The art of telling lies

Even if I tend to be a bit 'preachy' here, it would perhaps, also tempt, those who are most intolerant towards a preachy stuff!

But no... I am only trying to 'look' at the 'art' part of it...

Do we enjoy telling lies, all the time, every time, most of the times, or just at times?

Unless we enjoy doing something, how can it become a art? Simply becoming skilled does not give scope to the 'art' part... art parts away, when we focus on the skill.... skill should be a consequence, even as, on an 'on-going' basis, if it has to remain an art!

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Please see, what is all those famous 'fiction' novels about? They are skilled liars, engaged in trying to make it into an art! (It is the 'commercial consideration' that tends to make it skill-oriented, when the creativity-concept of art is trying to ... struggling to ... survive inside that story! That is exactly what we criticise, when the end of a movie, a novel becomes a 'routine' stuff!

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As adults, we do not enjoy telling lies, even when it is a 'social-compulsion' (somebody asks us for a hand-loan, quoting some very 'urgent' need.... we invent another 'urgent' need... trying to compete with the quality of the borrower's urgency... both become tense while lying to each other!)...

Now, we the same adults, try to convince a kid of 2 years of age, that the “crow took it away” ... that kid becomes transfixed ... the gaze tells it all to us .... he shifts gaze from our eyes to our noise when we animate it with a 'kooooosssssshhhhhh), or our hands ... we 'flourish our arms in a vague direction' (courtesy-Shri R.K.Narayan, his 'fictional' story) .... the kid is trying to decide which is more reliable.... our hands, noise, or the hands itself.... there was some gadget, now vanished, which the kid thought was a 'toy' ... but for us , either the gadget is valuable, or the kid's safety or both! When it is 'both' our joy during that 'telling' a lie is better, and the artistry gains momentum, and itensity, to rivet the kid's attention towards the fiction part of it! What we may not realise is that the kid at that age is 'pristine-intelligence', and the grasping is at the best-ever-peak-levels! It does not have the self-awareness to recall the images (the video plus audio of our 'fiction' ) to further analyze it soon after... but the kid's chemistry retains the impressions in an embedded form.... here starts the 'karma', or 'maya'.... Even our 33-crore-Gods, seem to find it easy to say 'Thatah-asthoo' instead of they themselves facing the consequence of taking a 'decision' (all those maya-related dramas, which become epics later on ! (At all big places, there is always a scape-goat, who is forced to 'announce' having made a decision, and become available for the punishments, if any, later on!).. Maybe, if we make it into an art, that lying, and enjoy telling it, we might go undetected during a lie-detector test! That 'narco-analysis' test requires greater art, obviously!

When we develop the skill, we fare better at logical areas like algebra ( in solving simultaneous equations, we add 'x' at both sides.... fair enough, though the 'x' is a lie, looking at the 'original'equation!).... does it look like a far-fetched-example? That 'Perry Mason' in one of the novels by Erle Stanley Gardner, 'plants' two extra guns, at the 'scene' of murder, and manages to divert the police detectives 'off the scent' from the real murder weapon! Later on, he quotes the loop-hole in the law “Tampering the evidence is a crime, but not adding an evidence”!

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When I said about memory-recall, please see, memory is not just in our minds, or brain-cells or whatever... That scar on our forehead reminds us of 'how it happened'.. and if that scar was caused by us on our kid, the pain of recalling it is still worse! We have portable memory gadgets now.... pen-drive, pencil-drive, etc... Monuments hold memories of ancient people... The junk of 'duplicate-gadgets' that we marketed without proper bills carry memories of how we lied to innocent buyers (especially the non-biodegradable-junk)... The sounds of what we say, keeps revolving around us getting further fragmented as it crashes incessantly against other 'true-lies'.. but it is only a question of small dish, a set-top-box, to collect those fragments, reconstruct those words, and amplify it, re-enjoy listening to it years later, during our re-entry into the earth's orbit..... there seems to be a whole technology developed by ancients, a wonderful name in sanskrit (translates quite close to a word in english as 'synthesis' ..)... this process is basically aimed at 'commuting' the gross-total-effect of all the lies that we lived by, nullyfying it, and then try to 'look at' proceeding further towards a 'release' ( a very long journey indeed! For those who insist on a bit 'practical-way' it is a tough-journey too, with the need to return to their very same 'karma-bhoomi' again.....!!! But, it can be a greater possibility when the 'intensity', by itself, compresses the time—yet another process—widely popular as 'Tapas'!

Art? (I told you... it is easier to become 'preachy' with our strong-inclinations towards lies... Several similar attempts were made in the recent past... Bhajans were re-mixed to blend into music-portion, or the 'noise-portion' of those 'item-songs' ... to entice those who repel at those dry-bhajan tunes of rich and traditional values! Gimmicks are all that we can use, to deal with those who 'refuse' to 'see'... Mystics seem to enjoy only 'tough' propositions.... like taking the water to it, making the camel 'gulp it', ..... when we know only-that “we can ONLY take a camel to the pond, not make it drink!”)

psn(31^st March, (2012)

Checks and Balances

If somebody likes to view it as, ..... that “ verify the balance in the Bank account before issue of a cheque ....” , well I seek shelter under the “ Redundancy theory of truth” (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Redundancy+theory+of+truth) ...

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For those interested in mysticism, it is a different issue altogether....

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(I was even worried, if this post has to be 'classified' , and categorized under 'mysticism'... but then I thought, mention of an aspect concerning 'mysticism', by itself, does not warrant a 'classification' (like the files marked 'classified information'... it is up to the seekers, to look for those greener pastures! )

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Even great institutions find it difficult to grapple with the task of putting an effective system under place, to have those fine-tuned 'checks and balances' .... loop holes are many ... system lapses are abundant ... scams thrive in such fertile, humid, atmospheres! That 'data-integrity' itself needs those 'checks and balances', not to speak of computational designs, complex embedded systems, processors etc which need even security too! Financial institutions struggle despite on-going audits, or concurrent audits.

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Coming to the mystic aspect, the first surprise came, when as an initiate, I started wondering as to how that 'chant' which was hardly a mystery, so easily available, so widely publicized, ... could trigger a mystic phenomenon, just because I was going to be put through a traditional ritual of 'initiation'? ... then came an instance, where I ended up with some headlong-collision with the recent most of our family preceptors, regarding the seed-invocation factor attached to a very common hymn (which was 'otherwise' an innocent looking propitiation of a deity)... When challenged, I reeled off that 'seed' factor... He abruptly became tense (as if I had tripped on a landmine), and cut me to a stop at the half way (the safe half .... of course). I was surprised. I had logical support from within me to place implicit trust in him... He was the last of the descendants of the sytem of 'family-preceptors' who lived up to the concept of living for the 'good of others' (puro-hit .... puro= other, and hith= good, a simple translation of those sanskritised form of nomenclature). I could not grasp the concerns he had hid behind the anxiety he manifested... Yet I trusted his judgement and action of having stopped me (there after, our relationship acquired a new dimension, though quite a clandestine one, since there was that generation gap, and others around... who were beyond reach, at least then!).

My wanderings into spiritual pursuits during the later part of my life, happened to 'more than' convince me about the wonderful system of 'checks and balances' the ancients had instituted into those lavishly strewn gems all around us!.

To a logical mind, there is an example of in the novel 'Atlas Shrugged' where, the hero chants a pre-embedded phrase, when recited properly, the sound becomes the key, to open the doors to a vault housing a giant motor. Any tampering with the door, would trigger a mechanism to render the contents of the vault into a shattered mound of dust! There was an old English movie where an army trained physicist used the sound from a small explosive detonator to crack open a huge masonary dam, while it was 'otherwise' difficult to approach the militarily-well-guarded-dam.

This at once raises again the doubts and debates about the 'need' of a teacher/guide/guru/preceptor, to become an 'initiate'.... The very nature of mind is 'divisive' when it is dominated by the logical aspect. This attitude presupposes the state of our existance to be only 'dualistic' by its very nature, accepting the interdependence quite generously at the same time, ... as 'exclusive' to all other possibilities. That is why the vehement inclination to refute the dependence on a 'third' entity (as a guru or so...). But, once the perception deepens enough to conclusively resolve the issue of this 'duality' into a non-duality, the arguement about the 'guru' also would dissolve (not just resolve!). But the problem is not that easy , though it looks simple ! That baby starts crying incessantly out of hunger, and would not relent until the first morsel of its feed enters the stomach. But the first morsel would not 'safely' pass down the gullet till the crying recedes! So, somewhere, the Guru has to excercise his benevolence, force-feed the 'initiation' upon the unwilling but innocent baby, and then resolve the issue! (How these giant masters do it , their 'maneuverability' through this impasse, is yet another mystic phenomenon!). This was something that fascinated me very much, and obviously, I had to pursue it, till I reached a stable plateau ( like that 'padaav' in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' , from which we do not slip further down!)...

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I have to place my humble apologies to those who reached up to this point, without being able to comprehend the theme in a cohesive manner... but I could sense/feel a few inquisitive 'minds' at the forum, who would find it quite thirst-provoking perhaps.

psn(28^th March, 2012)

Chaos

Somebody wrote a wonderful blog about the theory of chaos, and I found myself poking my nose into that blog (as I find myself doing it quite often, of late, into the other blog-posts of that friend...).

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It was about a heavy theory, that makes a person heave, when he decides to look at it intensely!

( http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/msticism/pleasantadverse-events-are-due-to-effect-of-chaos-theory )

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When I finished my response, I thought of giving it yet another twist... it is just a theory ... may be to inspire those who are insistent upon logic, than those abstract theories...

Please see, chaos can happen only in our mind .... not anywhere else!

To give a 'contrast' example, are we not looking forward to an event we call as 'wedding-reception'.. this nomenclature, at least in India, has ceased to live up to its own original 'purpose' of late...

It precedes the wedding itself, and is conveniently clubbed with 'reception' for a wedding. We find it very convenient to 'show' our faces during that reception, climb up the dais, thrust the envelope into hands of either, pose for still photo-image, oblige the request of that still-photographer's gesture to wait for a few more seconds till the video person spans the camera from one end to the other, shake hands, and then shake the head also (converting it into a look-like-a-nod), ahead of time, presuming the host's mumble 'please eat and go' (what else do you expect? Travel all the way back home on an hungry stomach, and face the wrath at home?).. but a plastic smile... hurriedly offered, to reassure that the host is very reasonable to hurry through us too , like wise.

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In all this scenario, please see, ... when we meet other acquaintances, .... often after a gap of time .... it is actually the chaos there, the created chaos that we cheerfully accept, welcome and rejoice ... we have no 'reference' point to start a meaningful conversation when we meet a person after too long a time. So after that 'how-do-du-doo' noise, there is nothing else to do except retain that 'cheeks-elongated-sideways' gesture we call as smile, waiting painfully till the other fellow 'blinks-first'! The 'music' is in full blare (try asking the residents of any close-by apartments, as to how they wish they were 'apart' from the noise too, the very same way they stay 'apart' in a flat which is called an apart-ment, though housed in the same building itself!)... We try to shout our polite, courteous inquiries, to become audible.... Usually the other fellow nods in addition to that retained-plastic-smile (as if he could hear it!). We repeat the query... this time, he sincerely brings his ear very close to our mouth, and mumbles a whisper-response (again being too unsure of having heard the query right).... this exchange goes on, and fills the time .... till it is 'time' enough to proceed to the dining hall (God-forbid, if it is buffet, standing and balancing that large plate in the left hand is painful, and more painful is the need to converse, as a part of courtesy!)...

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This is a typical 'chaos' we cheerfully get invited to, participate, and subtly rid ourselves of that 'unmanageable' clutter going on at the back of our mind, for a while! A win-win-situation for all! The traditional ritual of participating in the highest of the 12 odd forms of wedding, handed down by ancestors, to witness, promote, participate, and partake the benefits thereof, of that invoking the higher beings, with the sacrificial fire, the invoking of chants, the creating of 'fusion-ensuring' mantras, the subtle yantras, the severing of subtle birth-bonds, for a higher purpose, and therefore the conscious-fusion-bonding into another lineage/chain of ancestral bonds, ..... all that is blissfully by-passed!

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Any imaginary visitor to our planet would be welcomed first by the chaos we created in the immediate periphery of our planet (recently, a news-paper reported the narrow escape of cosmonauts from ISS, from getting hurt by that debris, and the statistical guess-work of volume was also mentioned)... the junk that keeps circling the earth's outer orbit. In the name of better connectivity for better communication, we have created a permanent 'chaos' around our planet itself... A sample to indicate to the visitor, that 'more like this' waits when you land on us! And then we talk of 'collective' karma, and ask questions like 'why so many share the same calamity at the same time?' etc...

Anyway, I am not trying to offer any solution.... just to keep us well informed, and if inclined, take a periodical re-look....

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I reproduce below the response that I gave for that friend's blog-post... I tripped on to a subtle hint about re-birth theory (for what ever it is worth!), and that is why, I thought , why not spill it out at another blog-post itself!

psn(26^th March, 2010)

Quote:

I am reminded of an interesting event during a workshop we attended a few years ago....Some faculty member takes that extra efforts, walks that extra mile, to give a demonstration about how 'team-spirit' is practically implemented ... We had one such person. The event he conducted was 'beyond the call of duty' (his colleague-faculty used to simply dismiss it as 'out of syllabus' and a stupid and needless effort!.. So, this teacher had to 'request' very politely, and then garner support, after the 'mandated' duty hours, from the trainee-participants... A typical PSU where 'rules' are more of an excuse for 'non-performance'!... Anyway, that is not the point...)
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We were grouped into 5 in each group, given random pieces of puzzles, asked to arrange the pieces of that jigsaw puzzle. The pieces were shuffled such that the 4 groups of 5 each had all the pieces inter-mingled.
It is the rules, that made the things difficult, and at the same time, helped us to evolve "during the struggle"!!!
We were not to speak to each other...
We cannot ask for a piece from the next person, or from the next group even... and even with gestures! Anybody can pass over the 'unwanted' piece to the person next to him (only on the right side), and if he is benevolent, and also the next few, that piece might come back to us (if we wrongly handed over that puzzle! Karma theory plus free-will in action!)
The worst aspect was, there were a few 'common' pieces which would 'delude' us to fit in at one place say "place A" so well, that it was needed badly, exclusively at some other place, some other point 'place Q'.... (Here was the difficulty, .... to perceive, and judge correctly! we had good fun, watching the frustration on the 'intelligent' faces, at the stupidity of 'passive' participants, who just casually, indifferently passed on a piece several times... and as if to add to the trouble, some other 'wise' guy used to pass it to the next table on the right.. which means, that piece would come back to us after several rounds at each of the tables... like that precious 'human' birth coming back after several lifetimes as other life-forms!)
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Nice blog sir.

Mandate

Politics starts right inside our head!

The title can be viewed in at least two ways...

Our mandate (I got a mandate....), and our mandate (I gave a mandate).... This itself is 'politics', nurturing the 'idea' to look at it in all possible ways, instead of looking at what it means with a “contextual reference” (children look at it mostly by contextual reference, out of ignorance + innocence.... that is why they are lesser into 'adult-type-politics'...)... to further complicate, rake in the gender issues by raising a protest 'in-favour-of' a newer version “Woman-date” (are we women meant only for your 'dating'....? we need a 'reservation' in our favour, with a womandate, which no man can consider as His-Man-date!)

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I don't know why or how I got into this muddle of 'title-analysis'.... I had intended (when I has set out to write), just to bringing a similarity about how elected representatives forget the purpose why they are elected, and have their own agenda's... and yet, never fail to quote 'people's mandate' for purely political purposes of scoring over their adversaries (now-a-days, they have a problem with the Umpires too! The media plays, both , 'to the gallery/s, and ....well, we know!).... Like wise, we as 'human' entities, with volitional consciousness, reasonably agreeable to the axiom 'existence exists', seem to misinterpret the 'mandate' of being a human, in several ways.... we re-enter the arena, then, in several other forms, to filfill other created mandates... but deprived of the awareness about it.... in a few 'base' forms of life, .... and again perhaps resurface with a fresh human mandate... (now reminding ourselves of the mandate is itself a political 'procedure' as we see in commercialised version of several religions!)..... We get out-side support, issue-based support, walk-out support (abstention from voting to ensure marginal victory of one side)... etc!

(When I try to look at it as a 'mandate'.... I feel fortunate that I spend more time 'commenting' on blogs, instead of risking the 'unmandated' blogging-independently..... Some unseen, abstract, 'something' ... seems to have protected me when I had been blissfully writing for an obscure blog page for nearly 5 years! Hardly any comments/rebukes/retorts/remarks/etc.... But here at ST, the vulnerability is quite 'heavy'! :) ... and somehow it does not 'occur' to target the 'comments' to a blog! The author seldom 'invites' troubles along with the 'doosra' invitation to comment-itself!... so it is quite safe to 'assume' the aaam-aadmi' position... cast a secret ballot in favour, and then criticise from the bench of the nearest road-side-tea-shop!)

psn ... 22Mar2012

ps: that reference to 'ST' was the web-page, for which this post was basically written... and obviously, the 'obscure' one, we all are so familiar with!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/science-of-spirituality/mandate

Are we 'reasonably-logical' or 'logically-reasonable'?

It is not about interplay of words. Neither is it about teasing or tickling the 'sentiments'. It is about an attempt to strike a judicious balance between the exercise of logic on the one hand, and upholding the emotional values on the other, and retain both of them, well under our faculty of 'reasoning'.

We happen to inadvertently 'touch' those delicate 'religious sentiments' of a person when we try to find out how they manage a 'deal' with their deity, trying to offer a petty gift in return for a huge and disproportionate benefit... Those who 'feel' the hurt are quick to shift their position, and quite swiftly act upon the query, trying to become a legal advocate on behalf of their deity.... this positioning makes an explanation on their 'own' behalf to be 'redundant'! What they fail to see is that they stretch their logic to an unreasonable extent, to cover up their own inadequacy of emotional strength to handle the situation on their own! Most of the incidents in our day to day life get 'adjusted' or tolerated, despite the 'lack of reasoning' to support certain attitudes.... thus came to be born that 'sentiment' perhaps! And once that 'sentiment' takes an avatar, there is no other way (for the time being), but to rename it as a 'false-sentiment' , just as we try to 'disarm' /diffuse it like we remove the small switch or fuse of an explosive, and later on take it out to an open are and set fire to that explosive material (in the case of that 'false-sentiment', it can be 'engaged' like that missile any time again!). The 'reasonable' part of that precious emotion of a sense of gratitude, and the show of it as a gesture, at times, due to urgency of the 'seeker' takes the shape of a 'deal' and like that adage of putting the 'cart-before-the-horse', the deal is struck in advance, even before receiving the benefit... (that round about way of justification of emotion by over-stretching the logic.... anyway, a gesture of gratitude is due.... so why not offer that token of gratitude as a guarantee , well in advance, and hope for the gift/ benefit like an insurance policy? Or, shall we say, a 'mututal-benefit-scheme' ?). It is this over-stretching of logic that clouds the intellect, and we miss the basic concepts, the fundamentals about the source of creation, the creator.... and when such tendencies harden or solidify into a sort of sentiment, it becomes like our own built-in 'chemistry', to be 'religiously' handed down to even the next generation/s too!

That 'religious' sentiments was a 'typical' instance to illustrate the point... because it is the 'religious' aspects that tend to heavily polarise a person, way beyond emotional considerations too! Otherwise, we often find the conflict between emotional decisions and logical decisions locking horns through their representatives (spouses usually :) ... and we know who wins 'normally'!}... It is not about supporting one against the other.. it is about conscious use of 'reasoning' to arbitrate using the sense of discretion a bit judiciously! Unless we do this, we are not merely setting a bad example to our off-springs... we are even leaving them utterly confused, about our own 'sense of maturity'! No point, lamenting about 'trust-deficit' later on....

(I am still hunting for an 'exact' equivalent of the English word 'sentiment' in one of our Indian languages..... Or... was it that we never needed it in our ancient 'bullock-cart' days! Also that 'boredom' seems elusive in our Indian way of saying it!)

PSN(14^th March, 2012)

Emotional Training, Desi style!

Somebody tried to 'brand' me as a movie-buff .... (I am yet to 'rebuff' the surface meaning that I had grasped, about what 'they' mean by a 'buff'.... and then to attempt at reaching its intrinsic meaning ... my laziness got the better of me... long ago, I had managed to grasp its 'round-about' meaning due to frequent contextual-usage collusions!.. please try.... those who use 'buff' as a suffix with 'movie' often mean it --or are led to presume it--- ... as movie-crazy....!!! )...

But please see.... it is not just me who digs up such old 'things', re-cycles it, renews it, buffers it (in the sense of 'polishing'... that 'buffer' it....)... there are several others, who do it as a part of their curriculum....

Teaching kids is no kids-game! Learning to 'teach' has to go much deep, to catch their emotions 'early' (catch them early.... they say!)... Once the kids get stabilised into emotions, they happen to 'learn how to learn'... and the rest is going to be record-shattering!

If patience permits, please take a look at these two video clips (they aren't too long and the music is not too noisy either!)....

that original song....

Masoom (1960): Nani teri morni ko mor le gaye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4HmKkvluxM

ITEP Participants singing a poem (Nani teri morni Ko mor le gaye)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4YxV9mf9jo

Deadlines

“Shubh-shub bolo.....” chided the 'elders', when as a kid, I used to explicitly manifest my inquisitiveness to know about that only certainty in our life... Death!

I am glad that now we are more “practical”, dealing with it... We speak about 'dead' lines day-in-and-day-out (yes mostly nights, when techies approach that “Zero” hour! Approaching 'zero' is of tremendous significance to a spiritual pursuer, for he/she knows the unknowability of 'nothingness' except by experience itself!)...

I was simply 'shaken' when that youngster protested “please don't distract me... I am busy working between deadlines...” . I wondered how can a person position oneself “between” two deadlines? A rare phenomenon of stepping aside from time, into timelessness, and yet glancing at the two time frames... simultaneously? ..... As a simpleton, I could only visualise myself approaching two deadlines ahead of me, not able to picturise “me” between a Dead-deadline, and a 'live-deadline'... thinking thus, I blurted out to that youngster “Do you ever find yourself working towards any 'alive-line”?.... “no...” he replied... “in worst-case scenarios... “ (aha! Again anti-shub... or ashub...).. he added “we have that “extended” deadlines....”... 'Okay', I thought, 'as long as you 'maintain' that familiarity with 'dead' you are 'into' spirituality, whether you like it or not!'..... but kept wondering, how it would be if I were to be standing sandwitched between two long deadlines, dead people lying in two long lines, me.... waiting to choose a 'priority' line!!! Maybe, that is why these youngsters of today face 'stress-related' outcomes too often... all the time 'facing' only 'deadlines' not 'life-lines'!

Mercifully, spirituality does not stipulate any 'dead' line... The whole eternity or.... why be miserly, several endless, infinite eternities ... is waiting till we opt to look at the 'life' or 'life-line' of spirituality, our spirit... that is...!!!

psn(21^st February, 2012)

That preachy-stuff... "Turn Inwards"

I Did not even know then, that it did not work!.....

That was the tender age at which the elders around me liberally showered me with this adage....

That 'showering' in my experience can be likened to a hasty father pouring a bucket full of iced water over the lazy son, refusing to get up from sleep, when it is getting late for school...!

It made me feel cold, when I tried to think over 'how to implement' this 'turning inwards'! (Today, eminent psychiatrists are there to teach us, not to give 'abstract' sermons to children... and a famous example is, shouting at a child who is comfortably perched on a tall feeble branch of that tree “Don't fall”.... That kid finds it difficult to 'carry out' how NOT-TO-FALL... instead, the psychiatrists suggests, try telling the kid “Hold Firmly....” (on to the nearby stronger branch till help reaches...).

But, I had a kind of obstinacy. This obstinacy of mine 'stood me in good stead' in many ways in making a 'reasonable' progress on my yet another obstinate pursuit.... that one, ...of spiritual path! I had been wondering what made me admire those 'aghoris' when most people turned their mind away instantly on reading about what they do! Maybe, I too had a mild, crude form of it in my own 'sense' of that obstinacy! As if to confirm, my mind had churned out a blog about 'breaking point' some time ago!

Anyway,.... turning inwards turned out to be a 'nosey' business (oh! Almost literally!)... Nothing spiritual about my experiments trying to 'experience'... but I did notice the oddities about my nose, at an age when it can be said 'you are too young for that.....(too subtle to notice)'... I had been noticing that 'good' cooks found their appetite 'died' after cooking for a large crowd... Their hunger remained, and they satiated it with another couple of rounds of beverages like 'strong' coffee or tea, and used the same dialogue “I feel well fed, when I find the guests have liked the taste'... Elders tried to 'explain' to me that.... maybe, they are too tired to eat ..... I was not to be put of with such 'touch and go' observations. I was a 'nosey' kid, and found that they(the cooks) tested the aroma with their nostrils too often, to avoid any penal deductions from cooking-fee, for lack of taste! How do they guarantee the taste, by just smelling it? The vast examples of bulk of people approving the smell (fragrance) to be the yard-stick, seemed to console me.... Till, .... I tested with a 'precious' condiment... that 'Elaichi' which was used to top-up the sweet dish 'payasam' or sweet-porridge like thing... The rule was to add it only after the dish had reasonably cooled down.... I tested, tasting the grain of elaichi clove , pinch-clipping my nose for a few seconds! The taste became evident only after releasing the nose! That's it.... There could be several dishes we taste only through our nostrils! (some where I had once read that minutely sliced tiny pieces of onion and apple are indistingushable, if tasted, with clipped nose! I don't know for sure, but am inclined to say... maybe....)

This 'nosey' attitude of mine (not that 'obstinate' attitude.... that one was about doing 'what ever it takes' kind of attitude!).... this 'nosey' attitude led me to admire the nose of a blind man who could smell sunset! (Courtesy: Old Hindi Movie: Koshish... that blind man amazed the hero, announcing on a sea beach, that the sun had 'just' set!... They wondered 'how a blind man.....' and he explained... 'I can smell the sunset'!). I learnt that the sense organs can subtitute each other's function in a crisis, or say “outsource” its job, even 'at-will'..... a lesson that helped me to climb at a slightly higher pace when asked to 'perfect' the art of 'naadi-shuddi' through 'sukha-pranayama' , and such other subtle practices to map-the-inward-turning-path!

Next surprise came about 'inside' when they told me the difference between vital organs and important organs! Eyes are important, but not vital to just 'living' (or we may say 'vegetating'), where as, the kidney being a vital one has ample evidence when we frequent a hospital and 'hear' that 'if his/her kidney is not doing well, it is an indication.... time to inform close relatives! Please see, we do not bother about the 'vitality' of our stomach, and pamper the 'importance' (important to us, .... or.. “we”.... the 'impotent'... shall we say :)....inability to 'respond' to 'liveliness of stomach' the headquarters of all ailments!. This inability is not excusable like that 'differently' abled.... it is 'defiantly' abled, an obstinacy that 'need-not-go-unpunished' ...}... importance... of those few centimeters of taste buds with all the junk that we can find at that unearthly hour in the 'metros' and proudly proclaim, 'metro-lives-at-midnight'!!! {So, ... abuse of condiments, impedes the progress on spiritual path also... brahma-granthi... a knotty problem at 'physical' level, retarding us from turning inwards.}

We have a situation now!

“We have a situation now...” The cop says over a mike, in the English Movies (American)... I could grasp the meaning only after hearing it several times!

I was familiar with another usage “I am situated at....” .... I used to hear this often during my school days. Now it is out of fashion. Now, when 'we have a situation'... it also means, the situation HAS us (got us, stuck in it!).

How do we deal with the situation? How do we get out of it? (Cops have to get into 'situation' (their situation is unique, thrilling, risky, dangerous etc).

I had been putting off, the learning 'to ride a bicyle', for too long.... where as, all most all of my classmates used it daily, to commute to school. A very close friend, decided it is time to push me into it, and we had his cycle at stake (his magnanious choice!), and the school ground empty one summer afternoon(we had 'morning' school during hot months). In a matter of about 30 minutes, I could stay on the seat, use the pedal, and keep going straight.... only straight... not yet ready to turn left/right.

Once I got a feel of it, my focus got diluted, and now my future problems cropped up.... Right now the ground is vacant, no sharp turns, no narrow lanes, easy to ride. But what to do when somebody abruptly comes in front of me? I knew the effect of sudden braking. (As if reading my thoughts, that friend of mine took another cycle of a common friend, and deliberately brought it across ..... cutting my path. I banged my cycle into his, and both of us fell. No serious injuries. That friend was giving me a 'feel' of what accidents look like! I got over the fear, and never had any serious accident during 40 years of driving two/four-wheeler autos even!(Experience pays.... I got the concept!)

Sermons(that we get to hear, and a few of them that find an appeal in us) never come really handy when we get into 'situations'! (That is why the 'Kolaveri-di', when we hear the 'preachy' stuff!).... It seems easy to grasp, or even try out the teachings, like the smooth straight ride on an open ground, for a beginner on cycle-riding...... no sooner there is a crowd of problems, chaotic traffic like situation, these sermons seem to further confuse us coming to us(memory recollection), in pairs, with opposite meanings! (Somebody sent me a mail, with pairs of proverbs, carrying a meaning just the opposite of each other!).

So, how to deal with the 'situation'? The first hurdle usually is that our negative emotions overpower us even before we get to understand the situation fully. Even with sufficient practice, chaotic traffic makes us tense, when we are caught in the middle of it, driving a vehicle... Only one category of vehicle drivers seem unruffled by any kind of traffic ... situation, that is...... the youth who got hold of their prized bike, brand new, stylish look, etc.... Not that they do not get into accidents. For that, the worrying part/task, they 'outsource' it to their parents, who are bankers provided by nature! But, they are not tense about the situation. That is the point. (May be they cause tension to others on road). They enjoy riding it, whatever the situation. That is the essence. If somehow, we can get that attitude(remaining joyous in chaotic situation), we would do far better in life-situations, learning each time, evolving faster with each situation, and keep riding / gliding through life, throughout life. Emotions like fear & anger cloud our vision, and the situation appears blurred. We begin to scramble, and if too many around shout, we get further confused!

To make a small beginning, maintaining that breath-awareness might help to retain the calm, joyousness (anyways, we need to keep breathing all the time.... just try to maintain the breath awareness... no big risk, no big task... if it does not work, just drop it!).

(I had just managed learning, to take along somebody(even two people) on bicycle as a pillion rider/s.... I still envy those who could hold the left handle-bar of another bicycle, with their right hand, and ride both, seated on one! They are like Guru's on spiritual path, they can carry even an-other vehicle along, remain stable themselves, and teach others to ride well!)

psn(7^th February, 2012)

Specialisation and Skill

I found, most people use these two terms quite effortlessly, where as, I found great difficulty and was quite often very apprehensive that it is not really so interchangeable!

While it is not my intention to detest or even persuade or provoke others to refrain or restrain themselves from using it interchangeably, I felt it is time to share my own views, and the residual benefit by taking “yet another perspective” (mine, this time, right or wrong)!...

As a simple example, a worker who specialises in brick laying is usually referred to as a skilled labour, where as the helper who fetches the brick does not merit any skill or speciality!

As a bit complex example, a specialist-doctor would demonstrate a skill at surgery! (Whether the patient survives or not, depends upon the amount of skill, and the special knowledge that the doctor carries in his brain, at the time of surgery and before deciding upon the surgery.

Like this we have several examples, and even instances of negative application, like a skilled witness who carries the justice to the wrong side..... Yes, we are at once reminded of the skill of the lawyer who turns the whole case in favour of his/her client!

The confusion occurs where skill and specialisation overlap, or get 'seamlessly interwoven' as the techies skillfully put it! Where specialisation fails them, techies skillfully cut and paste the codes of a program, to tide over the nagging bug! (Please try countering this statement, and I shall feel highly obliged to learn! Yes, some people do 'specialise' in hacking... it is a laudable branch, and specialists are most 'sought-after' by head-hunters, for security, if not anything else! Skill is perhaps required only in camouflaging this specialisation to avoid the prying eye of a competetor. I am not competent enough to elaborate any further please.....).

My doubt is, whether specialisation aims at in-depth knowledge, coupled with extreme sensitivity, alertness, awareness and presence of mind, while skill depends largely on intense practice, effortless ease due to repetitive performance. A car driver needs skill, leaving the area of specialisation as a matter of choice in areas of ambiguity like finding out the right hotel, locating the correct address, sifting the correct place out of similar looking names of location etc...

Now, we come to interpersonal skills..... oh! I blurted out the same 'familiar' words quite mechanically, out of large data-bank of memory of having heard the frequent use of the term! Do we require any 'special' attention to handle relationship, or is it merely enough to have the 'communication-skill' to get into a lasting relationship! Special attention is the perpetual demand of any kind of specialisation (as I see), while skill takes off the need to be alert (a skilled cyclist can ride leaving both the hands... off the handle-bar, a skilled stenographer can take dictation and accurately transcribe any junk (what I mean is, the words beyond comprehension, ... jargon,..... or........ a topic not worth getting at its meaning... like some routine 'report' to higher authorities, statutory bodies etc! .... It is here that I get an old doubt back..... some of my class-mates earned a “good” by repeating the contents of a text book, due to their sheer skill at reproducing the words verbatim, where as I used to struggle to grapple the concept, thereby taking inordinate delay in even securing a just-pass marks!... Somehow, that by-hearting never made a successful appeal to me! It is not that I did lack memory.... At work place, I happened to surprise several colleagues , when I used to reel off numbers from books of accounts, dates of routine transactions, out of multitudes of data!.... All this was not any kind of skill, and I am yet to find out how it crept into my memory, and came out instantly at will, at the appropriate time!).... My chase for specialisation was an unending one, like chasing the mirage on hot sand at mid-day!.... Personally, the gains out of this chase seemed purely 'incidental' and by no means to be considered as a skill (the so called 'gains' I mean..).

I am reminded of a joke (I read it in a 'respectable' magazine, much to my surprise, but never had the courage to share it, out of embarrasment of course.... and even now, I am not sure if the situation justifies it..... only readers have to decide)... The joke was like this.... It so happened that a professor was demonstrating the efficacy of an injectable drug to a group of students, at a veterinary college. The lecture/session was intended to demonstrate induced mating for breeding purpose. The four legged animal did not respond to the injection. The professor became nervous. The keeper of the animal, who never had any access to the book-knowledge, but had adequate experience of the demonstration (several batches of students/professors over several years of his 'unstinted' service) saved the situation by gently pulling out a hair from the genital area of the animal. The response was adequate, and the students were impressed. But, one voice from the rear spoiled the whole show with a remark “Oh! Now I know why my uncle lost all his hair, and became prematurely bald!

(If the joke seems to have an appeal, then it is a 'case' of skill ruling over specialisation.... But if it does not appeal, please, for heaven's sake do not tear apart your hair.... Not worth bald(en)ing... ).

Either ways, time to stop the narrative!

(Spirituality, by itself, does not make any demands either on specialisation or skill, unless we intend to impress others!.... The venerable Masters remind ... that we undertake the 'practices' each time, as if you are doing it for the first time!)

psn(4^th February, 2012)

Stop preaching ..... Please..!!!

There has been always, a great outcry against 'preaching'....

Basically, human species is not designed to preach at all! Some how, the tendency to preach has got into us....

Teaching differs a lot from preaching.... But sadly, even the profession of teaching has adopted preaching, too largely, as a comfortable and convenient replacement-tool, to that tiresome and painstakingly laborious method of teaching..... and hence the 'Kolaveri-di' against preaching....

..

Can't blame preachers entirely! We have proved our tolerance to preaching... And we evolved into that kind of a tolerance right from day 1! .... Looks surprising! Please see, I am saying about tolerance, not about preaching, that we evolved into.....

A baby cries incessantly, and if nothing else occurs to the worried mother to console the child, she starts blaberring rhythemically..... “La la laa, lu, lu looo, tu tu thoo, pa pa paaa...” and so on...

Most of the times, the baby becomes drowsy, and if there is no external support to fight the drowsiness, it falls asleep.... That mother proudly proclaims an expertise at singing the best lullaby! Little does that innocent mother realise, that she had “initiated' the child into tolerating senseless jargon, (junk characters of spoken language!), and the child dozed off out of sheer mind-fatigue!

When the child enters the school, we have an army of teachers and array of 'prescribed' text book, which ensures the “continuity” into this tolerance.... Children doze off in class room....

Some subjects like algebra begin with “suppose we call that number as X.....” (a first timer really starts suspecting the 'knowledge-adequacy' of this branch of mathematics now... 'so algebra doesn't really know how to call it, and starts with a hollow-sounding presupposition right at the beginning!'.... says the thought process, about lazy-mathematics )...... A bit non-alert student would hurry to classify this subject itself as a sort of 'preacher' who himself is not sure of what he preaches!

Parents preach 'Never tell a lie'... and incidentally, but simultaneously, though inadvertently, 'prompt' that kid to answer the ringing phone with a caution 'If it is that so-and-so..... tell them I am not there... gone out 'sine-die'....etc...' (the kid gets the message, preachings are never to be taken literally!)....

It is against this back-drop that our youth repel at even genuine efforts to get them awakened into a spiritual quest! But, reacting to some kind of suggestions that sound like a 'take-it-or-throw-it' one, they try to poke an arguement or two, trying to look quite innocent, but meant to find out whether this preacher really has any credible evidence or supportive experience..... Reactions abound.... Responses are a bit rare, and still rarer are non-casual ones!

My apprehension is largely about my own ignorance about the other person, who might even be a fully enlightened one, and would stare blankly, and deep inside, enjoying my franctic effort with a subtle chuckle, within oneself! The consolation however is, they are invariable very compassionate ones, and a generous pardon is already in my favor , to the credit of my account!

(At this point, I am 'experiencing' a struggle within myself, trying hard to hold back the temptation to 'preach', as to how to tackle preachers!.... And, I am sure, some of you know ..... restraining myself from unsolicited advice/sermon/preaching is something I have been struggling to learn till date!)

psn(31^st January, 2012

Genuine Feedback!

After a very long wait, I did come across a wonderful blog, that seems to comment adequately, comprehensively, and collectively, on behalf of all those who were 'subjected' to my blog posts!

This time, I just 'cut and paste' it cheerfully, taking care to add my own response, only below that...

quote:

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/why-we-write-what-we-write

Since the past few days, i have stopped reading ST blogs and articles... well, more or less. Because, suddenly, i ruefully realised that everyone is going round in circles, and worse news, I MYSELF am going round in circles!!

Its always the same story, i reflected. Those who believe in God, cite the ‘virtue’ of having Faith, the sanctity of scriptures, the beauty of their own respective gods, the magnificence of the natural world as proof that there is a Designer up there (or somewhere/ everywhere). On the other extreme are those who believe only in the scientifically verifiable knowledge about this universe, and hold that a God is not necessary for our world to be like what it is, and every mystery can be explained by science.. if not now, then in the future. And then there are also those seekers who have no set position, and are only on a journey towards 'knowing'... So, we have amongst us - the Theists, Atheists and Agnostics. And as it happens, their opinions and views on any and every topic here is based on their religious/non-religious stances. That is quite okay in itself, you see... but its just that it gets a tad bit predictable in most cases, as to what and how the person is going to opine on a certain topic. (Me is included in this group, so it is a collective self-criticism)

Though, what ACTUALLY pushed me to take a break were, i guess, the multitude of preachy stuff people write about. Some try to be clever and innovative, by attempting to intellectualise completely 'apparent' things, like how we should be honest, we should love everyone, we should be optimistic and positive, we should be non-judgmental and we should not run after money and success, we should be punctual and we should be vegetarians, and all that moral science stuff. (Okay, they are fine too i guess; i just wish they were written in a more original and creative way, with inputs from their real life experiences. And god forbid, if it is one of those cut-copy-paste from-multiple-sources-work, then i completely go into statue-cant-read-mode)

But what is MOST laborious and tiring is to see people getting so over-philosophical and airy, that they end up sounding strangely impressive in an abstract way... but really, making no sense to any fairly right-minded person. For instance, they will write royally that "Truth is what IS" and hey, we are supposed to see the light at the end of the existential tunnel that way. Or they will say something equally useful like "Look INSIDE and you will find the truth" (very helpful and practical, again, thanks). Some say Depression is Lovely (or smthing like that), some others say, be Identity-Less, Lose your sense of Me... Merge with the Universe... (you mean How? Is your body and brain going to disintegrate and all the atoms go shooting into space like star-dust?) You know, its alright to “talk in trance”... but please do it in your own room, why blog about it and confuse the already confused souls here?

Another reason why i dont like preachy stuff is when people write it as if IT IS A UNIVERSAL FACT, and not like, “I believe it is so”, or the more convincing “I have experienced it to be so”. Take an example: you tell me in a high-moral-ground-tone: “Unconditional Universal Love is the only real love, and it is the only way to realise God”. Now, c’mon, i would believe it only if YOU experienced this particular truth, and given that you do not exactly behave like someone ‘enlightened’ or even ‘loving’, i know for sure that you have NOT experienced this truth. So there’s really no need for making sweeping statements. It doesnt help me and, it doesnt really help you either. Most of us are struggling to love our own families, relatives and neighbours, unconditionally, for god’s sake (oh well). Why, what about loving all the seekers here on ST itself, for starters... Easy, huh??

And more often than not, i have noticed that those who preach about being egoless are the ones with the most ego and cant have a meaningful discussion with anyone with contrary views, without getting miffed. Those who talk about depression being lovely, and loving others unconditionally have no idea about depression and love. Most such people, while they huff and puff over flattering comments, will not even respond to critical comments, but will let their proxies chase the ‘real thinking seekers’ away from their blogs. I mean, once i remarked that I did not understand the blog and if she could explain it to me. The reply i get is “Your doubts will be cleared WHEN the divine chooses” (Ah, the emissary of God that she is, how do i thank her!)

The other day, someone wrote on some blog that he KNEW about Karma, reincarnation, moksha and souls. But ofcourse, he didnt elaborate when i asked HOW he KNEW. If he had said that he got it from this and that source, and this and this is why he believes in it, then its perfectly alright. But ofcourse any ordinary person can tell that he cannot ‘know’ about life after death, till he is still alive! Now you see why such sweeping announcements and declarations do not help, dont you...

I do understand that everyone is free to write whatever they wish to, but we must reflect why we write something, and learn to ask ourselves, am i convinced myself? Can we ask questions about our own beliefs and answer the questions convincingly...? I believe, THAT is the real learning, and not the wrestling of words and playing intellectual monopolies or constructing beautiful sounding sentences. I believe that it helps to reflect on what our own beliefs are, and why we are writing all that we are writing. It helps to be flexible in our viewpoints, and it helps to have an open mind where we question others, but more than that, where we question ourselves the most.

(I wonder why i am writing all this that i am writing. And why am i preaching towards the end! Oh, the incorrigible Speaking Tree seeker in me, i guess!)

Post Script: Notwithstanding what i have written above, i love the blogs of many good seekers here, and i follow the posts and comments of quite a few wonderfully thoughtful people, and i have learned massively from them.

PSS: I am done with my rant, and i am empty now. Thanks for bearing! :)

*END*

unquote:

My response

quote:

Immensely invaluable!
Not just about blogs even..... Most of the 'successful' conversationalists conduct it so successfully, only because they play too safe!
But then why spend so much time and effort to write? (Maybe conversation is unavoidable, when imposed face to face...).
Some where, there could be a lurking question .... quite serious enough.... 'am I okay'.... this coupled with another greater need, that sense of belonging without strings attached.... that might be a good reason... In western countries, we have those 'pet-shops'... not 'live' pets... inanimate objects have successfully replaced the 'live' pets..... One can buy any or few of these crude looking objects, and start 'petting' them! It gives a sense of consolation (without attributing any sense to the word 'sense', sensibly!)....
..
Incidentally, that 'post-script' was almost redundant! Anybody who can write so pin-pointedly, HAS TO HAVE the ability to also distinguish the other type from which we can "MASSIVELY" learn from... (this post script almost sounded like an apprehensive film director, who safely introduces some 'song' sequences, 'comedy' scenes, though absolutely redundant to the central theme of the movie..... though , the movie even without these scenes would have made an excellent film!)
..
And, I personally feel a sense of deep gratitude for this blog-post..... I still await honest criticisms for my own blog page, where I have written some 300+ posts, stupidly waiting to know whether it was worth the effort at all? This post perhaps speaks on behalf of most of my readers! Yes, I also further compounded my stupidity by sending a copy of those posts to my group of e-mail recipients, with hardly any response!
Thank you very much!

Mild Aghori's

The same lunch every day!

I was amused to read this wonderful blog!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/5-Bread-slices-and-Aloo-Gobhi

Instantly, I was reminded of the form of yoga that was not so popular amidst 'decent' folks... Aghora yoga.... those who follow it are called aghori's....

Eating the same lunch, for an abnormal length of time.... can we not call it a very 'mild-aghora'? As long as anything works, it is good!

At the root of it, we have the basic question, or purpose.... 'How to overcome the mind-fatigue, that seems to deter us from our goal?'

That reminds me of another aspect, “Breaking Point”....

( http://selfseekers.blogspot.com/2008/12/breakingpoint.html )

And then the confusion about mind fatigue itself? Is it an 'emotional' weakness? Does this way of overcoming the emotional weakness constitute 'emotional intelligence'? Another doubt is whether these emotions obey logic at all? 'Sentiment' is a very popular emotion (may be not known to ancient Indians.... reason being, absence of an exact word for it in Indian languages!!! ). Now this sentiment itself obviates any need to explain 'logically'! (No further questions, when I say, MY sentiments!).... As if to compound the problem further, there is something like “false sentiments”!!! Now, 'false' is an excellent tool in logic (programmers know better!)... so, how can a supra-logical thing (sentiment), become semi-logical, with 'false-sentiment'?.... It is these kind of doubts, that dissuade us from hanging on to a newer concept, in our struggle to evolve..... Now comes that 'Rational' thinking, which accomodates both Logic and emotion(+ sentiments), ...... This works only as long as 'rational' is socially acceptable! That is why the 'mild' form of Aghora... like eating the same 5slices of bread and aloo-gobhi! There is some rationale, and that is why, when a 'demonstrable' example appears, there is a temptation to try it out! (See, the rationale does not permit any deviation from the form..... “THE SAME 5 BREAD SLICES” for others too!)...(Bread-Kolaveri-di...!)

But,

anything that demonstrates the will to voluntarily put certain restrictions on self is admirable.... That is where a person actually 'demonstrates' the will, the conscious act of choosing, ... to attempt 'to go beyond nature'.... (typically a 'mild' form of spiritual pursuit!!!)...

And that is what exactly prompted me to put forth the views thus....

Regards,

PSN(24^th January, 2012)

Humble for no reason

Is it possible for us to GENERATE an experience of utter humility, without the support of any external factor, reason, situation, occasion, etc?

I was wondering thus, and found the 'visuals' of such day-dreaming to be thoroughly refereshing! It is difficult to put into words the surge of that 'experience', and it would not be entirely wrong to classify it as a 'kind of emotion' (that experience of visuals..... for example, we come out of a movie theatre, after seeing a great hero, who has extra ordinary capabilities, like fighting 2 dozen villains at a time, shouldering too many responsibilites at a time, sacrificing everything for others etc.... and we too feel some kind of 'charge' or energy, for some time..... usually it lasts till we reach the nearest bus-stop, and then we are back to our normal self! That is one of the reasons, when we feel the movie was worth every penny! )

I had come across a wonderful blog, which highlighted the subtle aspects of emotional intelligence.... http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/emotional-intelligence , ....

In fact, it gives details of what constitutes emotional intelligence.... Clearly, the author must have had first hand experience of these qualities, to be able to list it out so exhaustively!

I was only looking out for the spiritual aspect, (as is the usual focus of my eye ,when reading such blogs.......).... I even took courage to respond, seeking for sources where such formal or structured training is imparted in the present day world(be it any institution, organisation, structure ... by any name what-so-ever)..... It is good enough if somebody tells us how to get stabilized into emotions... In simple terms, we become capable of remaining like that lotus leaf, untouched by the slush that we are rooted in.... deeper the slush, better the lotus leaf and its flower.... we should be able to emote at will, in full awareness, consciously, and totally, whether it is about manifesting a positive emotion, or a negative one....

In that stream of thought process, I began wondering thus..... is it possible to 'experience'.... not just thinking about it, or trying to act, feign, manifest or so.... no need for the fellow next to us to even get a hint of what is happening within us..... our actions are purely according to the need of the situation, but inside us, within us, we are generating an immense fountain of humility, without the dependence on even a memory from the past!

I suppose, that humility too counts as an 'item' under the list of emotional intelligence!

Regards,

psn(23^rd January, 2012)

Critics

There is no shortage of critics... If we learn it in a 'structured' way, it is rewarding.... Film critics get paid! If that anchor/compere/reporter can think of a good punch line, which looks like a criticism, but it gives the celebrity an 'opportunity' to clarify for all appearance, but in fact gives, adequate 'free' publicity (the monetary consideration goes in 'black' , as bank-blance at some swiss-account, .... well, .... nothing like it!).

I as a common man (the aam aadmi), was enjoying the comforting thought that nobody even cares to look at me, as I walk in that crowd, the crowd that engulfs me as soon as I step out of the house! (So, where do I come under the scanner of any verbal criticism? At office, hire and fire is the order of the day, so is attrition-rate as a reverse-mortgage weapon!). Only at home, criticism abounds! And that it what a 'homely' atmosphere is, as a left over of the traditional joint families, reduced to micro sized ones!

One day, my mind wandered astray, leaving that 'witnessing' aspect within me to gape blankly at everything on my way, as I stepped out of the house... It is the memory of that mute 'witness' (which did not have the capability to reply or protest), which became a scape-goat of heavy criticism, of everything, from everything, animate, and inanimate! That witness within simply passed on the data, file, memory, to my mind, as if to say, “now it is your baby.... take it or leave it... or do what ever you like”! I might have been hallucinating, or maybe something 'possessed me' during that brief absence of my own mind, etc... it does not matter..... but the data seemed strange, and 'factual' (truth is our interpretation, of course, which ever way it suits us! )...

Those funny criticisms were like these (a few sample-items from that maze...)

..

The endless litter of plastic waste lying all along the road side said “when this civilisation will be dug out of ruins some thousand years later, that man then... if at all the generation continues till then, or else a re-generation happens, would see how we littered this planet with so much junk, plastic, broken gadgets like used mobiles, electronic junk, etc....

The choking air around said “ excellent! You managed to poison in a very short time, with those smoking vehicles, factories, airconditioners, and what not, the air which was kept pure, fresh and energising, by some thousands of generations of your ancestors!”

That tap water dripping from a roadside pipe said... “ I am talking to you in a flowing motion.... what a waste, since there is no tap, and I go untapped, while somewhere else there are people struggling for a drop of me! And you call me a 'public tap'.... where is the tap or the tapper?”...

Those crows seemed to send only a long-distance criticism from high sky “ there is nothing for me, the nature's scavanger of yester years! Everything is synthetic junk.... no natural waste to peck!”

That noise all over shreiked at the top of its voice ..... “Noise pollution.... entirely from man made sources... I was so beautiful, years ago, when birds chirped, wind whispered through the rustle of leaves of those trees, ....”

I paused, tried to look up, hoping that staring into vacant sky might divert my attention into some far away space... but a shout came from there, just waiting for me to look up... “Thou shall not send any more satellite without fearing me.... I am the junk of old obselete satellites, wandering in the orbit immediately above that ozone hole above you! You are hearing me only because of that ozone hole... I will crash into anything else you try to put up!”...

(these were the few stray samples....)

My mind, with lots of inputs from politics that I hear day in and out, through our 'idiot-box' simply muffled(muted) the 'play-back' of within, and very politically, very diplomatically, referred to ancient past, to dig out the criticism(from anybody) of the ancient days!..... Yes I got it! The kings then had to 'appoint' a critic.... He was given a licence to criticise even the king... Some called him the court jester, some called him 'vikata-kavi' (some kind of critic-poet)... etc.... The 'aam aadmi' lived quite peacefully.... there was nothing 'worth' criticising..... just stray instances of nature's fury, some natural calamities, which were handled by the society with adequate mutual love, sacrifice, etc... as a matter of 'routine'! Spirituality was all around... It was a normal, common feature that 'Perceptions were beyond sensory level too'! (As if to confirm this, we have that author of recent years, the author of “Vedic Mathematics” who 'heard' it, a play-back, through meditative process, after having created an all time record of academic brilliance by scoring the highest marks in all the subjects in an exam conducted in a foreign school!The introduction part of that book says it all!). Action was a consequence, a response, never a reaction! The thought-process (even the non-verbal thoughts....???? yes, they were aware of such things too!) were mostly non-commercial! (today, we can trace out some commercial value to 99% of our thoughts, words, and deeds!... fortunately, no criticism on this ! It is a matter of 'personal' choice!).... Elders retained their most of their emotional capability and very little logic was needed.... just to handle that simple material aspect of life.... they were wise... they deliberately kept life simple, so that the logic did not rule the mind... Today, the worst of old-age miseries is the unstoppable, uncohesive logic, that climbs up incessantly (thanks to the new concept of old-age-homes.... the children are spared the spew of outdated-logical-stubborness of elders!)...

So that's it....

(I woke up there after.... Thank goodness, everything was just a dream! But... that nagging thought remains..... I have to do my little bit, to at least not add up anymore to the 'junk', if not to reduce the litter!)

psn(17^th January, 2012)

Pyar kiya tho darna kya

I do not compartmentalize the topics, when I try to write for my blog post.... Basically, every activity that revolves around 'humans' is worth discussing... It is only for convenience of a better focus, indepth study, that we 'categorise'.... But, the very nature of mind, given what it is, tends to resist, and ends up compartmentalizing, instead of categorizing.... In this process, people around me try to dissuade me from voicing certain opinions, which might evoke needless controversy.... I too, oblige them, and retain those pieces of writing, within the confines of the isolated hard disk... Not out of any fear (that is why the title, Pyar kiya tho darna kya..), but out of consideration that those in the immediate proximity have a reasonable claim upon my leisure, which becomes shaky when vulnerable posts evoke those 'needless controversies. But this one, I decided to go ahead, since the benefits to those who might be really intense, could outweigh the other apprehensions....

Enough of prologue.... on to the main stuff.

There was a blog post, and I was asked to give my opinion. After a while, I felt it is good enough to constitute an independent post by itself. So, the post that sparked this one, is given as a brief link (to those who are interested), and my response, which, I feel is readable by itself, not very dependent on any preceding arguement, I reproduce hereunder....

quote:

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/god-and-i/outdated-obsolete-marriage-vs-updated-livein-relationship

My response:

I read that link.... It is very difficult to give specific and 'related' comments, because it has to be confined to the contents, which would essentially render it 'subjective' by nature... where as, our idea is to look at it objectively. There has been an 'attempt' to highlight the worth of ancient and traditional values... but as can be easily seen, the difficulty is in making it appeal to the modern logical mind....
The very 'form' of that traditional concept that is handed down to us is quite complex, and any 'logical' overview is bound to make it appear 'outdated, obsolete, stupid, illogical'.... The only clue is the surprising/baffling/perplexing fact that this tradition has sustained for so long!!! This clue, by itself, is not really good enough to lead us to the intrinsic worth of those traditional values! A rational mind (rational in the 'modern' sense of the word.... admirably, the 'modern' sense of the word is beyond that 'logical' mind.... it seeks to combine logic with certain 'human' values, emotional values... quite admirable, but not really adequate, for the typically "Indian" ancient values to be understood!
Please see, two simple things are within our reach even today....
1. Hunger-satiation.... Very few people today happen to eat the next meal, after they become really 'hungry'.... What they misconstrue to be hunger is usually an 'empty stomach! Now, that hunger statiation is afresh each time, and mind is almost incapable of bringing any interference of the past satiation-experience....
2. Thirst satiation.... The experience of water satiating the thirst usually lasts only up to the throat level.. very few travel along with the water up to the stomach at least, though the body is ready to allow us access, (in fact, the body yearns for 'our ' participation), right up to the cellular level even!
If these two 'seem' reasonable, rational, then there is some scope to discuss the third one, where the 'nature' is a bit benevolent...
3. The mating ..... For the purpose of procreation and preservation of the species, nature has designed this instinct to be 'felt' afresh.... but human beings can exercise their choice to recaptulate the mind, the memory and lose its 'experience'. (Few spiritual masters have gone deep into the aspect, and have evolved a technique to reach that 'in the moment' state using this act.... It is the gross mis-interpretation of this technique that has rendered it into the present 'devalued-presented-form'.... A parallel example, is the purpose of 'aghora-yoga' , which still scares the 'common' mind... but can be easily comprehended by a person who has reached a reasonable level on a spiritual path..... ).... Another 'easily' verifiable fact is , it is very difficult to 'fake' or 'feign' the pleasure or joy during the act of mating.... and it is this aspect, which leads a person to 'matching' partner most of the times, more than other things....
Marriage, its rules, traditions, etc are all 'self-imposed' restrictions....
Any self-imposed restriction is usually for the purpose of evolving into something higher.....
For example, an 'ideal' student, abstains from games, pleasure, fun, etc, and confines to study hard, with a clarity of higher purpose... it could be to 'grasp the concept' of the subject, way beyond just passing the exams, just reproducing by-heart, the text-book contents.... (quite rare, but such students do reach research level, and stay there for life, instead of stagnating)....
Another example, a surgeon, abstains from caffine (coffee), a week ahead of the date of brain-nerve-surgery, with the clarity that his hands/fingers should not shake/shiver, during the intricate surgery.....
If we make an attempt to look at those 'stupid/meaning-less' looking traditional styles of relationships prescribed for 'marriage-relationships', and then try to equip with the necessary perception-tools to examine these rituals, then and only then, there is a possibility for the 'reason' behind it to become 'visible'.... Till then, such discussions, and debates are bound to be fruitless.... (It does make sense to 'at least' enjoy the gift of nature, that primitive physical pleasure that is already available, provided, we do not overdo it too much , beyond what 'nature' has designed this bio-logical body for!!! Even animals, confine to the 'nature's rules, though without that self-awareness... It is the self awareness, which imposes that 'choice'.... again, choice is not a freedom, it is the compulsion to 'choose'.. ... within those two choices, either overdo it, or have self-imposed restrictions, and be rewarded with evolvement!)...
..
(Even this length of 'comments' is unduly long, by the 'common-standards'.... so, it is 'rational' to close it at least here!)
PSN(16th January, 2012)