I saw a question, which did not attract many answers!
Please take a look at the question, and let it have a try at how you feel about it!
The question:
Quote:
How can i break an embarrassing habit?
this will sound weird, i know.. my problem is that whenever i socialize with people, i tend to divert my attention from the person am speaking to into another thing, thus i lose focus. when i am at a friend's house, and they bring food, i then start thinking of the food in front of me and cannot remove this idea from my head. it is important to mention that in fact do not care for the food or desire it, but i have this habit to shift my attention to it when it is present. the embarrassing thing is that friends notice that am thinking of the food, and thus i look like a dump. my habit does not reflect me, i do not care for food! PLEASE help me overpass this because i cannot enjoy my life unless this habit is gone forever.
Unquote:
My Comments about the question….
Looking at it the other way around, quite often, we do feel the difficulty in retaining the other person’s attention upon what we are trying to say!
Most of the teachers who are given those ‘dry’ topics to be delivered to students, know too well this problem.
We accidentally happen to land at some auditorium, where it turns out to be a philosophy-talk, especially those involving interpretation or commentaries on scriptures, religion etc. If it is a technical subject which contains mostly jargon, then we really had it!
Even the refresher courses at training centers arranged by employer-organizations usually turn out to be ‘lullaby-talks’! (I dread to think of how embarrassing it must be to the speaker who would have so painstakingly prepared for the lecture, and in his anxiety to ‘squeeze-in’ maximum of essence into the little, allotted time-slot, missed out the vital element of ‘how to ensure riveted attention of the listeners’!).
When we make a courtesy visit to friends and relatives and the somebody strays into details of something abstract, the group slowly disintegrates, and it is ladies mostly who take the lead to lead people away! Not that the ladies are less capable, but at social gatherings, intense discussions are the last thing they prefer. They focus more on pleasantries, family enquiries and other ‘light’ subjects. We find that few people who are a bit oblivious of ‘fellow-considerations’ getting isolated as soon as they get ‘identified’ as potential threat to ‘lively’ gatherings!
But, when it does matter to us, to focus when needed most, some of us find it too difficult, and some of us find it a ‘lucky-day’ when we are able to focus better! It is here that I find scope to discuss; keeping in mind the positive effect it could have on growing children, if they are given a little bit of focused attention about how to focus attention!
Experts at communication evolve their own tailor-made techniques to ‘get’ attention to the theme and usually, they succeed at holding at least undivided attention of most of their audience. They introduce an element of humour, or an example that can be easily related to something that can be readily visualized. Deviation or digression from the main theme steals away the purpose of talk. Distraction is a double edged sword. It defeats the speaker and the listener, and in many ways too!
Let me proceed with the answer I gave:
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArJDIfcjCbWNfuzTcV9qZFqQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091124014518AAMUvdn&show=7#profile-info-PXrgflL7aa
Perhaps, it is just that 'abstract' concepts are still a stranger to you. There are a few who have this problem. During discusions, it is usually mere exchange of words, and nothing tangible is placed before us to focus attention. That is why when something like 'food' is placed before us, the mind uses 'food' to get away from abstract 'words' (not that we are really too much interested in food!).
This is not a uncommon thing. When children are taken on a visit to see people who are total strangers, they have very little to 'converse'. They give briefest possible replies to questions, and try to remain silent. If a TV is now put on, their attention gets focused on TV, irrespective of any trash program that is on. Now if a new question is put to the child, it takes time to grasp the question, and gives not just a brief answer, but sometimes an incomplete reply too! (Try telling very interesting stories to children while they are just given a bowl of something they love very much to eat--like noodles etc, they may not be able to focus on the listening to stories!).
As grown-ups, we are aware of 'social' obligations, and that is why we feel embarrased due to our inability to focus. Once this is clear, we can now consciously attempt to focus on 'abstract' things, and soon this problem can be got over. It is not a very serious problem. Best wishes.
Unquote:
The approach to the problem, as also the possible solutions is multi-faceted. It would be a drudgery to delve into all the details here.
But it would be indeed very useful to bring the ‘issue’ into focus, and inculcate the ‘element’ of a possible conscious application of mind at will, to be able to handle abstractions better. Concepts are what we hold as our everlasting assets, to dexterously handle life situations!
Regards,
Psn (28th November, 2009)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Listening!
While most of us are still groping to “feel” even our consciousness right now, there is a question about how to get to “listen’ to a Sub-Conscious voice!
Mind itself is not very clearly visible. Yet we are able to talk of our mind being calm, confused, upset, alert, dull, etc. So, logically, there is another fellow within us, who is keeping a ‘watch’ on this mind. (The brain is no problem at all, and not our problem too, as long as we can pay for a doctor!). This another fellow, seems to be one of these things :- soul, consciousness, life-energy, Aatma, Praana (with its 4 or 5 brothers) etc etc….
This subconscious is a bit fuzzy thing. Is it subordinate to the main conscious? Or is it the real boss, but known as ‘sub’ just because it lies hidden below the main conscious? Or is it the deeper layer of the conscious itself? As long as our “routine” life does not depend too much on this group of conscious/sub-conscious etc, it is not really a priority right now.
It was quite interesting to know that there are people who are keen to listen to something that is extra-sensory!
Having answered, I was curious to put it across to yet others, just to know how they “listen” to the echo!! (Yeah! Echo it is, for dubious reasons!)
Regards,
Psn(27th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkuVs56.h9f74FqxAoJYfSOQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091126215416AAoyr3j
The question:
How does one learn to listen to their subconscious?
I am a firm believer in our powers of intuition, the subconscious if you will. Are there any tactics to enhance our receptiveness to it? Any ways to be able to tune in to it easier? I have a pretty good intuition, but would like to strengthen it even more.
My answer:
Well, with such strong belief, it makes the matter only too simple (though not quite easy!)...
When we have to "listen" well on a phone, we have to keep shut and then try to listen.This sub-conscious cannot speak to us through a phone-like-means... So, we have to keep silent on our "inside", and yet remain very alert, sharp, focused and patient! It is the quality of 'waiting' silently and patiently that decides how soon we get to hear the subconscious!
Remaining silent inside is evolved into a great technique by evolved Masters since ancient times. This can happen naturally too, but it is a matter of chance and could take anywhere between the next moment to even a lifetime. These techniques are mere tools to make the possibility better, and sooner. "Meditation" is indeed a very high sounding word, but that is what the technique is about. And to bring us close to this meditativeness, the path is called spirituality. When others observe a person on spiritual path, and practising meditation, it looks like a very 'tough' thing to do. But, once the priorities are set firm, it is just fun all the way!
Best wishes.
Mind itself is not very clearly visible. Yet we are able to talk of our mind being calm, confused, upset, alert, dull, etc. So, logically, there is another fellow within us, who is keeping a ‘watch’ on this mind. (The brain is no problem at all, and not our problem too, as long as we can pay for a doctor!). This another fellow, seems to be one of these things :- soul, consciousness, life-energy, Aatma, Praana (with its 4 or 5 brothers) etc etc….
This subconscious is a bit fuzzy thing. Is it subordinate to the main conscious? Or is it the real boss, but known as ‘sub’ just because it lies hidden below the main conscious? Or is it the deeper layer of the conscious itself? As long as our “routine” life does not depend too much on this group of conscious/sub-conscious etc, it is not really a priority right now.
It was quite interesting to know that there are people who are keen to listen to something that is extra-sensory!
Having answered, I was curious to put it across to yet others, just to know how they “listen” to the echo!! (Yeah! Echo it is, for dubious reasons!)
Regards,
Psn(27th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkuVs56.h9f74FqxAoJYfSOQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091126215416AAoyr3j
The question:
How does one learn to listen to their subconscious?
I am a firm believer in our powers of intuition, the subconscious if you will. Are there any tactics to enhance our receptiveness to it? Any ways to be able to tune in to it easier? I have a pretty good intuition, but would like to strengthen it even more.
My answer:
Well, with such strong belief, it makes the matter only too simple (though not quite easy!)...
When we have to "listen" well on a phone, we have to keep shut and then try to listen.This sub-conscious cannot speak to us through a phone-like-means... So, we have to keep silent on our "inside", and yet remain very alert, sharp, focused and patient! It is the quality of 'waiting' silently and patiently that decides how soon we get to hear the subconscious!
Remaining silent inside is evolved into a great technique by evolved Masters since ancient times. This can happen naturally too, but it is a matter of chance and could take anywhere between the next moment to even a lifetime. These techniques are mere tools to make the possibility better, and sooner. "Meditation" is indeed a very high sounding word, but that is what the technique is about. And to bring us close to this meditativeness, the path is called spirituality. When others observe a person on spiritual path, and practising meditation, it looks like a very 'tough' thing to do. But, once the priorities are set firm, it is just fun all the way!
Best wishes.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Logic of Ethics!
We decide, judge, adjudicate, comment and pronounce our verdict about so many things, quite unawares of the fact that if it happens to ‘sail-through’ too often, such recklessness becomes our very attitude and way of being! We even try to decide how much fees a preceptor is eligible to ‘draw’ out of us(especially, even when we have a choice to precipitate away from preceptors)!
Regards,
Psn(25th Nov, 2009)
(quote:)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiwWjn2sIlVcZKUR5yBb6_CQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091123224416AAt2oUs
The question:
Are zoos unethical or not?
An answer to it:
If you feel that animals have property rights, then they have rights over their bodies and are ethically tied to the non aggression principle . Personally I don't feel that animals have a sense of property rights. I'm asserting that without evidence. I hope that's good enough for you.
A counter to this answer:
Blappers... is it ethical/moral to make assumptions that grant liberal permissions when you know there is no proof supporting the position?I would argue that "you have no rights because you havent proved you have rights" is an immoral perspective to hold, and validates notions such as slavery and womanizing on the grounds that the other person hasnt proven their sovereignty yet.If you want to discuss morality and pretend that you have any, you have to take a conservative position on the matter and assume (even if falsely) that animals do have sovereignty... until proven otherwise. (Not the other way around)Should I obligate you to prove your own sovereignty before I grant you freedom and rights? And then lock you up in a cage so that you cant under the presumption that you havent got any? It doesnt make sense to presuppose the conclusion in any argument, much less a conclusion that infringes on your rights and consequently hinders your ability to mount a counter-argument. Makes no sense, at least from a moralistic perspective.This is a common fallacy in western thought. We abort fetuses on the potentially false assumption that they are not alive... that perspective grants peoples liberal permissions to act as they see fit. Instead of the opposite perspective: to infringe on a woman's rights to self-dictate for a few months of her life in order to protect the life of a fetus, under the potentially false assumption that it is indeed alive. The moral uncertainty exists... so which is therefore the greater immorality? Why use the ignorance of a moral resolution as a tool to justify self-serving agendas? Moral culpability is not relinquished when you abuse your own ignorance, no matter how moral the act in and of itself may be.
The asker’s comments, having chosen this “counter” as the best answer:
The man sure knows where he stands. Hehehehe...
Anyone gotta' problem with that?
Regards,
Psn(25th Nov, 2009)
(quote:)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiwWjn2sIlVcZKUR5yBb6_CQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091123224416AAt2oUs
The question:
Are zoos unethical or not?
An answer to it:
If you feel that animals have property rights, then they have rights over their bodies and are ethically tied to the non aggression principle . Personally I don't feel that animals have a sense of property rights. I'm asserting that without evidence. I hope that's good enough for you.
A counter to this answer:
Blappers... is it ethical/moral to make assumptions that grant liberal permissions when you know there is no proof supporting the position?I would argue that "you have no rights because you havent proved you have rights" is an immoral perspective to hold, and validates notions such as slavery and womanizing on the grounds that the other person hasnt proven their sovereignty yet.If you want to discuss morality and pretend that you have any, you have to take a conservative position on the matter and assume (even if falsely) that animals do have sovereignty... until proven otherwise. (Not the other way around)Should I obligate you to prove your own sovereignty before I grant you freedom and rights? And then lock you up in a cage so that you cant under the presumption that you havent got any? It doesnt make sense to presuppose the conclusion in any argument, much less a conclusion that infringes on your rights and consequently hinders your ability to mount a counter-argument. Makes no sense, at least from a moralistic perspective.This is a common fallacy in western thought. We abort fetuses on the potentially false assumption that they are not alive... that perspective grants peoples liberal permissions to act as they see fit. Instead of the opposite perspective: to infringe on a woman's rights to self-dictate for a few months of her life in order to protect the life of a fetus, under the potentially false assumption that it is indeed alive. The moral uncertainty exists... so which is therefore the greater immorality? Why use the ignorance of a moral resolution as a tool to justify self-serving agendas? Moral culpability is not relinquished when you abuse your own ignorance, no matter how moral the act in and of itself may be.
The asker’s comments, having chosen this “counter” as the best answer:
The man sure knows where he stands. Hehehehe...
Anyone gotta' problem with that?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Pain!
“Woh Haseen dard de dow, jisey mai gale laga looen … Woh nigaah mujh pe…....”
The moment one reads this caption, the mind races to tap the resource of one’s own memory bank!
A wonderful question gave me the chance to look at pain yet once again!
This time, it is brevity, which comes to my rescue, when there are certain taboos that I have to adhere to (or else, I would end up in the maze of ‘techniques’ which ensure subtle practices infused into the disciples by Spiritual Masters!).
Pain is not something new to us. We play with it literally. We say, ‘He is a pain in my neck!’ (This reminds me of my primitive stages of experimentation when I used to invoke the friendship-privileges at work place, with colleagues, and give them that ‘instant’ relief by a gentle insignificant touch at the neck portion. Little did they realize how vulnerable the nervous system was around that place! I am way beyond such indulgences now!). We also say, ‘ It pains me, when I see such wastage of natural resources (etc)’…
Heart-ache is yet again a form of that ‘emotional’ pain, at times, sweet too!
Then there is the ‘pain of separation’!
And old-age is nothing but essentially a summary of ‘pain-full’ experiences.
For most people, efficient pain-management constitutes resultant contentment, peace, and in a very restricted sense, ‘happy life’ too! It is here that there is a constant search for newer variety of ‘pain-killers’! We do not stop with drugs. Terrorists seek comfort under the consolation that they are seeking out to destroy pain-causers, when they turn themselves into ‘pain- killers’(in doing so, they inadvertently switch off that vital and precious in-built response system within themselves, which constitutes the essential element of being a ‘human-being’—they immunize their own emotional pain-responses to witnessing needless man-made suffering inflicted upon people around!)
So a correct understanding of pain is indeed worth one’s while.
If not, in our attempt to incessantly ‘diffuse’ pain, we end up misusing it, abusing it, or even ‘disusing’ it. The consequences are far reaching and quite irreversible (“Melancholy” is one such situation, which even in turn, triggers a vicious circle!). When a doctor-friend of mine was discussing the psychosomatic root causes of a new type of disorder concerning bowel evacuation, my attention was instantly drawn to mishandling of a set of response-oriented nerves, which would have contributed largely to the symptom! Fortunately for me, there was another well-learned friend of ours who steered us away from my readiness to address the issue, with a ‘valid’ reference to my medical-incompetence! The issue was quite deep, and exceedingly fascinating indeed, given my efforts in spiritual field! I felt rescued (both, in mystic and literal sense!).
It is now up to individual preferences to look at it ‘afresh’. I choose to remain contended with merely quoting the question, my answer, and to those who happen to retain sensitivity beyond pain, a link which I recommend as quite informative!
Regards,
Psn(24th November, 2009)
The (pain-full) quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Avjcw8YZX0f57cNb7UTokZqQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091123105025AAiPI4k&show=7#profile-info-TuESRYH8aa
The question:
How does a person define pain?
My (pain-full) answer:
We have to try it out, in a way that it suits the phenomenon infallibly....Pain is a neurological response directed towards brain, requesting for urgent attention from the 'brain' to direct 'voluntary' means of responses to complement the actions of involuntary 'set' of inbuilt mechanisms, to bring back normalcy to that part of the body which is affected adversely
...
Even an insect bite causes slight pain. Our hands reach out to scratch that area. The efforts of our fingers (or even nails), complement by the scratch to spread out the poison speedily and save the affected cells from 'death' , decay or degeneration.We feel 'emotional-pain'. The heart beat rate shoots up. It is the 'fight-or-flight' action oriented response system that is invoked. It is the heart that sends up the message "I am working overtime' to pump extra flow rate of blood, to enable quicker action to save some 'unknown' threat perception to the very survival of 'entire' body(!). The brain's neurological mechanism sends this message of 'danger' to heart, and heart responds with higher rate of beats. The brain is simply a processor of what ever data is given as 'input' (whether from memory, poor visualisation, hallucination, wrong judgment or what ever!). That is why imbalanced mind causes faulty signals, and in turn health problems (it means prosperity 'for' psychiatrists!).
The link:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/11/24/stories/2008112450090300.htm
The moment one reads this caption, the mind races to tap the resource of one’s own memory bank!
A wonderful question gave me the chance to look at pain yet once again!
This time, it is brevity, which comes to my rescue, when there are certain taboos that I have to adhere to (or else, I would end up in the maze of ‘techniques’ which ensure subtle practices infused into the disciples by Spiritual Masters!).
Pain is not something new to us. We play with it literally. We say, ‘He is a pain in my neck!’ (This reminds me of my primitive stages of experimentation when I used to invoke the friendship-privileges at work place, with colleagues, and give them that ‘instant’ relief by a gentle insignificant touch at the neck portion. Little did they realize how vulnerable the nervous system was around that place! I am way beyond such indulgences now!). We also say, ‘ It pains me, when I see such wastage of natural resources (etc)’…
Heart-ache is yet again a form of that ‘emotional’ pain, at times, sweet too!
Then there is the ‘pain of separation’!
And old-age is nothing but essentially a summary of ‘pain-full’ experiences.
For most people, efficient pain-management constitutes resultant contentment, peace, and in a very restricted sense, ‘happy life’ too! It is here that there is a constant search for newer variety of ‘pain-killers’! We do not stop with drugs. Terrorists seek comfort under the consolation that they are seeking out to destroy pain-causers, when they turn themselves into ‘pain- killers’(in doing so, they inadvertently switch off that vital and precious in-built response system within themselves, which constitutes the essential element of being a ‘human-being’—they immunize their own emotional pain-responses to witnessing needless man-made suffering inflicted upon people around!)
So a correct understanding of pain is indeed worth one’s while.
If not, in our attempt to incessantly ‘diffuse’ pain, we end up misusing it, abusing it, or even ‘disusing’ it. The consequences are far reaching and quite irreversible (“Melancholy” is one such situation, which even in turn, triggers a vicious circle!). When a doctor-friend of mine was discussing the psychosomatic root causes of a new type of disorder concerning bowel evacuation, my attention was instantly drawn to mishandling of a set of response-oriented nerves, which would have contributed largely to the symptom! Fortunately for me, there was another well-learned friend of ours who steered us away from my readiness to address the issue, with a ‘valid’ reference to my medical-incompetence! The issue was quite deep, and exceedingly fascinating indeed, given my efforts in spiritual field! I felt rescued (both, in mystic and literal sense!).
It is now up to individual preferences to look at it ‘afresh’. I choose to remain contended with merely quoting the question, my answer, and to those who happen to retain sensitivity beyond pain, a link which I recommend as quite informative!
Regards,
Psn(24th November, 2009)
The (pain-full) quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Avjcw8YZX0f57cNb7UTokZqQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091123105025AAiPI4k&show=7#profile-info-TuESRYH8aa
The question:
How does a person define pain?
My (pain-full) answer:
We have to try it out, in a way that it suits the phenomenon infallibly....Pain is a neurological response directed towards brain, requesting for urgent attention from the 'brain' to direct 'voluntary' means of responses to complement the actions of involuntary 'set' of inbuilt mechanisms, to bring back normalcy to that part of the body which is affected adversely
...
Even an insect bite causes slight pain. Our hands reach out to scratch that area. The efforts of our fingers (or even nails), complement by the scratch to spread out the poison speedily and save the affected cells from 'death' , decay or degeneration.We feel 'emotional-pain'. The heart beat rate shoots up. It is the 'fight-or-flight' action oriented response system that is invoked. It is the heart that sends up the message "I am working overtime' to pump extra flow rate of blood, to enable quicker action to save some 'unknown' threat perception to the very survival of 'entire' body(!). The brain's neurological mechanism sends this message of 'danger' to heart, and heart responds with higher rate of beats. The brain is simply a processor of what ever data is given as 'input' (whether from memory, poor visualisation, hallucination, wrong judgment or what ever!). That is why imbalanced mind causes faulty signals, and in turn health problems (it means prosperity 'for' psychiatrists!).
The link:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/11/24/stories/2008112450090300.htm
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Baabul Ka Ghar
Laaga Chunari mein daag, chupaun kaise…..
A song that never tired me of listening, right from child hood. And, as I grew up, I felt a bit fortunate that I “happened” to like a song which has a deep meaning too!
I did not quite expect that a question about the link between Sasural and Babul ka Ghar would appear thus! At school, as a kid too, it so happened a few times, that I happen to learn an obscure, not-so-important-looking piece out of “test-portion” allotted for periodical exams in school, and just that one comes as a short notes question or so(with a small ‘twist’ too sometimes)! There is a thrill, when most others opt out leaving it as a ‘choice’. To me, leaving something choicelessly did not really appeal as a ‘choice-leaving-out’ even then (but I was very hesitant to propose it, even as a valid argument, with even my classmates, leave alone elders!).
This connectivity between the mortality and immortality reminded me of that unexpected obscure bit appearing in the ‘question-paper’ (at school). Not that this link is unimportant, or even that people are not concerned. But very few actually prefer to choose it as a choice!
Whether I am right or wrong about the link is verily one’s choice indeed. I am not very sure if I would score any ‘fractional’ marks even for this ‘bit-question’ I attempted.
Regards,
Psn(18th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115183811AAbj9aW
The question:
Tell me, spiritually, in your own words.. how does mortality complement immortality?
Thoughts...?
I did say... morTality ;-)
My answer :
The 'unity' holds the other 'complementary' half with itself, to keep the separated half attracted to reach back to its source. We find the same phenomenon everywhere. What comes out of the earth goes back to it. Water travels to sky and comes back to earth. Planets keep rotating around the sun, held by its magnetism (or whatever), as long as the planets can effectively offer Resistance from yielding to its pull. Sleep pulls us back into the nothingness, seeking our hidden complementary half for a while, so that our 'something' does not become too shaky by keeping awake for too long a time! Spiritually, the effort is to enjoy the merger and separation all the while, using that 'awareness' by consciously dropping the wrong identification with just the 'manifest' half in ignorance.
A song that never tired me of listening, right from child hood. And, as I grew up, I felt a bit fortunate that I “happened” to like a song which has a deep meaning too!
I did not quite expect that a question about the link between Sasural and Babul ka Ghar would appear thus! At school, as a kid too, it so happened a few times, that I happen to learn an obscure, not-so-important-looking piece out of “test-portion” allotted for periodical exams in school, and just that one comes as a short notes question or so(with a small ‘twist’ too sometimes)! There is a thrill, when most others opt out leaving it as a ‘choice’. To me, leaving something choicelessly did not really appeal as a ‘choice-leaving-out’ even then (but I was very hesitant to propose it, even as a valid argument, with even my classmates, leave alone elders!).
This connectivity between the mortality and immortality reminded me of that unexpected obscure bit appearing in the ‘question-paper’ (at school). Not that this link is unimportant, or even that people are not concerned. But very few actually prefer to choose it as a choice!
Whether I am right or wrong about the link is verily one’s choice indeed. I am not very sure if I would score any ‘fractional’ marks even for this ‘bit-question’ I attempted.
Regards,
Psn(18th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115183811AAbj9aW
The question:
Tell me, spiritually, in your own words.. how does mortality complement immortality?
Thoughts...?
I did say... morTality ;-)
My answer :
The 'unity' holds the other 'complementary' half with itself, to keep the separated half attracted to reach back to its source. We find the same phenomenon everywhere. What comes out of the earth goes back to it. Water travels to sky and comes back to earth. Planets keep rotating around the sun, held by its magnetism (or whatever), as long as the planets can effectively offer Resistance from yielding to its pull. Sleep pulls us back into the nothingness, seeking our hidden complementary half for a while, so that our 'something' does not become too shaky by keeping awake for too long a time! Spiritually, the effort is to enjoy the merger and separation all the while, using that 'awareness' by consciously dropping the wrong identification with just the 'manifest' half in ignorance.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
At cross-roads!
Very few are really bothered about which of the two main paths to choose. Making both ends meet takes up the quality time of our minds!
But after a certain age, we find our physical bodies no longer capable to do justice to “fullest” enjoyment of ‘indulgence-games’…. When the body was capable, there was less of enjoyment, and more of ‘letting off the steam’. What a predicament, this life-journey is!
When the body is unfit for anything else, the mind now tries to seek comfort from that devotional path. That is when exactly this question comes up. Whether wisdom or devotion is better, to make some mention-worthy progress, is the question. We are not very sure if our cleverness, smartness, cunningness etc, which had so long managed a fake passport in the name of ‘wisdom’ would now work! And the very same ‘over-smartness’ might not permit wholehearted surrender that the ‘devotional’ path demands! Devotion for its own sake looks a bit hollow too!
These are the questions that torment the mind of a person who did not have a chance to plan one’s own upper-middle age. The situation simply drove the person hither and thither!
Be it as it may, but no harm at looking into which of the path is suitable.
That was what the question was about.
A quite discouraging answer is what I thought of it, after having submitted. But when it found the mark, I thought some of us would like to take a look at it. The irony is that if this answer finds appeal, an immediate indispensable corrolary is that the preparation ought to start at teens or youth itself.!
Regards,
Psn(18th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgfSCEuHOq5hGBgUGC.5YlqQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091116194444AAIXTMp
The question:
Which is more important wisdom or devotion............?
give reason?
My answer:
Depends upon the person choosing between the two.Wisdom requires tremendous alertness, good analytical skills, and open-minded-logic.Devotion requires unconditional trust.
In the present day lifestyle, devotion does not look very practical to reach the highest, though it seems to work for some temporary gains. The traditional prescriptions of different paths do not find relevance today, because the minds have become too complex. A person needs all the four paths (which include these two too), and yet a little more of one of those four according to basic inclinations. Women are naturally attracted towards devotion more, because nature has designed them to be more emotional than logical.
But after a certain age, we find our physical bodies no longer capable to do justice to “fullest” enjoyment of ‘indulgence-games’…. When the body was capable, there was less of enjoyment, and more of ‘letting off the steam’. What a predicament, this life-journey is!
When the body is unfit for anything else, the mind now tries to seek comfort from that devotional path. That is when exactly this question comes up. Whether wisdom or devotion is better, to make some mention-worthy progress, is the question. We are not very sure if our cleverness, smartness, cunningness etc, which had so long managed a fake passport in the name of ‘wisdom’ would now work! And the very same ‘over-smartness’ might not permit wholehearted surrender that the ‘devotional’ path demands! Devotion for its own sake looks a bit hollow too!
These are the questions that torment the mind of a person who did not have a chance to plan one’s own upper-middle age. The situation simply drove the person hither and thither!
Be it as it may, but no harm at looking into which of the path is suitable.
That was what the question was about.
A quite discouraging answer is what I thought of it, after having submitted. But when it found the mark, I thought some of us would like to take a look at it. The irony is that if this answer finds appeal, an immediate indispensable corrolary is that the preparation ought to start at teens or youth itself.!
Regards,
Psn(18th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgfSCEuHOq5hGBgUGC.5YlqQHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20091116194444AAIXTMp
The question:
Which is more important wisdom or devotion............?
give reason?
My answer:
Depends upon the person choosing between the two.Wisdom requires tremendous alertness, good analytical skills, and open-minded-logic.Devotion requires unconditional trust.
In the present day lifestyle, devotion does not look very practical to reach the highest, though it seems to work for some temporary gains. The traditional prescriptions of different paths do not find relevance today, because the minds have become too complex. A person needs all the four paths (which include these two too), and yet a little more of one of those four according to basic inclinations. Women are naturally attracted towards devotion more, because nature has designed them to be more emotional than logical.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Balancing Act!
When ever I had the opportunity to hear a lecture or a talk by a spiritual Master, I know I can look forward to ‘out-of-ordinary-questions’ from the audience. All that matters is that the time-slot permits for such questions!
So, that is where my fascination to deal with such questions finds its roots!
The question and my answer to it seems to hardly need any further elaboration.
I take courage to put it across to you is from the fact that the asker finds a ‘logical’ appeal in it. That, is something special, especially since the question is about emotions!
All I can assure you is that reading this, may not at all cause a burden on you to exert yourself to ‘balance’ the ‘disproportionate’ movement, (if any at all ,) within!
Regards,
Psn(17th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115181204AAGRN7E
The question:
Are our feelings and emotions 'disproportionate' to our 'capability'?
Why are we often OVERWHELMED by our feelings and emotions?
My answer:
It is just because our logic incessantly attempts to contain our emotions.We try to hold back our tears, to LOGICALLY appear appropriate amidst 'decent' folks!We try to suppress our laughter to logically suit the occasion of a condolence meeting or so, where the laughter-evoking-situation had occurred naturally or inadvertently.We try to suppress our fear to logically disallow the adversary a better advantage of foretelling our conceding of defeat at the other's hands!We try to conceal our jealousy, intolerance, hatred, Resistance to avoid getting revealed, thus maintaining that 'generous' gentlemanly look!We suppress our excitement/eagerness/anxiety in a shop when we discover that the shopkeeper has just the very same item we want to buy, so that we can logically retain our negotiating power to bargain as if we are "not that much interested to buy, unless he gives a discount or so"
..
And, there are times, when we logically assess ourselves to be reasonably calm, and are surprised at a surge of emotion, trying to manifest itself like some sudden tsunami wave, which does take us by surprise! After all, logic takes sequential time to build up analytically and arrive at a result, where as emotion is ever-logic-defying and often abrupt, if the perception is deep enough and alert!
So, that is where my fascination to deal with such questions finds its roots!
The question and my answer to it seems to hardly need any further elaboration.
I take courage to put it across to you is from the fact that the asker finds a ‘logical’ appeal in it. That, is something special, especially since the question is about emotions!
All I can assure you is that reading this, may not at all cause a burden on you to exert yourself to ‘balance’ the ‘disproportionate’ movement, (if any at all ,) within!
Regards,
Psn(17th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115181204AAGRN7E
The question:
Are our feelings and emotions 'disproportionate' to our 'capability'?
Why are we often OVERWHELMED by our feelings and emotions?
My answer:
It is just because our logic incessantly attempts to contain our emotions.We try to hold back our tears, to LOGICALLY appear appropriate amidst 'decent' folks!We try to suppress our laughter to logically suit the occasion of a condolence meeting or so, where the laughter-evoking-situation had occurred naturally or inadvertently.We try to suppress our fear to logically disallow the adversary a better advantage of foretelling our conceding of defeat at the other's hands!We try to conceal our jealousy, intolerance, hatred, Resistance to avoid getting revealed, thus maintaining that 'generous' gentlemanly look!We suppress our excitement/eagerness/anxiety in a shop when we discover that the shopkeeper has just the very same item we want to buy, so that we can logically retain our negotiating power to bargain as if we are "not that much interested to buy, unless he gives a discount or so"
..
And, there are times, when we logically assess ourselves to be reasonably calm, and are surprised at a surge of emotion, trying to manifest itself like some sudden tsunami wave, which does take us by surprise! After all, logic takes sequential time to build up analytically and arrive at a result, where as emotion is ever-logic-defying and often abrupt, if the perception is deep enough and alert!
The 'Earthing' Factor
I felt a sense of excitement, when I came across this question. I had thought that the traditional custom or ritual is almost extinct, or forgotten. And now, ‘presto’! here comes somebody asking for the reason behind it!
Bowing to mother earth has currently got into trouble with political controversies with religious sentiments overlapping!
Mere quoting of traditional beliefs do not seem to work with the present-day-minds!
Quite reasonable, agreed. But then, if unaccompanied by a keen enquiring mind, the rich heritage passed down from generations would get lost due to ‘blind-disbelief’!
For me, the question is an awaited ‘excuse’ to remind ourselves of something that is perhaps very precious, though it costs almost nothing to try it out!
Now it is up to us to keep it or throw it away!
Regards,
Psn(17th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091116184026AAbrTgN
The question:
Why to touch earth when you wake up?
people say that, one has to touch the earth with is hand(only hand) first and then wake up (or then the legs)... why ?
My answer:
Scientifically, we may try to compare it with 'earthing' (the neutral line, required to complete the circuit in power cables, electric current...)
Traditionally there is another example. In Hindu way of life, the annual ceremony of a dead person performed on the lunar phase of date of death(tithi), is also using direct contact with earth (in contrast to other rituals/pujas done sitting on a non-conductor like wooden plank, cushion, Kusha-grass, deer-skin, etc). Here too the reason is to 'provide' earthing to the person invoked (that person is presumed to be floating, without the body).
Everyday, we go into a sort of 'nothing-ness' while asleep. In our own experience, we are almost like 'dead' to the outside world during our sleep state. So, soon after waking, we make the contact or the 'earthing' quicker by touching, to get back to worldly business at the earliest. We have that 'extra-gravity' problem getting out of bed when we wake up :)
This tradition is almost extinct! Many people would not have even heard of it! A special thanks to you for this question, giving an opportunity to look at it with the modern scientific way of looking at it! The previous generations were more trusting, quite innocent, ignorant of modern-like-logic, so the belief system worked well, when the explanations were belief-oriented, like treating the earth like a goddess, and bowing, worshipping by that humble touch .. etc. Even this traditional belief has its value, but to experience it, a person has to evolve beyond logic! For those who can afford to believe and trust, the traditional explanations too are very precious and hold good value.
Bowing to mother earth has currently got into trouble with political controversies with religious sentiments overlapping!
Mere quoting of traditional beliefs do not seem to work with the present-day-minds!
Quite reasonable, agreed. But then, if unaccompanied by a keen enquiring mind, the rich heritage passed down from generations would get lost due to ‘blind-disbelief’!
For me, the question is an awaited ‘excuse’ to remind ourselves of something that is perhaps very precious, though it costs almost nothing to try it out!
Now it is up to us to keep it or throw it away!
Regards,
Psn(17th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091116184026AAbrTgN
The question:
Why to touch earth when you wake up?
people say that, one has to touch the earth with is hand(only hand) first and then wake up (or then the legs)... why ?
My answer:
Scientifically, we may try to compare it with 'earthing' (the neutral line, required to complete the circuit in power cables, electric current...)
Traditionally there is another example. In Hindu way of life, the annual ceremony of a dead person performed on the lunar phase of date of death(tithi), is also using direct contact with earth (in contrast to other rituals/pujas done sitting on a non-conductor like wooden plank, cushion, Kusha-grass, deer-skin, etc). Here too the reason is to 'provide' earthing to the person invoked (that person is presumed to be floating, without the body).
Everyday, we go into a sort of 'nothing-ness' while asleep. In our own experience, we are almost like 'dead' to the outside world during our sleep state. So, soon after waking, we make the contact or the 'earthing' quicker by touching, to get back to worldly business at the earliest. We have that 'extra-gravity' problem getting out of bed when we wake up :)
This tradition is almost extinct! Many people would not have even heard of it! A special thanks to you for this question, giving an opportunity to look at it with the modern scientific way of looking at it! The previous generations were more trusting, quite innocent, ignorant of modern-like-logic, so the belief system worked well, when the explanations were belief-oriented, like treating the earth like a goddess, and bowing, worshipping by that humble touch .. etc. Even this traditional belief has its value, but to experience it, a person has to evolve beyond logic! For those who can afford to believe and trust, the traditional explanations too are very precious and hold good value.
Monday, November 16, 2009
अपने आप से रूठो ना (Forgive Myself)
When I have to request my own mind, ‘please forgive me’, it is a bit difficult! All that ‘character-building’ exercises that we arduously undertook all along, suddenly now, seems to turn against very own self! At the very start, it looks like giving ourselves undue concessions! We hear people say “I could never forgive myself for that….” and when they say so, we feel a bit proud too, of having such a person as our friend! Here is a person who is strict enough when it comes to own self! But I wonder, does it really work?
Anyway, a question came up where the asker was seeking a way out of frustration when he (or she perhaps) could not find a ‘release’ despite an attempt to forgive oneself. Here, I felt there is something I could offer as a suggestion. The asker seems to be quite impressed. So I was wondering if yet others might find it worth taking a look at.
Regards,
Psn(16th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115185827AA4WRxb
The asker’s question:
I have forgiven myself but it seems as though I can't forget about the wrong I have done....?
I think so much and it becomes frustrating when I can't find answers as to why something happens. I am always looking for truth in situations and sometimes it can become very frustrating. People who think alot...What is it they do to keep their minds healthy and positive? and What keeps them to not dwell on the past and keep their minds rolling on the future? How is it done?
My reply:
Well, then try that 'forgiven myself' in two ways, instead of either of the ways.Emotionally console yourself, and forgive, with clear understanding of how emotions led us a bit astray, and caused the frustration.Logically too, analyse what happened, and how the logic failed us to cause that frustrating situation, due to our own acts of omission/commision etc, and resolve it conclusively and logically, taking a mental note to better ourselves next time.The memory of the situation by itself will never be the cause of frustration when looking at the past. In fact once the residue is resolved conclusively, only the 'positive' aspect of it remains, to serve us as a good lesson learnt for future guidance!(We might have heard of "Homer" the great ancient thinker, philosopher, and a wonderful legendary poet. He mentioned 'troubles & pebbles' as a solution to resolve such troubling memories. He used to take a few pebbles, keep one at a time in hand, ponder deep, resolve it either way, and cast away the pebble as 'dealt' with!)
Best wishes.
Anyway, a question came up where the asker was seeking a way out of frustration when he (or she perhaps) could not find a ‘release’ despite an attempt to forgive oneself. Here, I felt there is something I could offer as a suggestion. The asker seems to be quite impressed. So I was wondering if yet others might find it worth taking a look at.
Regards,
Psn(16th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115185827AA4WRxb
The asker’s question:
I have forgiven myself but it seems as though I can't forget about the wrong I have done....?
I think so much and it becomes frustrating when I can't find answers as to why something happens. I am always looking for truth in situations and sometimes it can become very frustrating. People who think alot...What is it they do to keep their minds healthy and positive? and What keeps them to not dwell on the past and keep their minds rolling on the future? How is it done?
My reply:
Well, then try that 'forgiven myself' in two ways, instead of either of the ways.Emotionally console yourself, and forgive, with clear understanding of how emotions led us a bit astray, and caused the frustration.Logically too, analyse what happened, and how the logic failed us to cause that frustrating situation, due to our own acts of omission/commision etc, and resolve it conclusively and logically, taking a mental note to better ourselves next time.The memory of the situation by itself will never be the cause of frustration when looking at the past. In fact once the residue is resolved conclusively, only the 'positive' aspect of it remains, to serve us as a good lesson learnt for future guidance!(We might have heard of "Homer" the great ancient thinker, philosopher, and a wonderful legendary poet. He mentioned 'troubles & pebbles' as a solution to resolve such troubling memories. He used to take a few pebbles, keep one at a time in hand, ponder deep, resolve it either way, and cast away the pebble as 'dealt' with!)
Best wishes.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Transition of Trust
The quality of Trust that a person holds almost decides the very quality of life, irrespective of the material comforts affordable!
This trust takes strange shapes and forms (all of them quite abstract in nature!) in one’s experience. We even feel perplexed whether it was a ‘belief’ or a ‘trust’!
I found the question quoted below to be one that seems to touch one of the core issues involving trust. The transition (of that trust), when it happens within a person, it often reaches stagnation at most unlikely places! And the consequences (I would prefer to call it as ‘residues’, because it is the very residues that contributes to the bulk of our ‘karmic-natured-attitudes’!), solidify the stagnation! Quite fuzzy, I agree. But, then, trust itself is quite fuzzy, if only one were to reflect deep enough about it!
When I look at the question, the answer occurs, (of course the way it does, to me only, not necessarily the right one, the apt one, or even an agreeable one!).
But, very few are left out of this maze of trust and belief; I hope there you would agree. Perhaps, some of us feel too ‘sentimental’ to even touch it, to venture pondering over it, fearing that vulnerability!
Certain aspects of trust, I chose to merely make a passing reference, leaving it to the alert mind to grasp its significance, in my answer (call it the ways of a mystic or whatever! A ‘Guru’ is usually quite familiar with these aspects, being the one grappled with the problem of begetting that ‘trust’!).
Regards,
Psn(15th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091111154402AAlxuH2
Maybe the feeling of contended solitude can only be reached through a series of incidences with people?
that make you realise that it's only yourself you can trustdo you agree?
My answer:
Trust is understood in a deeper way only with intense life experiences.Initially, it is expected from others, instinctively.... like a child innocently trusts its parents, elders etc. With experience, this trust declines, with growing awareness about how people give priorities to their own personal desires surpassing even empathy, fellow consideration etc. Then comes, this phase of 'contended solitude’. This is a difficult phase, and if a person happens to go deeper within, then the 'Trust' now widens its scope in a big way, indescribably big! When that happens, now the trust on others happens effortlessly and without any expectation, or even the need to verify the trustworthiness of others! Consequences do not matter at all. When such trust is betrayed by others, the perception affords instant clarity of the cause, and forgiveness is also simultaneous! Quite incredible, but true, and purely experiential too!
This trust takes strange shapes and forms (all of them quite abstract in nature!) in one’s experience. We even feel perplexed whether it was a ‘belief’ or a ‘trust’!
I found the question quoted below to be one that seems to touch one of the core issues involving trust. The transition (of that trust), when it happens within a person, it often reaches stagnation at most unlikely places! And the consequences (I would prefer to call it as ‘residues’, because it is the very residues that contributes to the bulk of our ‘karmic-natured-attitudes’!), solidify the stagnation! Quite fuzzy, I agree. But, then, trust itself is quite fuzzy, if only one were to reflect deep enough about it!
When I look at the question, the answer occurs, (of course the way it does, to me only, not necessarily the right one, the apt one, or even an agreeable one!).
But, very few are left out of this maze of trust and belief; I hope there you would agree. Perhaps, some of us feel too ‘sentimental’ to even touch it, to venture pondering over it, fearing that vulnerability!
Certain aspects of trust, I chose to merely make a passing reference, leaving it to the alert mind to grasp its significance, in my answer (call it the ways of a mystic or whatever! A ‘Guru’ is usually quite familiar with these aspects, being the one grappled with the problem of begetting that ‘trust’!).
Regards,
Psn(15th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091111154402AAlxuH2
Maybe the feeling of contended solitude can only be reached through a series of incidences with people?
that make you realise that it's only yourself you can trustdo you agree?
My answer:
Trust is understood in a deeper way only with intense life experiences.Initially, it is expected from others, instinctively.... like a child innocently trusts its parents, elders etc. With experience, this trust declines, with growing awareness about how people give priorities to their own personal desires surpassing even empathy, fellow consideration etc. Then comes, this phase of 'contended solitude’. This is a difficult phase, and if a person happens to go deeper within, then the 'Trust' now widens its scope in a big way, indescribably big! When that happens, now the trust on others happens effortlessly and without any expectation, or even the need to verify the trustworthiness of others! Consequences do not matter at all. When such trust is betrayed by others, the perception affords instant clarity of the cause, and forgiveness is also simultaneous! Quite incredible, but true, and purely experiential too!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Childhood Snatchers!
That is what we the present day elders have turned out to be!
The famous songs, which reminds a person of one’s own sweet memories of childhood are no more relevant! (“Koi loutadey mere beetey huwhey din”, or “Yeh doulat bhi le lo, ye shohrat bhi lelo, bhaley cheen lo mujh se meri jawani, magar mujh ko de do wo bachpan ki yaadein….”)
These children of today, may not be left with any such memories at all! I can hope for some attention only when I am able to quote with some authenticity. I paste two articles by eminent people, and the more knowledgeable of them yet again seeks to quote a ‘spiritual’ poem!
Is it possible that we create at least a very nominal space for children in their routine daily life, how ever minimal our efforts turn out to be? In doing so, we send out a powerful thought process, which could snowball into a positive movement. Already there are a few institutions that have taken very powerful measures. And astoundingly enough there are courageous people to subscribe to it. There is a school, in South India, which assures that students face only one public exam (the 10th standard/Matriculation) as the earliest one. The same institution runs yet another informal school which does not fetch any recognised educational qualification at all! Yet there is a waiting list for admissions! The later one however assures that the child would grow into a ‘self-sufficient’ person irrespective of the outside situation! I am not at all canvassing for this or even such schools at present. Is it possible that we subscribe to this concept positively at least in our thought level! It is not really too much to ask when we have that collective accountability for having made those wonderful songs totally redundant!
Regards,
Psn(12th November, 2009)
(The quotes below are with due respect and acknowledgment to the sources)
1.
http://www.hindu.com/op/2009/11/08/stories/2009110851351400.htm
‘I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma’
(Dear co-parents, some of us might hear a small, fading voice making yet another attempt to reach us)
Inumella Sesikala
Amma, I don’t want to go to school.
I am just a child, Ma. I want someone to tell me stories and teach me. I want to watch tadpoles and butterflies and know what they eat, where they sleep. I want to climb a hill and catch a cloud to see what it is made of.
I want to wait with my hands in the stream and feel the fish swimming.
I want to run with the puppies, sing with the birds, and play with paper-boats in the rain.
I want to lie down on the soft green grass and hear the wind whisper.
Only then I want to learn more about them from the printed word.
Only after my imagination is fired, my thirst to know more has begun, a seed of ‘Why?’ is planted in my brain.
Amma, I feel trapped in the prison-like classroom. I feel my spirit slowly weakening with the monotonous teaching. Often, when I ask a basic question our teachers say, “No time for all that. Let us finish the syllabus.”
I get tired of studying just for marks without pausing to truly understand.
I want to go to the museum with my classmates and hear my teacher explain the stories of the artefacts.
I want plenty of nature trips where real Biology classes would be held.
I want to see colourful videos of volcanic eruptions and deep-sea dwellings.
I want our whole school to visit together the historic and cultural places in my city.
I want to learn astronomy after looking through a telescope once.
I don’t want to just read them in my textbooks; I want to see, hear, touch, smell and taste whatever I can. I want to experience.
Why can’t the school make at least one such trip every year?
And, I cannot stoop down anymore to carry my school sack. My back is ready to break. Why should I carry all the books everyday? Why can’t we have only two subjects per day? Or, why don’t we have lockers like in the Western schools? And, why should I squeeze in that over-crowded auto?
But, Amma, growing up no longer seems to be fun. I see only more of homework, winter projects, summer classes, weekly tests, monthly tests, quarterly, half-yearly and annual exams, external competitive exams, more tests, more competitions, more pressure, more stress…
When can I sing, paint, dance, swim, or cycle?
When I can just play cricket or even hide-and-seek?
What happened to that minimum sleep that you always say a child needs?
Why should I always study, study?
Amma, I am scared of increasing atrocities by untrustworthy teachers, ragging-raving seniors, acid-loving nuts, perverted adults…
Ma, right now, I don’t want to be a doctor, engineer or anything else.
I just want to feel safe and secure, play and learn without any stress before I become an adult like you.
I only want to enjoy my childhood, Ma.
2.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/12/stories/2009111254570900.htm
Need for creativity in classroom
The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, writes:
I was happy to see the article “I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma” by Inumella Sesikala (Open Page, Nov. 8). I liked the article very much, which is a dream of every child. Creativity of children has to come out from the classroom. Some of us had such opportunities. Our children should go to primary school only at the age of six. Till then, we have to promote creativity of the children with great teachers and an innovative classroom environment.
Yesterday, when I was reading the book Spiritual Intelligence, The Ultimate Intelligence by Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall, I came across the poem, “The Student’s prayer.”
“The young son of a Chilean biologist, Umberto Maturana, became unhappy at school because he felt his teachers were making it impossible for him to learn. They wanted to teach him what they knew, rather than drawing out what he needed to learn. As a result Maturana wrote “The Student’s Prayer”, of which this translation is an abridged version. It perfectly expresses the spiritually intelligent individual’s response to the conforming pressures of parents, teachers, bosses or the crowd.
The Student’s Prayer
Don’t impose on me what you know,
I want to explore the unknown
And be the source of my own discoveries.
Let the known be my liberation, not my slavery.
The world of your truth can be my limitation;
Your wisdom my negation.
Don’t instruct me; let’s walk together.
Let my richness begin where yours ends.
Show me so that I can stand
On your shoulders.
Reveal yourself so that I can be
Something different.
You believe that every human being
Can love and create.
I understand, then, your fear
When I ask you to live according to your wisdom.
You will not know who I am
By listening to yourself.
Don’t instruct me; let me be.
Your failure is that I be identical to you.” I thought, there is a connectivity among young hearts even beyond ocean — “I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma” and “The Student’s Prayer.”
The famous songs, which reminds a person of one’s own sweet memories of childhood are no more relevant! (“Koi loutadey mere beetey huwhey din”, or “Yeh doulat bhi le lo, ye shohrat bhi lelo, bhaley cheen lo mujh se meri jawani, magar mujh ko de do wo bachpan ki yaadein….”)
These children of today, may not be left with any such memories at all! I can hope for some attention only when I am able to quote with some authenticity. I paste two articles by eminent people, and the more knowledgeable of them yet again seeks to quote a ‘spiritual’ poem!
Is it possible that we create at least a very nominal space for children in their routine daily life, how ever minimal our efforts turn out to be? In doing so, we send out a powerful thought process, which could snowball into a positive movement. Already there are a few institutions that have taken very powerful measures. And astoundingly enough there are courageous people to subscribe to it. There is a school, in South India, which assures that students face only one public exam (the 10th standard/Matriculation) as the earliest one. The same institution runs yet another informal school which does not fetch any recognised educational qualification at all! Yet there is a waiting list for admissions! The later one however assures that the child would grow into a ‘self-sufficient’ person irrespective of the outside situation! I am not at all canvassing for this or even such schools at present. Is it possible that we subscribe to this concept positively at least in our thought level! It is not really too much to ask when we have that collective accountability for having made those wonderful songs totally redundant!
Regards,
Psn(12th November, 2009)
(The quotes below are with due respect and acknowledgment to the sources)
1.
http://www.hindu.com/op/2009/11/08/stories/2009110851351400.htm
‘I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma’
(Dear co-parents, some of us might hear a small, fading voice making yet another attempt to reach us)
Inumella Sesikala
Amma, I don’t want to go to school.
I am just a child, Ma. I want someone to tell me stories and teach me. I want to watch tadpoles and butterflies and know what they eat, where they sleep. I want to climb a hill and catch a cloud to see what it is made of.
I want to wait with my hands in the stream and feel the fish swimming.
I want to run with the puppies, sing with the birds, and play with paper-boats in the rain.
I want to lie down on the soft green grass and hear the wind whisper.
Only then I want to learn more about them from the printed word.
Only after my imagination is fired, my thirst to know more has begun, a seed of ‘Why?’ is planted in my brain.
Amma, I feel trapped in the prison-like classroom. I feel my spirit slowly weakening with the monotonous teaching. Often, when I ask a basic question our teachers say, “No time for all that. Let us finish the syllabus.”
I get tired of studying just for marks without pausing to truly understand.
I want to go to the museum with my classmates and hear my teacher explain the stories of the artefacts.
I want plenty of nature trips where real Biology classes would be held.
I want to see colourful videos of volcanic eruptions and deep-sea dwellings.
I want our whole school to visit together the historic and cultural places in my city.
I want to learn astronomy after looking through a telescope once.
I don’t want to just read them in my textbooks; I want to see, hear, touch, smell and taste whatever I can. I want to experience.
Why can’t the school make at least one such trip every year?
And, I cannot stoop down anymore to carry my school sack. My back is ready to break. Why should I carry all the books everyday? Why can’t we have only two subjects per day? Or, why don’t we have lockers like in the Western schools? And, why should I squeeze in that over-crowded auto?
But, Amma, growing up no longer seems to be fun. I see only more of homework, winter projects, summer classes, weekly tests, monthly tests, quarterly, half-yearly and annual exams, external competitive exams, more tests, more competitions, more pressure, more stress…
When can I sing, paint, dance, swim, or cycle?
When I can just play cricket or even hide-and-seek?
What happened to that minimum sleep that you always say a child needs?
Why should I always study, study?
Amma, I am scared of increasing atrocities by untrustworthy teachers, ragging-raving seniors, acid-loving nuts, perverted adults…
Ma, right now, I don’t want to be a doctor, engineer or anything else.
I just want to feel safe and secure, play and learn without any stress before I become an adult like you.
I only want to enjoy my childhood, Ma.
2.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/12/stories/2009111254570900.htm
Need for creativity in classroom
The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, writes:
I was happy to see the article “I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma” by Inumella Sesikala (Open Page, Nov. 8). I liked the article very much, which is a dream of every child. Creativity of children has to come out from the classroom. Some of us had such opportunities. Our children should go to primary school only at the age of six. Till then, we have to promote creativity of the children with great teachers and an innovative classroom environment.
Yesterday, when I was reading the book Spiritual Intelligence, The Ultimate Intelligence by Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall, I came across the poem, “The Student’s prayer.”
“The young son of a Chilean biologist, Umberto Maturana, became unhappy at school because he felt his teachers were making it impossible for him to learn. They wanted to teach him what they knew, rather than drawing out what he needed to learn. As a result Maturana wrote “The Student’s Prayer”, of which this translation is an abridged version. It perfectly expresses the spiritually intelligent individual’s response to the conforming pressures of parents, teachers, bosses or the crowd.
The Student’s Prayer
Don’t impose on me what you know,
I want to explore the unknown
And be the source of my own discoveries.
Let the known be my liberation, not my slavery.
The world of your truth can be my limitation;
Your wisdom my negation.
Don’t instruct me; let’s walk together.
Let my richness begin where yours ends.
Show me so that I can stand
On your shoulders.
Reveal yourself so that I can be
Something different.
You believe that every human being
Can love and create.
I understand, then, your fear
When I ask you to live according to your wisdom.
You will not know who I am
By listening to yourself.
Don’t instruct me; let me be.
Your failure is that I be identical to you.” I thought, there is a connectivity among young hearts even beyond ocean — “I only want to enjoy my childhood, ma” and “The Student’s Prayer.”
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Good enough to be boring!
Askers keep amazing me!
The very question in its latent contradiction, seemed to de-mystify the elusive root cause of boredom itself!
I should be the one to thank the asker, for a clue that I had been hunting for! Not that I was all that innocent, but to find a way to put it across in a way, that is easily (rather irrefutably) understood by others?
I hope you have a good reason now, to either agree or disagree.
Regards,
Psn(11th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091109224023AAeQ3kh
Do you find "good" boring?
My reply:
That's a very " good " clue!It could be no where else I guess!Just that the 'goodness' is yet to reveal itself!In my attempt to 'dissect' this 'boredom' I ended up into a maze searching for an equivalent word in any of the Indian languages too!There was another word, 'sentiment' for which I am looking out for an equivalent in Indian languages!!But, I think that settles the 'source' of boredom!
Thanks!!
The very question in its latent contradiction, seemed to de-mystify the elusive root cause of boredom itself!
I should be the one to thank the asker, for a clue that I had been hunting for! Not that I was all that innocent, but to find a way to put it across in a way, that is easily (rather irrefutably) understood by others?
I hope you have a good reason now, to either agree or disagree.
Regards,
Psn(11th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091109224023AAeQ3kh
Do you find "good" boring?
My reply:
That's a very " good " clue!It could be no where else I guess!Just that the 'goodness' is yet to reveal itself!In my attempt to 'dissect' this 'boredom' I ended up into a maze searching for an equivalent word in any of the Indian languages too!There was another word, 'sentiment' for which I am looking out for an equivalent in Indian languages!!But, I think that settles the 'source' of boredom!
Thanks!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Batau (Shall I explain?)
Batau
“Shall I explain”
A question, and an answer that needs no further explanation.
A question of motivation, it is….
Regards,
Psn
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091109071405AASiPY0
Tell me, spiritually.. what motivates an individual to confront the challenges that most would run from?
What are those challenges?Thoughts...?
My ‘Batau”:
There was a joke. In Hindi language 'Batau' means 'tell, explain, show(how),' as a part of usage....A Hindi speaking person went to taste 'Punjabi' dishes, in a restaurant and asked 'what is today's special'. The reply was "Batau". The visitor said, "Batau". Once again the reply was "Batau". This happened for several times. Then the visitor elaborated, 'I asked what is special today, and you keep saying, "shall I explain" (the accent while pronouncing that 'batau' resembled the tone of enquiry, by the waiter)...Now the waiter elaborated, "Batau tho hai, aur kya batau?" (The dish is "batau", what else am I to elaborate). There was a dish called "Batau"........
Spirituality IS the motivation, by itself!!!
“Shall I explain”
A question, and an answer that needs no further explanation.
A question of motivation, it is….
Regards,
Psn
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091109071405AASiPY0
Tell me, spiritually.. what motivates an individual to confront the challenges that most would run from?
What are those challenges?Thoughts...?
My ‘Batau”:
There was a joke. In Hindi language 'Batau' means 'tell, explain, show(how),' as a part of usage....A Hindi speaking person went to taste 'Punjabi' dishes, in a restaurant and asked 'what is today's special'. The reply was "Batau". The visitor said, "Batau". Once again the reply was "Batau". This happened for several times. Then the visitor elaborated, 'I asked what is special today, and you keep saying, "shall I explain" (the accent while pronouncing that 'batau' resembled the tone of enquiry, by the waiter)...Now the waiter elaborated, "Batau tho hai, aur kya batau?" (The dish is "batau", what else am I to elaborate). There was a dish called "Batau"........
Spirituality IS the motivation, by itself!!!
Saturday, November 07, 2009
OCD test!
ज़िन्दगी भी एक नशा है मेरे दोस्त, जब चढ़ता है तो पूछो मत क्या आलम रहता है लेकिन.......
This life too is an intoxication my friend, and when it permeates in, do not ask what possesses us, but....
An intoxication like this must have crept into the asker, which triggered an obsession like थिंग that crept in him, and then he was anxious to get clarified!
Psn(7th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091106150200AAmHAsJ
Why am I obsessed with getting "dirty" so much?
Serious question. I used to have germophobia, and now it's the complete opposite. I rarely bathe, and I touch everything. Has my OCD gone 360 on me? because now i love getting my hands and feet dirty.is there a disorder named after this?is it a sign of mental illness?why does this make me feel good? (being contaminated)
My Nuska (recipe/solution):
This is not really an obsession. It is just a phase of transition, rejoicing that freedom from resistance. When acceptance deepens, there is a slight 'overdose' of tolerance.When a person suddenly becomes tolerant to music or singing, after having detested it for years, there is an urge to 'soak-in' that music for a while, and then it subsides to 'normalcy'.After a while, the optimum sense of hygiene would prevail, and then the cleaning would be need-based, or 'decided-by-situation' rather than one's own compulsive behaviour!Very few are fortunate to experience with this kind of change over! It sounds wonderful to know.
Best wishes.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Hardwork or luck, which do you prefer?
It is a very common and casual question!
If we understand the depth of it, perhaps, then for a better reason, for a longer sustaining reason, for a reason that does not impose dependence on the outside situation, we could choose hard work(otherwise, normally, we find our mind evading all our resolves to work hard !)
psn(6th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091105090853AAqZgeK
Hardwork or luck, which do you prefer?
My answer:
Luck is almost like the product of hard work. Lucky to win a lottery--somebody produced that money by hard work. Lucky to be born of wonderful parents--it takes a lot of hard work to become wonderful parents! Lucky to get a seat in a crowded bus--somebody beside us undergoes the 'hard work' of standing instead of us! Lucky to be born in a prosperous country--that country is prosperous due to hard work, honesty, good team spirit of a few generations!When we decide to forgo a part of the results of our hard work, somebody else is bound to be lucky!
If we understand the depth of it, perhaps, then for a better reason, for a longer sustaining reason, for a reason that does not impose dependence on the outside situation, we could choose hard work(otherwise, normally, we find our mind evading all our resolves to work hard !)
psn(6th November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091105090853AAqZgeK
Hardwork or luck, which do you prefer?
My answer:
Luck is almost like the product of hard work. Lucky to win a lottery--somebody produced that money by hard work. Lucky to be born of wonderful parents--it takes a lot of hard work to become wonderful parents! Lucky to get a seat in a crowded bus--somebody beside us undergoes the 'hard work' of standing instead of us! Lucky to be born in a prosperous country--that country is prosperous due to hard work, honesty, good team spirit of a few generations!When we decide to forgo a part of the results of our hard work, somebody else is bound to be lucky!
Complexity of Emotion-based concepts!
At the very outset, I have resolved to adhere to brevity. No point in trying out other’s patience!
I tried to look at ‘provocation’ as a violent form of temptation! To use a dramatic example, I choose to take a small incident from the war & its battles of the great epic “Mahabharata”.
Despite advice from a great being, none other than Lord Krishna himself, the divine charioteer, Arjuna could not bring upon himself to aim the fatal arrows, and unleash it upon the venerable Paterfamilias, the venerable Bhishma! Bhishma’s stature & character loomed large, clouding the vision of Arjuna. This hesitation “provoked” Krishna to climb down the chariot, take up his own weapon, the sudarsana Chakra and aim it at Bhishma! A puzzling contrast is that Bhishma, who has never known defeat, nor has ever refused an offer to combat, welcomes with open arms, bare palms, to joyously get killed by Krishna! To me, here, Bhishma’s conscious choice, a seemingly logic-defying one, represents the virtue of selfishness at its peak! (Yes! Ethics and selfishness seem to be in an endless conflict when we are torn between the two, when the choosing either of them becomes imminent, due to compulsions of situation, in our day-to-day-life routine! Selfishness in a deeper sense does advocate ethics, and then there is no inner conflict. That is the secret of our ancient mystics, the spiritual Masters!)
It is this unfair advantage to Bhishma, for which Arjuna does not like to become a root cause! He once again assures Krishna, to resume his resolve ‘not to take up arms himself’. This incident repeats several times! Then ultimately, Arjuna the sole spiritual disciple of Krishna, barely manages to grasp the complex concept of this emotional conflict, and obeys to slay Bhishma!
Some ‘ethical’ prescriptions like ‘do not nurture hate for others’ etc does not really seem to work in practical life! We need to seek better reasons, to cheerfully adopt this kind of ethics. Reasons which are not flimsy, like ‘trying to appear’ like a good person in the eyes of others! Such flimsy reasons only add up to stress within, and cause untold miseries like tension, BP, and related ailments like diabetes! That reminds me of a funny incident! We were a group chatting casually during the post feast-lunch session after a ‘match-fixing’ ceremony of a bride & groom. An elder lady was asserting ‘her’ non-availability to common causes of diabetes like tension, anger, stress, BP etc, when youngsters seated around were trying to suggest a possible cause for her mild manageable level of diabetes. I suddenly blurted out “Telling lies”! Quite unexpectedly, all the youngsters shouted “YES!”!! Despite all of us knowing too well, that this is not a logical answer, the elderly lady became a bit stiff-faced, serious and got deep into thoughts! I at once realized that I had, quite inadvertently, poked at a deep wound inside! (This lady is well known to the entire group, and is deeply respected for her grand stature, blemish-less character, stout honesty, and her health has been a constant concern of all the people around her, always! So, it is not the commonly referred meaning of “telling Lies” that caused laughter to the youngsters or the ‘stiffness’ to that lovable elderly lady!) This is the problem with trying to be ‘ethical’ for superficial reasons! It ends up causing health problems, as an immediate side-effect. I lack courage to mention the other ‘karmic’ side effects! I suppose now, it would be somewhat clear, as to what kind of ‘ethical’ error-bug that Arjuna tried to avoid, and yet needed some time to grasp a ‘better’ reason to adhere to the very same ‘ethics’ while taking the crucial decision to slay Bhishma !
It is this complexity (ethics, emotions, its concepts) that I liked to ‘bring to your kind attention’ for the present!
Regards,Psn (6th November, 2009)
I tried to look at ‘provocation’ as a violent form of temptation! To use a dramatic example, I choose to take a small incident from the war & its battles of the great epic “Mahabharata”.
Despite advice from a great being, none other than Lord Krishna himself, the divine charioteer, Arjuna could not bring upon himself to aim the fatal arrows, and unleash it upon the venerable Paterfamilias, the venerable Bhishma! Bhishma’s stature & character loomed large, clouding the vision of Arjuna. This hesitation “provoked” Krishna to climb down the chariot, take up his own weapon, the sudarsana Chakra and aim it at Bhishma! A puzzling contrast is that Bhishma, who has never known defeat, nor has ever refused an offer to combat, welcomes with open arms, bare palms, to joyously get killed by Krishna! To me, here, Bhishma’s conscious choice, a seemingly logic-defying one, represents the virtue of selfishness at its peak! (Yes! Ethics and selfishness seem to be in an endless conflict when we are torn between the two, when the choosing either of them becomes imminent, due to compulsions of situation, in our day-to-day-life routine! Selfishness in a deeper sense does advocate ethics, and then there is no inner conflict. That is the secret of our ancient mystics, the spiritual Masters!)
It is this unfair advantage to Bhishma, for which Arjuna does not like to become a root cause! He once again assures Krishna, to resume his resolve ‘not to take up arms himself’. This incident repeats several times! Then ultimately, Arjuna the sole spiritual disciple of Krishna, barely manages to grasp the complex concept of this emotional conflict, and obeys to slay Bhishma!
Some ‘ethical’ prescriptions like ‘do not nurture hate for others’ etc does not really seem to work in practical life! We need to seek better reasons, to cheerfully adopt this kind of ethics. Reasons which are not flimsy, like ‘trying to appear’ like a good person in the eyes of others! Such flimsy reasons only add up to stress within, and cause untold miseries like tension, BP, and related ailments like diabetes! That reminds me of a funny incident! We were a group chatting casually during the post feast-lunch session after a ‘match-fixing’ ceremony of a bride & groom. An elder lady was asserting ‘her’ non-availability to common causes of diabetes like tension, anger, stress, BP etc, when youngsters seated around were trying to suggest a possible cause for her mild manageable level of diabetes. I suddenly blurted out “Telling lies”! Quite unexpectedly, all the youngsters shouted “YES!”!! Despite all of us knowing too well, that this is not a logical answer, the elderly lady became a bit stiff-faced, serious and got deep into thoughts! I at once realized that I had, quite inadvertently, poked at a deep wound inside! (This lady is well known to the entire group, and is deeply respected for her grand stature, blemish-less character, stout honesty, and her health has been a constant concern of all the people around her, always! So, it is not the commonly referred meaning of “telling Lies” that caused laughter to the youngsters or the ‘stiffness’ to that lovable elderly lady!) This is the problem with trying to be ‘ethical’ for superficial reasons! It ends up causing health problems, as an immediate side-effect. I lack courage to mention the other ‘karmic’ side effects! I suppose now, it would be somewhat clear, as to what kind of ‘ethical’ error-bug that Arjuna tried to avoid, and yet needed some time to grasp a ‘better’ reason to adhere to the very same ‘ethics’ while taking the crucial decision to slay Bhishma !
It is this complexity (ethics, emotions, its concepts) that I liked to ‘bring to your kind attention’ for the present!
Regards,Psn (6th November, 2009)
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Agenda in Prison!
There are two ways of looking at the caption!
Yes, I seldom let go an opportunity to imprison the mind, and then let loose my own agenda leaving the mind a bit choice-less!
All that the asker meant to know was the effectiveness of psychologists who are assigned the duty of counseling the prison inmates as well as the prison officers, who become vulnerable to acquiring the unruly attitude as a sort of occupational hazard!
I did feel guilty when I had put up my answer. But very surprisingly the asker did not wait for any more answers! The fourth sloka of a time-capsule(soundarya Lahari), the legendary work of Adi Shankara, that makes a mention of a concept ‘more that what you can even ask for’ (Vaanchya sam Adhikam!) was what I was reminded of! The asker perhaps felt that he/she got more than what was asked.
It is therefore, that I am tempted to share this unusual question, and my answer to it.
I only hope that I do not inadvertently hurt anybody’s personal sentiments!
Regards,
Psn(1st November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091031074714AA6EhOa
Evaluate the effectiveness of Prison Psychologists. Consider how useful these Psychologists are in ...........?
Evaluate the effectiveness of Prison Psychologists. Consider how useful these Psychologists are in terms of helping prisoners and prison officers?THANK YOU!
My answer:
Basically, the inmates of a prison are relatively more innocent ones that those outside! They just translated their thoughts into action, and got caught! There is hardly a crime that the so-called 'gentlemen' outside did not commit in their thoughts!So, the job of a psychologist is much easier dealing with those innocent ones. They are violent, gross, and perhaps appear more tough. They are already 'branded' and so, they do not have anything to lose, holding back their instinctive behavior. But if properly and systematically counseled, they can turn into wonderful beings, with long term effects, compared to most clever ones on the outside.If all the non-prisoners outside were truly good, the society would have been very exemplary. Politicians have not much of a role to play then! Only honest leaders can really survive!
Yes, I seldom let go an opportunity to imprison the mind, and then let loose my own agenda leaving the mind a bit choice-less!
All that the asker meant to know was the effectiveness of psychologists who are assigned the duty of counseling the prison inmates as well as the prison officers, who become vulnerable to acquiring the unruly attitude as a sort of occupational hazard!
I did feel guilty when I had put up my answer. But very surprisingly the asker did not wait for any more answers! The fourth sloka of a time-capsule(soundarya Lahari), the legendary work of Adi Shankara, that makes a mention of a concept ‘more that what you can even ask for’ (Vaanchya sam Adhikam!) was what I was reminded of! The asker perhaps felt that he/she got more than what was asked.
It is therefore, that I am tempted to share this unusual question, and my answer to it.
I only hope that I do not inadvertently hurt anybody’s personal sentiments!
Regards,
Psn(1st November, 2009)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091031074714AA6EhOa
Evaluate the effectiveness of Prison Psychologists. Consider how useful these Psychologists are in ...........?
Evaluate the effectiveness of Prison Psychologists. Consider how useful these Psychologists are in terms of helping prisoners and prison officers?THANK YOU!
My answer:
Basically, the inmates of a prison are relatively more innocent ones that those outside! They just translated their thoughts into action, and got caught! There is hardly a crime that the so-called 'gentlemen' outside did not commit in their thoughts!So, the job of a psychologist is much easier dealing with those innocent ones. They are violent, gross, and perhaps appear more tough. They are already 'branded' and so, they do not have anything to lose, holding back their instinctive behavior. But if properly and systematically counseled, they can turn into wonderful beings, with long term effects, compared to most clever ones on the outside.If all the non-prisoners outside were truly good, the society would have been very exemplary. Politicians have not much of a role to play then! Only honest leaders can really survive!
Training Guns on Emotions!
It is not often, that we get a query that seeks a concerted effort at handling those unpredictable and uncontrollable emotional outbursts!
I got the opportunity to draw the asker’s attention to a glaring aspect of our present day society, which goes almost inconspicuous, and un-noticed! The absence of a structured mechanism or institution to train a person to handle emotions, to train a person to maintain that inner balance, the harmony between conflicting emotions. Without that training, the achievements, with all the logical skills seems to leave a sort of vacuum, depriving a person the joyous experience of rewards of hard work, wealth and even prosperity!
Perhaps, it is time to look at, what ingredients constituted that peace that our ancient simple life-styled ancestors enjoyed!
Regards,
Psn (1st November, 2009)
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091031171534AADigLI
The question:
How do you train yourself to control your emotions?
I am a type of person who is either very happy or very sad, I want to know how to control my emotions how to not feel very sad when something bad happens, I dont think feeling very happy is a problem.Thank you
My answer:
The problem is very reasonable and well justified! Please see, there is no institution, school, or organisation which imparts emotional training in a structured way! We have very good institutions to teach us all the logical skills to handle the material aspect of life. Even handling others to encash their emotions is taught logically, through courses like MBA etc! Psychology teaches us to manage imbalanced people, like that MBBS teaches to manage 'dis-ease'!A human being is equipped with emotional and logical capability. While the logic can evolve with support of outside training, the emotion is left to evolve by itself, exposing to all the vulnerabilities of the outside situation, which is ever unpredictable!The silver lining is the very urge to ask such a question! There is that self-awareness, which is perceiving what is happening to the 'self''!Usually, religious preachers used to take care of this emotional aspect to stabilise a person. All those 'ambiguous' looking teachings aim at maintaining the inner emotional balance, using the 'trust' in the unseen Greater Power, to whom we are asked to bow! It seems very difficult to logically evaluate all those teachings, and it is therefore that a few people seem to Challenge such 'beliefs'.If there is sufficient trust in one's own religious path, there have been very great beings, who have left behind a legacy of precious teachings, which can provide such training to control our emotions. But to get started, it would be very fortunate to have a genuine spiritual guide. A person can evolve by oneself, but it requires greater involvement, and persistence ( tenacity is a better word!).A simple solution would be to watch such emotions with a little space within ourselves, and see that 'bad' happenings are simply beyond our control. A deep sense of 'acceptance' would allow us to have a fair control on our emotions. When emotions overpower us, logic fails to that extent. And with weaker logic, we become vulnerable to outside situation.
Best wishes,
I got the opportunity to draw the asker’s attention to a glaring aspect of our present day society, which goes almost inconspicuous, and un-noticed! The absence of a structured mechanism or institution to train a person to handle emotions, to train a person to maintain that inner balance, the harmony between conflicting emotions. Without that training, the achievements, with all the logical skills seems to leave a sort of vacuum, depriving a person the joyous experience of rewards of hard work, wealth and even prosperity!
Perhaps, it is time to look at, what ingredients constituted that peace that our ancient simple life-styled ancestors enjoyed!
Regards,
Psn (1st November, 2009)
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091031171534AADigLI
The question:
How do you train yourself to control your emotions?
I am a type of person who is either very happy or very sad, I want to know how to control my emotions how to not feel very sad when something bad happens, I dont think feeling very happy is a problem.Thank you
My answer:
The problem is very reasonable and well justified! Please see, there is no institution, school, or organisation which imparts emotional training in a structured way! We have very good institutions to teach us all the logical skills to handle the material aspect of life. Even handling others to encash their emotions is taught logically, through courses like MBA etc! Psychology teaches us to manage imbalanced people, like that MBBS teaches to manage 'dis-ease'!A human being is equipped with emotional and logical capability. While the logic can evolve with support of outside training, the emotion is left to evolve by itself, exposing to all the vulnerabilities of the outside situation, which is ever unpredictable!The silver lining is the very urge to ask such a question! There is that self-awareness, which is perceiving what is happening to the 'self''!Usually, religious preachers used to take care of this emotional aspect to stabilise a person. All those 'ambiguous' looking teachings aim at maintaining the inner emotional balance, using the 'trust' in the unseen Greater Power, to whom we are asked to bow! It seems very difficult to logically evaluate all those teachings, and it is therefore that a few people seem to Challenge such 'beliefs'.If there is sufficient trust in one's own religious path, there have been very great beings, who have left behind a legacy of precious teachings, which can provide such training to control our emotions. But to get started, it would be very fortunate to have a genuine spiritual guide. A person can evolve by oneself, but it requires greater involvement, and persistence ( tenacity is a better word!).A simple solution would be to watch such emotions with a little space within ourselves, and see that 'bad' happenings are simply beyond our control. A deep sense of 'acceptance' would allow us to have a fair control on our emotions. When emotions overpower us, logic fails to that extent. And with weaker logic, we become vulnerable to outside situation.
Best wishes,
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