Alertness, Awareness and Attentiveness
Well, it is like this : if I don't know the difference, there is no difference for_me๐
As simple as that ๐( The side-effects of ignorance, heavily contribute to my 'karma')
A deer is 'alert' enough to know, to sense, that a tiger which is within the range of pouncing upon the deer, is not really hungry right now๐, and therefore there is no need to 'run for its life'.
A lazy soldier might drop his level of alertness, while inside the sleeping place, due to lack_of_awareness that a spy could have infiltrated into the tent where off-duty soldiers take rest/sleep to recoup their stamina.
Attentiveness if sharp enough, helps a 'sharpshooter' to get the victims head shot, at the first chance when the victim holds his head still_for_2_seconds ๐( sharp shooters are professionally trained assassins, with expertise to aim sharp from a great distance using telescopic sight on rifles. They are capable of single-pointed attention, sharp-focus, without any external motivation from an adverse situation on the situation outside, where they lie-down with infinite patience for their victim !)
A baby is razor alert. But it can't remain attentive beyond a few seconds. Awareness is too nascent yet to call it as one.
Our minds tend to compensate for lack of any or even all of these three, by substituting it with a 'defensiveness' which, eventually becomes a huge hurdle in our lives, over a period of time, turning into a 'default' habit ๐ Bulk of our negativity is owing to this 'defensiveness, at the drop of a hat' which gets hardened over a period of time. The negativity has a better name "Resistance" (or intolerance). The tragedy is, kids develop this resistance/intolerance much earlier+faster than the kids of past centuries. ๐ญ. Hardened resistance is brittle enough to cause serious psychosomatic disorders, if the situation hammers it hard enough to break it apart.
A resistance to do something 'new', something extra, is a very common and easily identifiable example.
example:Two people on the road collide with their vehicles. Even with least harmful ones like bicycles. "You are at fault ๐ก" (most common and 'default' reaction we see from both of them!). Only an alert, attentive and aware person among the 2 will manage to 'use' the common sense to 'respond' to the situation. A response is a choice. A reaction is out of negativity. Subtle difference.
When
resistance is a 'default' functionality of a mind, which has indulged into excessive abuse of the 'design' of mother nature, the function of defensiveness, meant for a restricted' and limited use, for the purpose of PRESERVATION of species๐(Remember, the deer is defensive only_when_needed, and doesn't run away from a Tiger, which is not hungry. The alertness and awareness is enough to 'sense' if the tiger is hungry or not right now!. Ironically we don't know the difference experientially between hungry and an empty stomach in us and therefore tend to stuff needless edible junk, the moment stomach feels empty ๐, as a 'defensive-reaction' or insurance against non-existent starvation. Karma punishes us with consequences of indigestion ๐)
The tragedy is, refusal to use these 3 (alertness, awareness and attentiveness) for a long duration, ends up losing the 'functionality' of the 'sense of discrimination' which is available only to the human species ๐ ( A tragedy happened with me, at a spiritual program in 1992. I alone burst into a loud laughter at the remark by the teacher : "Well, if you don't know the difference, there is no-difference". This was his response to the absence of a 'correct answer' from 40 participants, to whom he posed a very simple, basic and fundamental question : "What is the fundamental difference between humans and other species?".... I could easily guess the answer which he was 'looking' for, when he stressed upon the words "fundamental difference" ๐. But i decided to keep shut, being curious to know, how aware my co-participants are. My laughter attracted a 'look' in the faces of participants around which translated as "Fool, what is there to laugh in it ?๐ก"... I at once 'sobered' and became stern-faced! The teacher is the 'boss' not me๐. Let him decide to explain or ignore the absence of sense-of-discrimination in us. )
Somehow, I had a irreparable defect in me . I invoke my defensiveness only as a last resort in any situation. I respond. This defect had perhaps led to my decision to quit prematurely from my salary-oriented routine called a 'job'. I never had to ever regret this decision. On the other hand I felt gratitude to "Maya Madam" who planted a thought in me to quit. By nature, I never quit from a situation where I sense a potential in me to respond๐. Mother earth 'responds' every time it rains ๐. I am made of the material borrowed from earth. so, not a wrong thing to sync with the earthly traits, till I dwell in this body ๐.
In retrospect, I tend to deduce that the observation of my senior participants during 1992 in my first spiritual program, that my pace of progress was a bit unprecedented and fast, was owing to the inadvertent residue in me, of these 3 things, alertness, awareness and attentiveness. My mind keeps losing its battle to push down the levels of these 3 in me, often. More so, after I started practicing the spiritual tools prescribed during the 4 years from 1992. I enjoyed practicing them at frenzy levels!
simply yours,
psn(16 march, 2026)
