death. Those who realize that everything is a drama live with a smile on their face. They too face troubles but they view troubles as a scene in the Cosmic Drama and not something that is really happening to them. There was once a king who knew that although he was a king, everything was a Cosmic Drama. One day, he had a visitor who questioned him about how he could view everything as a Cosmic Drama. As they were chatting, there was an announcement that the city was on re. The visitor was very concerned and worried because he had left his bag outside the palace. He told the king that he should go because his bag would catch re and all his clothes that were inside the bag would be burnt. He ran out of the palace to nd his bag of clothes while the city was on re. When he came back, he found the king sitting quite calmly and peacefully issuing orders, without any anxiety and stress.

He then asked the king that why he was not stressed and

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

worried when the whole city was on re. The king explained to him, "The city is already on re, the people will be doing their best to douse the re. Worrying about it will not change the situation. I know that everything is a drama. Whatever has to happen, will happen. At the end, everything is just a show. Everything will be over. We should not worry about things. We should learn to accept whatever happens without stress. We should remember that if we are stressed, we cannot discriminate. If we want to discriminate, we should not be anxious." The king was a truly realized soul who had realized the truth. He sat quietly as his administration put off the re in the city and brought things back to normal. The king was unperturbed.

If we start living with the realization of the truth that everything is just a drama, we will live with faith, hope, trust, condence, courage and enthusiasm, eradicating the ignorance that whatever is happening is real. We will be liberated from misery and pain as we do our part in the Cosmic Drama, not just as actors but also as observers.

We should realize the truth. This is His show. He is all-powerful. We are just puppets on the stage. The string of our life is in His hands. He can make us glad or sad. We should humbly bow down to the Master. He is the Master of the Cosmos – the director of the show in which we are just tiny specks of dust.

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    THE COSMIC DRAMA UNFOLDS!

Not Men or Women,

We are Puppets that Dance!

Everything is Programmed....

Nothing happens by Chance!

52
 Part E

ARE WE ENJOYING

THE SHOW?

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    ARE WE ENJOYING THE SHOW?

This universe is such a magical drama! There is so much excitement, fun, power, creativity and imagination. The earth is such an amazing stage with special effects and a Producer–Director, none other than the Creator of the cosmos.

But, are we enjoying the show?

We are actors, but not just actors. We are also the audience. We are both. We perform in the show and we also watch the show. While we do our best in our role, seeking happiness, are we also enjoying all the experiences that are a part and parcel of this Cosmic Drama?

Most of us are so engrossed in our life, and so caught up with duty that we forget to enjoy the show. The Cosmic Drama is a show par excellence. Its amazing creation cannot be narrated in words, nor can it be comprehended by the mind, but we can denitely enjoy the life movie that is screened on planet earth day after day.

Don't sweat the small stuff. It is all small stuff! Nothing in this world is worth taking too seriously. Everything is a drama. It is just a show! But we don't enjoy the show because we hurry and worry and we forget to watch the amazing performances that are being performed on this mammoth stage.

All through life, we human beings worry about everything.

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When we are seeking something, we worry whether we will get it. Once we get it, we worry that we may lose it. We worry about what is happening on this earth stage because we somehow consider it to be real. But if the same thing was happening in a drama that we were watching, we would laugh and have a good time. Whether the drama is a comedy or tragedy, it hardly matters. We enjoy the show because it is just a drama. Unfortunately, because we think that the Cosmic Drama is not a drama but a real show of life, we start worrying about everything. We worry about what people tell us. We worry about the future and fear it. We worry about loss of possessions. If there is an announcement by the doctor that somebody who is near and dear is unwell, we worry about it. If there is a danger of losing our wealth, we worry about it. We worry about practically everything – the weather, the climate, the stock market, the political scenario, new laws, and new regulations. If somebody in our family has an accident, we are super worried. Why are we worried about everything? We are worried because we misconceive the Cosmic Drama to be real. We do not realize that whatever is happening on the earth stage is nothing but a drama. If it was a drama happening in a theatre, we would not worry. Therefore, our worrying proves that we do not realize that everything is just a Cosmic Drama.

We worry about the yesterdays and the tomorrows in our Life Drama. If truly there was yesterday and there was

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tomorrow then don't you think we should be able to go there? We should be able to go to yesterday, just like we are able to go to New York as New York exists. If yesterday was something that existed, then we should be able to go back to yesterday. But yesterday doesn't exist. Yes, the today that has gone is called yesterday. But denitely yesterday does not exist. Therefore, we cannot go back to it. Can we go to tomorrow? Yes, we understand when today becomes tomorrow, it will come into existence, but it will not come into existence as tomorrow, it will come into existence as today. And then we can go into today. But we can't go to tomorrow. How much ever we may try, at any cost, in any plane, we cannot go into tomorrow. Therefore, it is very simple – only today exists. Only now exists. There is no yesterday, and there is no tomorrow. It is the today that has just passed, which is called yesterday, and it is the today that will come, which will be tomorrow. But we cannot go into yesterday or into tomorrow. They are a part of the illusion of the Comic Drama. It is just like we cannot go back to the last scene of the drama because the drama exists only in the current scene. The last scene is over. Neither can we go to the next scene. We will go to the next scene only after this scene is over – when the next scene becomes the current scene. Such is the Cosmic Drama. Unfortunately, we human beings are all worried about yesterday and tomorrow, although actually, they don't even exist!

Don't we let petty things bother us? We permit fear to rule

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our lives although our real dangers are very limited. We react with anger only to regret afterwards. We are nasty, unkind, rude and indifferent for no sensible reason. We do all these because we take this drama to be real. We consider everything happening in the movie called life as something permanent, when in reality, everything is transitory. Nothing lasts forever. If you reect, every moment of joy or sorrow soon passes away.

Look back at last week, last month and last year. You worried about so many things. But what happened? Nothing! You survived everything and the Cosmic Drama continues.

We must realize that whatever is happening in our life is a story unfolding in a theatre called earth. At the end, nothing matters when the curtains come down. Then why worry about anything? Why can't we rather enjoy the show? This is the best philosophy to adopt in this Cosmic Drama called life. Be happy and make others happy.

If you truly want to enjoy the show, you need to realize that as an actor, you can only control your actions and your reactions. You cannot control the actions or reactions of all the other actors on the earth stage. People will do what they want to and have to according to their roles. You have no power to understand what people need to do, what their role is and what is expected to happen in the Cosmic

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Drama. All we can do as actors is to do our best. We can act to the best of our ability, and we can react in a manner that will make us happy. We have a choice to go on a quest and realize the truth. We have a choice to build our habits and to think positively. It is up to us to live with a positive mental attitude or a negative mental attitude and all these will affect our performance on the earth stage. We should remember that we have control only on our reactions, and not on everything that's happening on the earth stage. While we may inuence others through our actions, our reactions and our attitude, it is completely up to them to respond as they would like to on the cosmic stage. This should not affect our happiness. We should learn to enjoy the show.

We can't escape from living life. Life and death are controlled by the Cosmic Power. Death will arrive when it should arrive. We can't control it, but we can laugh through this journey called life.

Nobody can stop us from smiling, laughing, and being happy. Being cheerful is a choice, just as choosing a positive mental attitude is. Although there may be problems in life, it doesn't mean we should not be happy. Happiness is a choice.

When we realize that everything happening in life is just a drama, and we are actors who come and go on the earth

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stage, and everything unfolding is just like a movie, then why cry? Why can't we laugh through life, enjoying every moment? There will be problems, but they are a part of the life story. Why take them too seriously? There will be tragedies in the show called life, but knowing it is just like a dream that will soon end, we should learn to smile. It is a shame, that we live a life of misery and sorrow. It only endorses our ignorance. We don't realize the truth about the Cosmic Drama and we forget to laugh through life.

The biggest reason why we don't enjoy this show is because we get attached to our role, to the stage and to the show itself. Our ego gets so attached to our name, our identity, and our status, that we become miserable protecting it. We become attached to our body and our mind, and we lose the magic of the show. We get attached to things – my car, my house and my wealth. We get attached to people – my beloved, my parents and my children. We get attached to life and we fear death. All these attachments are the main cause of misery and the absolute reason why we don't enjoy the show.

These attachments make us live a life of ignorance. We think that everything is real and this is not a show. Although our body will die and we know it, we don't accept the fact and don't prepare for it. We continue to live attached to the world as if we will live in this world forever.

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The moment we know it is a show and we become detached, we start enjoying it. We need to learn to enjoy the show, and when the time comes to go, to joyously and gracefully depart.

We enjoy staying in an exotic resort, but we don't cry when we have to check-out. We don't get attached to it. We know very well that it is just a hotel and when we check-in, we are already prepared to check-out. If this is our attitude in life, then we will truly enjoy this exotic resort called the earth.

Why is it so difcult to understand that it is just a show, that life on the earth stage is nothing more than a drama of the Cosmic Power? Why can't we understand this and realize the truth? Our own mind stops us from realizing the truth. It is our biggest enemy. It makes us live in ignorance. It provokes the ego to think that we are this body–mind complex and that this earth is not just a stage where a show is being performed.

Unless we transcend the mind and ego and use our intellect to realize the truth, we will never realize that life is but a show that we must enjoy. The mind and ego make us believe that we are individuals that seek happiness. The mind further craves and thinks, and eventually, when these expectations are not fullled, it makes us disappointed and we live miserably. Why do we let our

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mind cause us pain?

Is it so difcult to realize that the earth is a stage on which the Cosmic Drama unfolds? In fact, it is not difcult to realize the truth, but as long as we are prisoners of our own mind, we live in misery without realizing the truth. We have to be liberated from these prisons of misery and sorrow. We have to escape from our own ego, mind and body to enjoy the show. As long as we don't realize that we are not this body and not this mind, we continue to suffer physical pain as the body and experience emotional distress as the mind.

Each actor on the stage of life has a mind that wanders, and an intellect that discriminates. As long as we permit the mind to be our master, we continue to live and suffer because of our own ignorance. If we make our intellect the director of our life, then we can overcome the ignorance of the mind, realize the truth, transcend the ego, mind and body and enjoy the show.

The key to enjoying the Cosmic Drama is to watch it through the paradigm of our intellect with detachment, discipline and discrimination.

The simple realization that nothing lasts forever will make us realize the truth and enjoy the show. Isn't it foolish for us to cry in fear of losing a relationship when we very well

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know that no relationship is permanent? Isn't it ridiculous to live in possession of things when eventually nothing belongs to us? What wisdom makes a man think that he will always be at his peak in business and status, and in power when he knows that with age, he has to descend from the pinnacle of success?

It is our utter foolishness to believe that everything lasts forever. We fall in love with mortal humans, and then hope that the love story will last forever. Isn't this expectation ridiculous? We can love, but not live with the foolish belief that this love will be immortal. It can't! If we can love and enjoy the romance till it lasts, knowing that it is like a Romeo Juliet drama, that's perfect. But there's no point living with the illusion that our love story will be eternal in the Cosmic Drama. It will only end with broken hearts.

When we realize that everything in our life is temporary, this understanding opens a doorway to peace. But our own mind resists this realization and binds us to the false belief of permanence with things and people. When will we overcome this ignorance and realize that nothing lasts forever? When will this realization dawn upon us so that we can enjoy life?

Isn't it time for us to realize the truth that we are not this body, we are not this mind? We are Cosmic Energy! We are

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not human beings who are having spiritual experiences. We are, in fact, cosmic energy having a human experience. We never die; our body dies. We are not the body. Our birth is nothing but entry into the earth stage, just as death is a departure. It's very simple to understand this when the intellect transcends the mind. The mind keeps jumping like a monkey and doesn't let us contemplate the truth. Is it difcult to realize that it is the body that suffers, not us? It is the mind that suffers emotional pain, and we watch the mind suffer. But we are different from the body and the mind. Because we don't realize the truth, we suffer instead of enjoying the show.

When will we realize the truth and enjoy the show? When will we accept the fact that just like we wear a garment, we are wearing this body that we have to give up? We know it, don't we? But why can't we live with the realization? We say, "This is my body" and we know that our mind is wandering. But we don't realize who is that "I" who owns the body and mind. The moment we realize who we are, we don't suffer. We start enjoying the show.

Unfortunately, we live and die again and again without realizing the truth. Because we don't realize the truth, we continue to come back as actors in this Cosmic Drama, to laugh and to cry, to live and to die. When will we escape? When will we be liberated from this continuous entry and exit in mortal form? When will we realize we are immortal

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cosmic energy wearing mortal bodies? The moment we realize this truth, we will have a blast enjoying the cosmic show.

There is no yesterday and tomorrow. The gift of realization will eliminate the past and the future, and allow us to enjoy the present. The moment we realize that we are not the body and mind, not only does this mortal existence become an illusion, but also the concept of time disappears. As long as we think as humans do, there will continue to be a "yesterday" that went by and there will continue to be a "tomorrow" waiting to arrive. In reality, this yesterday and tomorrow exist only because we exist. Once we start living in the now, we start enjoying the show.

As long as we live life scene by scene, it is so much fun! When we are just a projection of energy, then there is no yesterday. It was a projection that is over. And there will be no tomorrow. It will just be another scene of the Cosmic Drama. We don't have to think of what happened 5 years back, and we don't have to worry about what will happen next year. The drama will unfold as the Cosmic Power wishes. But we worry because we try to join the dots between yesterday, today and tomorrow. This stops us from enjoying the show. The realization that we are not this body and mind is also the discovery that there is no yesterday and tomorrow. There is only now. Enjoy the

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moment! We don't have to dwell in the past and in the future.

This Cosmic Drama is just like a dream. Once we know the truth of who we are, we will realize that everything is an illusion, just like a dream. This Cosmic Drama is not real. It is like a movie, a theatre. We know that a drama is just a drama! It is not real. Do we fret and fume after watching a drama or after we wake up from an unpleasant dream? We don't because we realize that dreams and dramas are distant from the truth. We enjoy ourselves once we return from watching a tragic drama, or smile after we wake up from a fantasy-lled dream. So also, however dreadful the circumstances of life are, we can still enjoy the show if we realize the truth that it is just a drama, and this too shall pass.

Life on earth is no different than a dream. The Cosmic Drama is an illusion. As humans, we are very familiar with dreams and we know how to deal with them. If we wake up from a dream in which our neighbours died, we don't ask our neighbours that how come they are still alive when we see them next. It was just a dream! But we humans don't know how to deal with a drama that is no different from a dream. The dream was an illusion. The drama is a myth too. The dream was unreal. The drama too is just a projection. Both are like rainbows, like mirages in a desert. They appear to exist, but do not exist. When we realize

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this, we can laugh and live, no matter what happens in the drama called life.

When we realize that life is like a dream, we are relieved from all worries and pain. If I dream that you borrowed money from me and you have to repay me, then this debt exists only as long as the dream exists. The moment I wake up from the dream, there is no debt.

Nobody questions the reality of a dream. We all know very well that dreams are illusions. They are not real. We dream when we sleep. When we wake up, whatever we dreamt dissolves into thin air because it was only a dream! It was not real. Our body was asleep. Our mind took ight in a new body, in a new form, going to a new place with new people doing things, which in reality did not happen. Dreams are dreams. We know they are dreams. They are unreal. They are illusions. And while nobody argues about dreams, it is strange that we don't accept this "Cosmic Drama" to be a "Dream". Isn't it no better than a dream? We come into this world and then we go. It is exactly like a dream. In the end, everything is an illusion. Relationships break, possessions are untrue and everything at the end of life is nothing more than what happens at the end of a dream. Then why do we believe the Cosmic Drama to be real? Isn't the Cosmic Drama a dream on the stage called earth? Why can't we enjoy the show?

Once we realize the truth, once we accept life to be a

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Cosmic Drama, we won't pass judgements on what is good and what is bad. We know that everything is perfect. We joyously accept and humbly surrender to the cosmic Power. When we watch a movie, we don't question why the actors did what they did, why the producer made the hero die or why the director permitted the villain to live. It was a beautiful movie. We just enjoy it. We don't have to question the dialogues of the actors. It was just a show – a good show that we enjoyed. The moment we know the truth of the Cosmic Drama, we will enjoy everything that happens on earth. People coming and people going will both be fun. Falling in love and breaking of hearts will be a part of the game called life. If it is a drama, we won't take it seriously. We will just enjoy the show. We will realize it is just like a game of "monopoly". We throw the dice. We buy hotels, we collect cash, but nally, it's "game over". We fold the board and put all the coins in as we close the box after enjoying the game. So is life!

Life on earth is nothing more than a drama. Have you ever seen a puppet show? What do we see in the show? We see hundreds of puppets dancing, acting with sound and music. We just see them dancing on the stage. Suppose somebody took you backstage and showed you how all this happens, you would be surprised. It is just a few people who are controlling all the puppets through invisible strings. That's what makes a puppet show! We, heroes of the puppet show on earth, do not realize that

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everything is being controlled by a magician. We are all controlled by invisible strings, just like a puppet show is presented on the stage. But we don't realize that we are puppets. We don't realize that we have strings that are invisible that make us to do what we are supposed to do. The only difference is that we human puppets also have a free will to act as we like, though we are controlled by cosmic strings. The moment we realize that everything is a drama and we are all puppets, we will live with humility, gratitude and grace. And we will start enjoying the show.

Have you ever realized that if it is just a Cosmic Drama, just a puppet show, then why is it that the people on earth are not enjoying the show? It is only because instead of doing our best as actors on the stage, we worry about what the actors in the previous scene did. The actors appeared on the earth stage, did something and they are gone. The drama of the past scene is over. We have no business to be in the last scene. The last scene was produced, directed and is over, but we continue to live in the last scene. Because we are living in the last scene, we are unable to do our part in the present scene. We are continuously worrying about what happened and why it happened. Worrying about the earlier scene makes us live in misery, rather than enjoy the present scene doing our part as actors. We are unable to enjoy the show! Sometimes, we lose the bliss of the present moment because we think of what the actors will do in the next scene. The next scene

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will unfold as it has to unfold. The producer–director has already produced the storyboard, and the next scene will appear as it should appear. If we as actors worry about what is going to happen in the next scene and what other actors will do in that scene, it will only disturb our focus and spoil the drama, robbing us of our peace. After all, it is an amazing drama! Why not just enjoy it!

Enjoy the show! That's what matters. If we have been given tickets to a blockbuster Broadway show, and we don't enjoy it, wouldn't it be a pity? The Cosmic Drama is the most amazing show we can ever imagine. We should enjoy every moment of it. We should live with joy, peace and bliss. We should not cry while watching this drama, even though there are tragic scenes. The tragedy in the show called life is what makes the comedy worth living. While watching a Broadway show, we laugh when the actor runs away with somebody else's wife. But in real life, we cry because we think it is our wife and our life. We don't enjoy the show because we don't realize that it is just a show.

The secret of happiness is the realization of the truth. The truth that life is nothing more than a show, a Cosmic Drama. If we want to be truly happy, we should not let anything that is happening in the drama of life affect our peace and joy. We should realize the truth that we are mere actors in the Cosmic Drama, not the bodies and minds we

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wear. We should learn to laugh at anything and everything that the Cosmic Power projects in our life. The drama will unfold, and the next scene will appear. That is beyond our control! But whether we laugh or cry is very much our choice. We should choose to laugh and enjoy the show!

It's just a Drama.

In the End, we must Go....

Why Fear, why Worry?

Just Enjoy the Show!

70
 Part F

LIVE! DON'T JUST EXIST!!

REALIZE THE TRUTH!!

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Are you enjoying the show? Are you truly alive, or do you just exist? Most of humanity doesn't live. Either they exist through life or worry till death. Very few people in the world truly enjoy the Cosmic Drama. The main reason we don't enjoy this Cosmic Drama is ignorance. We live and die without even realizing that life is nothing other than a Cosmic Drama.

A study revealed that 80% of the world is too absorbed in the day-to-day issues of life. They have no time to introspect or even think about life. 20% have some curiosity, but only 1% of humanity actually go on a quest to realize the Truth – that life is just a Cosmic Drama. Of this 1%, a small fraction is lucky to absorb the knowledge of life, death, the Creator and the world. Even though they have the awareness and knowledge of life being a Cosmic Drama, they are still unable to live as though it is. Those who are fortunate to know that life is just a Cosmic Drama still struggle to transcend the mind and ego. They remain slaves all through life. Most of humanity live and die either in ignorance or in slavery. A fraction of these who realize the truth are the ones that truly enjoy the show.

What is it to truly live? We should enjoy the show called Life. We should realize that it is just a theatre and we should laugh through the drama called life. Imagine an amazing theatrical performance, where the best actors in the world are displaying their talent and instead of

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enjoying the performance, we fall prey to the plot of the drama and start crying. What a pity! It was a show to enjoy, but we got carried away by the actors and the story. To truly live is to "watch" every moment of life joyously. We should not forget that life is just a show – it's not real! Then we can live and laugh. We can enjoy every moment of life.

Many of the actors on the earth stage just exist. They are just strolling through the cosmic stage. They don't realize that there is a purpose for coming alive in this world. Are actors put in a drama for nothing? No, every actor has a role to perform. They are given a script, they are given a storyboard and they know their part. On the cosmic stage, as the bell rings, the Cosmic Drama begins. The actors go on stage, sing their songs, and enact their dialogues. They perform their roles as expected before they leave the stage. While there is a story board, the actors have the will-power which allows them to choose the way they do their acting. However, certain things in this world are pre-determined, we have a power to choose and that is part of the cosmic show. But such is not the case with most human beings. They think that the cosmic stage is a park to stroll in. They hardly have any goals; they have no purpose, no meaning, but they just try to be happy by achieving pleasure. They don't understand the purpose of life. They don't go on a quest to search for the truth. They do not discover who they truly are, why they are here, and what the secret of

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birth and death is. They just exist!

What happens at death? Why be naive? The body dies, but we don't. It is as simple as that. What happens to us? We say the person passed away, departed, or expired, and the person is no more. What do we mean by this? Why can't we stop, analyse, introspect and realize the truth.

Let's go one step further or rather backward. How did we come about? What causes life? Are we just the result of a biological fusion of two cells? Is that all we are? And this amazing body that talks and walks, thinks and blinks – how was it made? Who made it? Isn't it important to nd out? Understanding the meaning of life, birth and death is the key that will open the door for us to truly live and enjoy the show called life.

You can't escape life – don't you realize that? We have the freedom to do what we want to do, but we can't be free from life. We can't be free from existence. We have to live!

Some people try to commit suicide, but often they don't die. They live like vegetables for decades. They jump from the top of a building or they consume poison, but they still don't die. Life and death is not is our hands. In fact, we humans instinctively want to live, not die. There is a desire for us to live and to protect and preserve our life.

Life is a gift given to us and we can't escape being who we

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are. That is predetermined. But we can change many things. We can change the paradigm of our life, our thoughts, feelings, and attitude and enjoy life.

The most important challenge for us in life is to live as actors because that is what we are. Because we think we are this ego, mind and body, we suffer. We don't enjoy the show.

If only we realize that we are just actors, we can become detached from the show. Once we realize this, we won't bind ourselves with other actors, because we know that we are together only till the performance is over. We won't get attached to what we own on stage because that is a myth. Our job is simple – to enter the stage, do our part and go. We can enjoy doing it or we can drag our feet. But if we just pull along, we will never be stars on stage. More importantly, if we don't understand we are actors, we will never enjoy all that happens in the drama called life.

Don't just exist; enjoy the gift of the Cosmic Drama! The Cosmic Drama is such an amazing show. We are fortunate to be human beings in this show. We should value our role and achieve our goal. Imagine that you and I were dogs, cats or lizards on the cosmic stage. We would be insignicant. But we are not. We are part of the main star cast. We have an intellect that can choose to live the way we like on the cosmic stage.

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There are the trees, the bees and the seas that form the background of the cosmic stage. But not us! We are not meant to exist like them on the earth stage. We have to play our role, doing our part and living our life. We have to understand that our goal is to realize the truth and then to enjoy the show. We were not brought to the earth stage just to exist. We were meant to have a blast till we last.

What happens when we realize the truth? What happens when we get to know that it is just a game? We lose the fear of failure the moment we have a game-playing attitude. The moment we know it is just a stage, just a show, we don't take things so seriously. We eliminate fear. We realize that FEAR is just False Expectation Appearing Real. We watch the show as a show and not as reality because we change our paradigm of life.

We know that our body will die, but we will never die. We realize that nothing belongs to us. We come empty-handed and we go empty-handed. And most importantly, we realize we are not who we thought we were. We are not even actors on the stage of life. We are part of the Cosmic Power itself. That realization gives us the ultimate bliss, peace and joy.

But to realize that we are not just actors, but rather a part of the Cosmic Power, we have to go on a quest. The quest starts with the realization that this earth is a stage and we

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are just actors in the Cosmic Drama. The quest then leads us to the Producer–Director, the Cosmic Power. Finally, we realize that we are not the bodies that we wear. We are the ones who wear the body. We are energy. We are power. We are part of the Cosmic Power. This leads to Nirvana – eternal and everlasting joy and peace as it liberates us from all misery and sorrow.

Our biggest challenge is to realize the truth. We should stop now and wipe out the belief that we are alive on earth as this body and mind. The moment we realize that we are neither the body that dies, nor the mind as it actually doesn't exist, only the brain does, that very moment, we can start living a life of bliss and tranquillity.

The moment we know that we are energy that comes into the body at birth and departs at death, we realize that we are actors performing this role on a global stage. But importantly, we have to get to that moment of realization. To do this, we have to commit a murder.... We have to

murder our own mind! It is our mind that stops us from this realization – that this is just a show and we have to enjoy it before we go.

The mind stops us from realizing what we are not. We are not this body. But the mind creates an ego that lives with "I", "my" and "mine". We are not even the mind. If you virtually peel the body, you can't nd the mind. It is just a

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function, an activity of the brain.

We should realize what we are not. This is the rst step to enjoy the Cosmic Drama. As long as we don't realize that we are not this body and mind, we can never enjoy this Cosmic Show. The mind will refuse to accept that this is a drama, the earth is a stage and the show is controlled by a Cosmic Power.

The method to kill the mind is to use the intellect to realize the simple truth that we are not the body and we are not the mind. This realization of what we are not is a doorway to enjoy the show called life! If we just do this one thing to realize what we are not, then our life will transform. And the moment is now! As you read, this is the moment that your life may transform. If you just continue reading, ignoring this challenge to nd out who you are not, then you will never realize the truth of the Cosmic Drama. You will live, suffer and die.

But if you stop now, if you resolve not to let this question go, and if you are determined to nd out what we are not, you will start a new journey to realize the truth about life. You will truly live and enjoy the show.

When you realize what we are not, then you will realize who we truly are. All through life, we think we are "I", "me" – this body, mind, soul with a name, parents,

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siblings, children, friends, property and relationships. But suddenly, we realize we are not the body that dies. We realize that we are not the mind. It doesn't exist. It is just an illusion. Then if we are lucky and if we overcome the mind and ego by using our intellect, we will realize that we are that life energy that was alive inside us as long as we had breath. At death, that life energy leaves us and merges with the cosmic energy that is all around us. It is not easy to realize this. Very few people are fortunate to realize this truth. They are the ones that truly enjoy the show.

Some people, however, are unable to understand this. It's actually quite simple . Take a rubber balloon and blow air into it. Suddenly, a dead piece of rubber comes to life. Now remove the air by deating the balloon. Where did the air go? It merged with the air that's everywhere. So also, the Energy within us – which is the real "ME" – departs at death to merge with the energy that's everywhere.

When you realize that you are not the body and the mind, but the energy that dwells within, then you realize that your goal is to be liberated from the body and mind when your part in the drama ends at death.

But very few people realize that we are the energy, part of the universal energy or Cosmic Power. In fact, everything is energy. Science endorses the fact that all matter that seems to have physical existence is ultimately nothing

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but energy. So are you and me. Everything on this earth is energy appearing as things and people. But the human mind cannot comprehend this, although science has documented this. Because we do not realize we are energy and this is a show, we don't enjoy it. We just exist.

This world is a Cosmic Drama. The earth is a stage. We are just actors. There is no doubt about this. This is the only reality. Everything else is an illusion. The only challenge is for us to realize this truth.

Have you realized this truth or do you live a life of myth and illusion? Have you gone on a quest to realize what you are not and who you truly are? Do you realize that you are just an actor on this planet stage and part of a big Cosmic Drama? If you haven't realized the truth, then you are amongst those who suffer. It is time to enjoy the show, to realize the truth about the Cosmic Drama and to start living with peace, joy and bliss, rather than suffering with misery. The choice is yours.

When you Realize

It's Just a Drama...,

You Live!

You Smile, You Dance,

You Surrender, You Give!

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 AFTERWORD

Cosmic Power

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    AFTERWORD

For 50 years, I lived thinking that the drama of life was real, that I was Ravi Melwani who transformed the retailing industry in India through my stores – Kids Kemp and Kemp Fort. I made millions in the retail properties that I owned. I even discovered that to be happy, I need to give up all these and make a difference. I transformed my life, changed my name to RVM and started doing H.I.S work – Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual work. I believed that I was the happiest man on Earth.

One day, inspired by my Master, I went on a quest to realize the truth and nd the ultimate peak of happiness. As I searched and found answers, I learnt something that created a second transformation in my life – this time it was a metamorphosis – a permanent, irreversible change!

A caterpillar becomes a buttery, but it can never ever become a caterpillar once again because of its metamorphosis. My realization of the truth made me change my paradigm of life forever. What did I realize? I realized that I was AiR – the Atman in Ravi. Ravi Melwani was no more!

For 50 years, I lived as Ravi Melwani. All through these 5 decades, I, like anybody else, thought that I was the person the world considered me to be. But after 50 years, I realized that I was not Ravi Melwani. That was just my name. For 50 years, I thought I was this body, this mind. But after 50 years, I realized that I was something else. I was that life

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energy that would depart at death when there would be no breath. This body, which I thought to be "me", would lie on the oor, and I am sure that the corpse I considered to be "me" for 50 years would be cremated in a matter of hours.

For 50 years, I thought so much about my business, my property, my bank accounts and my money, but after 50 years, I realized that nothing was mine. It was just an illusion that I thought all this belonged to me. Actually, nothing ever belonged to me, nor would anything ever belong to me. I realized that if my breath leaves me, in that very moment, nothing would be mine and I know this breath would not last forever. It is a matter of time before whatever we think is ours doesn't remain ours, the moment we depart.

For 50 years, I thought that this was my father, my mother, my family, my beloved, my dog, but suddenly I realized that nothing is mine. These relationships are transitory scenes in a drama called life.

I realized that life was not life. It was just a Cosmic Drama. I realized that I was a fool who was living in ignorance for 50 years. I prayed to a God, a statue, but how could God be a statue? How silly of me! Could I be so ignorant? How could I be so oblivious to the truth? I realized I was an ignoramus, one who knew nothing about the truth of life.

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I realized, after 50 years, that this body is just like the clothes I wear. Just like I have my house, my car, I also have my body and my mind. I am the one who has these, but I am not this body–mind complex that I thought I was for 50 years. I am not the body that I wear. I am the one who wears the body.

I realized, after 50 years, that I will never die. My body will die. Ravi Melwani will die. But when Ravi Melwani dies, the "I" who was alive inside Ravi Melwani will move on. Death is not the end, it is just a bend to transcend.

For 50 years, I thought I must do good Karma so that my next life will be lled with happiness. But I realized that even Karma and a next life are just like a dream. They are unreal. Although most of the world believes in Karma and accepts it, it is an illusion. I know you won't believe this! After 5 decades, I realized that I was not I! I nally realized who I truly was.

I realized that everything that is happening around me was nothing but a Cosmic Drama. This earth was a huge stage and I was just an actor. There are 8 billion actors on the stage along with trillions of animals, insects, plants, and sh.

Whatever happens in life is a drama, which is produced and directed by a Cosmic Power. I realized this, and this

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completely changed my life! I always thought the way everybody thinks. I thought I was I. I wanted to be happy I wanted to have a family. I wanted to have a fullling career living in a good city, eating, drinking and enjoying life. And like everyone else, I also thought that one day, I will eventually die. But suddenly, I realized that all this was untrue! Everything that was happening in my life was just like a movie that we watch on television. Everything was a Cosmic Drama. The only difference was scale. We have seen dramas on a stage with a few dozen people. We have seen movies on television with hundreds or even thousand actors. But we have never imagined a stage with 8 billion actors. This is beyond human comprehension! But this is the truth.

I would love to narrate an incident that happened up in the Himalayas, where the holy river Ganges ows and gurgles in the valley below. A television crew from the western world descended with their sophisticated cameras and took the permission of the monk to shoot the Ganges from his hermitage. After two days of intense work, they met the monk with their production and told him, "We have brought the Ganges from down below in the valley right up here to you". The movie was played and the monk was amazed at how real the Ganges looked. Being spiritually evolved, he asked the crew, "You have truly brought the Ganges to my door. Now can you please give me a glass of water from the Ganges?" The cameramen were aghast and

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    AFTERWORD

questioned how they could ever do that. The river was below, several miles away. The monk explained that while the world may look very real, like the Ganges on the screen, it is only an appearance.

When I realized this magnicent reality that everything happening around me was nothing more than a cosmic drama, I found a way to eternal peace, bliss and happiness. My realization liberated me from prisons of misery and sorrow.

Today, I live knowing that I am just an energy particle that is projected in the Cosmic Drama with a role to play. I am not attached to anything or anybody. I don't seek happiness, because I am happiness. Things happening around me are neither good nor bad. Everything is perfect. Everything is a part of that perfect magic show called life.

And I am having a blast! I am enjoying the show. In the drama called life, people still cheat me. It happened today. It happens every day. But it doesn't affect me because it is only a drama. It was only last week that I felt that people were being unfair to me, and normally, I would get angry and upset. But I was surprised at myself because it no longer mattered – I was laughing! I realized that my realization of the truth has changed everything.

And this truth is the truth – not just for me, but for

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everybody. This Cosmic Drama is not a dream that I am enjoying. It is a real show that most of us are ignorant of. I was ignorant about it for 50 years. But no more!

I am not interested in living as though the drama is real. I no more want to enjoy waves of joy and sorrow. Rather, I want to live knowing that life is an illusion and I don't need to ip over from being glad to being sad. After my transformation, I enjoy living like a buttery in the sky. There is no question of me going back to being a caterpillar. My realization has not only transformed me, but has also changed my paradigm forever. I know that I will be alive in this body–mind complex, as long as my role in this Cosmic Drama continues. The moment my role is over, I will be off the Earth Stage. But I will not stand in line to choose another role in this Cosmic Drama. I know it is just a drama called life. As long as "I" believe it is "me" and I do whatever I do, I will have to come back to the Cosmic Stage to face the consequences of my actions and reap my rewards. But for me, there are no consequences because there is no "me" and there are no "my" actions. So if it be the grace of the Cosmic Power, when my role is over in this Cosmic Drama, I will be liberated and freed from playing another role in the drama called life. This is Liberation from 'Karma'.

Till then, I will try my very best to live with the realization of the truth. I have also chosen a new mission of life, of

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    AFTERWORD

helping people realize the truth. I choose to do nothing else till my role in the Cosmic Drama is over. I surrender to the Cosmic Power. I realize that this is His show, and our purpose is to realize the truth that we are not this body mind and ego, but manifestations of the one Cosmic Energy that is everywhere. We must free ourselves from the illusion and become one with the Cosmic Power. That is our Life Goal! This realization makes me truly enjoy the show called "Life"!

I prayed with tears... when I Realized that I was not the one I thought I was for 50 years! Now I Live without any Fears!

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 POEM

A COSMIC DRAMA

BY AiR

It's just a Drama; it's just a Show Nothing is real, we come and we go We are just actors – the earth is a stage This is His Cosmic Show

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    A COSMIC DRAMA – POEM

Nothing is real; it's a Cosmic Drama We are just actors; we come and we go There will be laughter; there will be tears Such is the Cosmic Show... It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

Nothing is real; it's just a dream

There is no murder; no need to scream

Just a projection; it's just a show

We must wake up and go

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

The earth is a stage for His Cosmic Drama

There is a Cosmic Power in Charge He's the producer; it is His show He decides when we must go It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

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    A COSMIC DRAMA – POEM

Why do we scream? Why do we cry?

Why do we worry right till we die?

It's just a movie; we must enjoy

Blissfully living with joy

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

We must not worry. We must not fear

We must surrender and accept, my dear

We must have faith, trust and hope

Then in this drama, we cope

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

There is no end – at death we transcend

We are just actors; we come and we go

We must do our part, the best way we can

And we must enjoy the show

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

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    A COSMIC DRAMA – POEM

There will be sunshine; there will be rain

There will be good times; there will be pain

We must not complain, we must accept

And we must do our best

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

We're not the body; we're not the mind

We are energy of a different kind

We live in darkness; the Truth we don't know

We must realize before we go!

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

Why do we people sweat the small stuff? The road will be smooth and it will be rough There will be action; there will be song And we must sing along It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

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    A COSMIC DRAMA – POEM

There is a purpose for us on earth

Why do we die, and why this birth?

Why do we come, why do we go?

Why this cosmic show?

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

There is a Cosmic Power in charge

It's His creation; it is His show

We are but nothing; we must just act

He is everything, in fact

It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

It's just a drama; it's just a show Nothing is real, we come and we go We are just actors – the earth is a stage This is His Cosmic Show It's a drama you see

Whatever will be, will be

Our role we must do, you see

What will be will be

AiR

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AiR

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

AiR – Atman in Ravi, or Soul in Ravi, is an embodied soul whose only mission in life is to realize the Truth and help people realize the Truth.

He was born on October 15, 1966 in Bangalore, as Ravi V. Melwani. At a very young age, he mastered the craft of business and became a very successful businessman who revolutionized retailing in India with the stores Kids Kemp, Big Kids Kemp, and Kemp Fort.

After making millions, he realized that life is not just about making money. He shut down his business at the age of 40, transformed his life to RVM living by the RVM philosophy – Rejoice, Value Life, and Make a Difference. He started doing H.I. S. work – Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual work. His mission was to "Make a Difference" in this world before his journey was over.

As a part of RVM's humanitarian initiative, RVM Humanitarian Hospital was set up in 1998 with an aim to provide free medical treatment and care to the poor, destitute, and needy. The hospital has no cash counter. From the current 250-bed hospital, it will soon grow into a multispecialty 1000-bed hospital for the poor and destitute. Over 700 homeless and suffering people are served and cared for in destitute homes and provided with free shelter, food, medical care, and clothing every day.

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

RVM, through the RVM School of Inspiration, transformed the lives of many people through his motivating talks, inspirational books and videos, and thought-provoking quotes.

RVM built a Shiva Temple in the year 1995 in Bangalore, which is now known as the Shivoham Shiva Temple. An ardent believer in Lord Shiva for long, he has written and sung about a thousand bhajans – songs of devotion. He now believes that religion is just a kindergarten of spirituality, and we all have to go beyond religion to truly realize God.

One day, his Guru provoked him to introspect: What is the purpose of life? Is life just meant to seek pleasures and to live and die without any purpose? What happens after death? Will we be reborn? Where is God? Several questions like these took him on a quest, a search for the truth. He gave up his life of Achievement and Fullment in search of the nal peak of life: "Enlightenment".

After a few years of intense search in silence, deep in the mountains, he realised that we are not this body. We are the Soul, the Atman. He changed his name for the second time from RVM to AiR – Atman in Ravi (Soul in Ravi). He metamorphosed to AiR and gave up his entire life as RVM. He started the study of Life and God. This led to several realizations that formed his new mission of life – to realize the Truth and to help people realize the Truth.

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

Books by the Author – AiR

  1. Talaash – A search for the true meaning of life. Discover your true self

This book by AiR is his personal journey to realize the truth. It is a journey to realize that there are 3 peaks of happiness and that we are not the body and the mind that we seem to be. We are a power – a power that is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient. This search and quest by AiR made him transform his life. It is a journey that made him realize the truth. This is a book that can lead you to liberation!

2. 3 Peaks of Happiness

3 Peaks of Happiness by AiR is a simple book that talks about the universal quest of humanity. Everybody wants to be happy. But is everybody happy? No. Why? This is because we are stuck on t h e  r s t p e a k o f h a p p i n e s s – Achievement. 20% of the people are lucky to go to the second peak of happiness – Fullment that comes from

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

contentment. But there is a third peak beyond these two peaks. The third peak of happiness will liberate you from the prisons of misery and sorrow and give you eternal Joy and Bliss.

3. My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth

My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth is a book by AiR in which he shares his experiences with his Guru who is not just his Guru and Mentor, but also his God on Earth. We all need a coach, a teacher to live life and this book "My Guru" will inspire you to nd your Guru or to make your relationship with your Guru more fullling and meaningful.

4. I will Never Die. Death is not "The End"

In the journey of his life, AiR realized many truths. One of the truths was that he would never die. The body will die, but the one who lives in the body never dies. We are not the bodies that we wear; we are the ones who wear the body. Death is not the end. It is a bend to transcend. This book reveals the truth about death.

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

  5. Death is Not "The End". Death is "Liberation"

This is the second book in the series of books on death by AiR. It touches upon the secret of the Kathopanishad, which talks about what happens at death. One of two things happens – if we think we are the body and mind as the "doer", we are reborn. But if we realize we are not the body and mind but divine energy, we are liberated to eternal joy and peace.

6. I am not I. Who am I?

I am not I. Who am I? is a very interesting book by AiR that talks of his realization that we are not who we think we are. We have a house, but we are not the house. We have a car, but we are not the car. We have a body, but we are not the body. We may have a mind, but we are not the mind. Who are we? Discover the truth!

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

7. The Mind is a Rascal

Kill Your Mind before Your Mind Kills You!

Why? Why should we kill our mind? Because it's our biggest enemy. The mind is like a monkey, jumping from thought to thought – over 50 thoughts a minute – taking us away from our true goal of eternal happiness. This book will amaze you!

COMING SOON!

  8. Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

  8. The A to Z of Karma

||Om Namah Shivaya|| ||Shivoham||

Visit   or Scan the QR Code to download the AiR - Atman in Ravi App. www.air.ind.in | air@rvm.co.in

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 A COSMIC DRAMA

Are You Enjoying the Show?

This Earth is just a Stage where a "Show" is being staged – a Mega Drama called LIFE! You and I are just Actors. We come to this Earth stage, perform our part and go. But we don't realize that it is just "A SHOW".

Are you surprised? This is the Truth! Just like a dream is only an illusion, everything that happens in this world is not truly happening. While the show is on, it is just a big Cosmic Drama!

There is a Producer–Director who has directed the show. He has a storyboard, and He has chosen actors and choreographed the show with special effects. It looks so real that we, who are just actors, start thinking that the world is real.

Although we come empty-handed and we will go empty-handed, we start thinking that this is my house, my family and my wealth. In reality, nothing is ours in this masquerade called life. The Earth is a mega theatre where a movie is being projected and soon the screen will display: "The End". Isn't it true that nothing is permanent?

Very few of us realize this truth. Once we do, we start enjoying the show, knowing that it is not real. Then, we become observers who start watching whatever is happening as a drama and not as something that is really happening in our life. We don't regret, ght and cry because after all, it's just like a drama, which is being projected on the stage called the Earth.

AiR Institute of Realization

Kemp Fort Mall, #97, Old Airport Road,

Bangalore - 560017 |

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