The above statement must sound nothing short of blasphemous. How can one feel good when one is feeling down in the dumps? It simply does not seem to make sense. But what is suggested in this article is that when we feel miserable we should quietly tell ourselves “I am feeling miserable but I am feeling good”. By doing this we will be going against the grain of thousands of years of evolution of mankind where we are conditioned and programmed to feel lousy when we are miserable.
We may be miserable because our boss did not give us that raise we were expecting, because a subordinate is promoted over us or one of your colleagues is extremely rude to you that day. It is natural to feel miserable, angry and lousy when things happen in way that is different to our liking. The natural tendency when this happens is that we would like to sulk and work ourselves into total misery. We will soon start feeling the blues. What is required in this situation is that we should tell ourselves “it feels good to be miserable”. This article is certainly not advocating any masochistic tendencies in you rather it tries to make you look into and understand your feelings. While telling this to ourselves, that it feels good to be miserable, will definitely not reduce the misery, at the very least if we consciously tell this to ourselves we will begin to accept the feeling of misery rather than trying to fight it. When we accept the feeling of misery, which may certainly not be very pleasant, we begin to observe our own feelings that the incident(s) provoked in us. As we become aware of the thought process that has kicked in because of the unsavory incidents of the day we will begin to understand our own selves better. If we keep at it we can try to get to the root of the problem and reflect whether it makes any sense to subject ourselves to the misery rather than just shaking it off.
So while the affirmation to ourselves “that it feels good to be miserable” will not drive away the blues it will definitely make you accept your own feeling towards things besides also giving you a deeper understanding of your beliefs and values that are dear to you.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Interview Question Ideas
Nothing is more important to an organization than getting candidates who fit into the organizational fabric and culture. Since the time to make this judgement by the interviewer is limited the interviewer needs to judge the candidate on certain key characteristic traits
The following article gives some pointers in determining the candidates attitude, aptitude and personal values of the candidate. Assuming that the candidate is dressed appropriately, has a cheerful appearance then the following questions can be asked
Why are you here?
This can be an initial question to understand the candidates strengths and how he will be augment the organization's mission further. When the candidate is clear on the strengths stemming from his experience and the organization's needs then the interviewer can draw the following conclusions. Firstly it helps in undertanding the candidates background, his knowledge of the business the present organization is in, and how he/she thinks they will fit in the organization.
Why are you leaving your current job?
Make sure that the candidates answer is crisp and clean and he/she is not hiding any facts. Make sure that it is not for petty reasons as money, designation but something more tuned to the candidate's core strengths and how it will further his/her career.
Handling aptitude questions
Make sure that questions of general aptitude are asked. Even though the answer may not be correct make sure the candidate is able to comprehend the problem, enjoys problem solving and comes up with creative approaches to the problem.
Checking intrinsic values of the candidate
Here the interviewer needs to ask questions that will check the moral fibre of the candidate. What does the candidate value more? How does the candidate balance human values with organization's mission and vision? Does he compromise on one for the other or does he strike an interesting balance between the two? These question should be designed to understand the core character of the candidate and his personal value system.
Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years professionally, personally?
Make sure that the candidate has a clear plan on both his career path and his personal growth. What steps does he/she think is necessary to achieve the goals that the candidate has set for himself/herself. This will show whether the candidate plans for the future and is able to think through things.
These question will help in judging the candidates professional strengths and his moral fiber both of which are very important to the organization.
The following article gives some pointers in determining the candidates attitude, aptitude and personal values of the candidate. Assuming that the candidate is dressed appropriately, has a cheerful appearance then the following questions can be asked
Why are you here?
This can be an initial question to understand the candidates strengths and how he will be augment the organization's mission further. When the candidate is clear on the strengths stemming from his experience and the organization's needs then the interviewer can draw the following conclusions. Firstly it helps in undertanding the candidates background, his knowledge of the business the present organization is in, and how he/she thinks they will fit in the organization.
Why are you leaving your current job?
Make sure that the candidates answer is crisp and clean and he/she is not hiding any facts. Make sure that it is not for petty reasons as money, designation but something more tuned to the candidate's core strengths and how it will further his/her career.
Handling aptitude questions
Make sure that questions of general aptitude are asked. Even though the answer may not be correct make sure the candidate is able to comprehend the problem, enjoys problem solving and comes up with creative approaches to the problem.
Checking intrinsic values of the candidate
Here the interviewer needs to ask questions that will check the moral fibre of the candidate. What does the candidate value more? How does the candidate balance human values with organization's mission and vision? Does he compromise on one for the other or does he strike an interesting balance between the two? These question should be designed to understand the core character of the candidate and his personal value system.
Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years professionally, personally?
Make sure that the candidate has a clear plan on both his career path and his personal growth. What steps does he/she think is necessary to achieve the goals that the candidate has set for himself/herself. This will show whether the candidate plans for the future and is able to think through things.
These question will help in judging the candidates professional strengths and his moral fiber both of which are very important to the organization.
Interview mistakes to avoid
As a professional there will be occasions when we have to put our best foot forward to make the best impression on the interviewing panel. In this regard there are certain things that we should definitely avoid
Dressing inappropriately : By far this sends the quickest negative signal to the interview panel. Make sure you read up on the organization's dress code and dress appropriately. Make sure that you wear a tie and a suit for business jobs and for organizations which have a formal attire. Similarly make sure that you dress
casually to interview where the organization's dress code is informal.
Being tense and nervous: When you walk through the door to face the interview panel don't advertise your nervousness with a tense face. Make sure that you greet the panel with a cheerful good morning/afternoon etc. Also dont forget to thank the interviewer after you finish your interview.
Hiding unpalateable facts: Don't try to hide unpalatable facts in your employment history. It is better to be confident and honest rather than projecting that there is something fishy in your past. Dont be evasive about your own experience.
Avoid giving roundabout answers: When you are not sure about the answer to a question do not give vague and round about answers. Make sure that you admit that you don't know but are willing to give the question a honest attempt.
Not knowing what you want: Nothing rings louder warning bells to the interviewer than a candidate who does not know what he himself wants. If the interviewer asks what kind of role and designation that you would be interested in, make sure that your answer is crisp and clear.
Failing to attempt aptitude problems: There are many organization that test a candidate's problem solving aptitude and attitude by giving problems. Do not shy away from the problem. Make sure that you give the problem your best and smartest effort.
Being ignorant of the organization's business: Don't go unprepared to an interview without knowing the business in which the organization is in.
These are some of the definite don't do's when attending an interview
Dressing inappropriately : By far this sends the quickest negative signal to the interview panel. Make sure you read up on the organization's dress code and dress appropriately. Make sure that you wear a tie and a suit for business jobs and for organizations which have a formal attire. Similarly make sure that you dress
casually to interview where the organization's dress code is informal.
Being tense and nervous: When you walk through the door to face the interview panel don't advertise your nervousness with a tense face. Make sure that you greet the panel with a cheerful good morning/afternoon etc. Also dont forget to thank the interviewer after you finish your interview.
Hiding unpalateable facts: Don't try to hide unpalatable facts in your employment history. It is better to be confident and honest rather than projecting that there is something fishy in your past. Dont be evasive about your own experience.
Avoid giving roundabout answers: When you are not sure about the answer to a question do not give vague and round about answers. Make sure that you admit that you don't know but are willing to give the question a honest attempt.
Not knowing what you want: Nothing rings louder warning bells to the interviewer than a candidate who does not know what he himself wants. If the interviewer asks what kind of role and designation that you would be interested in, make sure that your answer is crisp and clear.
Failing to attempt aptitude problems: There are many organization that test a candidate's problem solving aptitude and attitude by giving problems. Do not shy away from the problem. Make sure that you give the problem your best and smartest effort.
Being ignorant of the organization's business: Don't go unprepared to an interview without knowing the business in which the organization is in.
These are some of the definite don't do's when attending an interview
Saturday, March 26, 2011
What do you want in Life?
Imagine for a moment that God descended to the earth and told you that he is willing to grant you one wish. What will it be? Confronted with a direct question like this in all probability we will not have an answer. We may think that we would like that dream job, or maybe marry that pretty girl in our life or inherit a lot of wealth. Others may want perpetual happiness or immortality coupled with a great job, a perfect wife and so on.
So if the Lord asked us the same question next we day we will most probably say that we have not still not made up our mind. The truth is most of the times we don’t know what we want. We have some hazy, vague concept of what would make us happy. We want to be generally happy, have power over some people, recognition for something and a lot of riches. The sad thing is that, we feel unhappy and miserable when we don’t get this fuzzy thing which we want in life. We chase these illusions of the mind and think that getting it will make us happy.
Having said that we should spend time in looking deep into ourselves and understand what we really want. We may be surprised that given a hard look we really don’t need a lot of riches but probably just enough to get by in life. We probably want to spend quality time with our family, learn something new like painting or playing an instrument. If we do this exercise we can come to some concrete understanding of what we want in this finite life of ours.
Once we understand what we want in life we don’t need to wait for God to descend from heaven and grant us our wishes. We can take proactively take steps and start trying to do achieve what we most want in our life.
So the important thing is not to chase illusory dreams that we have in our minds but to spend time identifying what we really want and what we really need in our lives and then set about achieving it. This will give us both satisfaction and contentment in life.
So if the Lord asked us the same question next we day we will most probably say that we have not still not made up our mind. The truth is most of the times we don’t know what we want. We have some hazy, vague concept of what would make us happy. We want to be generally happy, have power over some people, recognition for something and a lot of riches. The sad thing is that, we feel unhappy and miserable when we don’t get this fuzzy thing which we want in life. We chase these illusions of the mind and think that getting it will make us happy.
Having said that we should spend time in looking deep into ourselves and understand what we really want. We may be surprised that given a hard look we really don’t need a lot of riches but probably just enough to get by in life. We probably want to spend quality time with our family, learn something new like painting or playing an instrument. If we do this exercise we can come to some concrete understanding of what we want in this finite life of ours.
Once we understand what we want in life we don’t need to wait for God to descend from heaven and grant us our wishes. We can take proactively take steps and start trying to do achieve what we most want in our life.
So the important thing is not to chase illusory dreams that we have in our minds but to spend time identifying what we really want and what we really need in our lives and then set about achieving it. This will give us both satisfaction and contentment in life.
What will you do if you met ...
You. Yes, what would you do if by some strange magical quirk of fate you bumped into yourself in person. Don’t be too surprised if you develop an instant dislike to yourself. It is quite possible that you may find yourself arrogant, irritating, abrasive and quite proud. This may come as a shock to you but it is quite likely that your personality has a lot of surprises to the person to whom it should not come as surprise – that is you.
The reason for the perception disconnect is the fact that most of the times we are not aware of our actions, our reactions to incidents etc. We just react in a mechanical way. When we are filled with anger, jealousy or greed most of the times we do not know what we are doing. These emotions dominate us so completely that we are held captive to their pettiness and behave in a semi-hypnotized way. While it is easy to understand that we should stay away from vices we lose control when they take control. When the five evils of desire (kama) , anger (krodha) , greed (lobha) , delusion (moha) and ego (ahamkara) take control of us we are held captive and behave like automatons. We are completely unaware of our own behavior.
Hence if we by chance meet ourselves we may find that are quite contemptible in many respects. We may find ourselves too proud are just too petty in our acts.
While this hypothetical situation may never occur we will learn a lot about ourselves if it should happen. Fortunately we can come close to such an encounter if only we are more aware of ourselves and are more conscious of our acts.
If we are aware of how the five evils try to take complete control over us, which we know to be wrong, then we can consciously control our reactions to these petty emotions. We need to watch the thoughts that these evils create in us and make sure that we retain the upper hand from these emotions.
If we do this then it is quite likely that we will find ourselves fairly charming if we do bump into ourselves!
The reason for the perception disconnect is the fact that most of the times we are not aware of our actions, our reactions to incidents etc. We just react in a mechanical way. When we are filled with anger, jealousy or greed most of the times we do not know what we are doing. These emotions dominate us so completely that we are held captive to their pettiness and behave in a semi-hypnotized way. While it is easy to understand that we should stay away from vices we lose control when they take control. When the five evils of desire (kama) , anger (krodha) , greed (lobha) , delusion (moha) and ego (ahamkara) take control of us we are held captive and behave like automatons. We are completely unaware of our own behavior.
Hence if we by chance meet ourselves we may find that are quite contemptible in many respects. We may find ourselves too proud are just too petty in our acts.
While this hypothetical situation may never occur we will learn a lot about ourselves if it should happen. Fortunately we can come close to such an encounter if only we are more aware of ourselves and are more conscious of our acts.
If we are aware of how the five evils try to take complete control over us, which we know to be wrong, then we can consciously control our reactions to these petty emotions. We need to watch the thoughts that these evils create in us and make sure that we retain the upper hand from these emotions.
If we do this then it is quite likely that we will find ourselves fairly charming if we do bump into ourselves!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Striking similarities in Matsya Purana and Old Testament
There are some striking similarities between the Matsya Purana of India and the Old Testament of Judeao Christianity. The following excerpts from Matsya Purana and the Old Testament will make this clear
Matsya Purana : The Matsya Purana talks of the story of the king Manu who decided to live a quiet life near a river. One day when he washed his hands in the river a little fish asked him to save him from the big fish saying that it will one day save him in return. Hence King Manu (also known as Satyavrata) put the little fish in a jar. After a few days the fish grew and the king transferred the fish to an urn. It grew even more and had to be transferred to a pond, then a river and finally it was moved to the ocean. When it was put in the ocean the fish asked the king to build a boat and take along with him all types of seeds, eggs, animals and birds. King Manu realised that this was no ordinary fish but was the avatar of Lord Vishnu himself. Subsequently there was a great deluge and the fish with a horn came to King Manu. The King tethered his boat to the horn of the fish using Adisesha the serpent and the fish took King Manu to Mount Mandara. All the living creatures on the earth were wiped out by the deluge except King Manu and the creatures in his boat.
Old Testament : Genesis 6, of the old Testament says that Lord was unhappy with the wickedness of mankind and requested Noah to build an Ark. The Lord told Noah "of very living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee they shall be male and female". Hence Noah built a huge ark and like Manu took into the ark seeds and a pair of every living creature. Then there was a deluge which lasted for several days. Noah took his ark to the top of Mount Ararat. All creatures on earth
were destroyed by the deluge except Noah and the creatures in Ark.
The similarity in these stories are really striking. Was there really a great deluge about 1200 B.C. Did the legend of Manu travel to the West or did the story of Noah's Ark travel to India. The common thread in both stories is about the deluge which is supposed to have lasted for 7 days and 7 nights.
Matsya Purana : The Matsya Purana talks of the story of the king Manu who decided to live a quiet life near a river. One day when he washed his hands in the river a little fish asked him to save him from the big fish saying that it will one day save him in return. Hence King Manu (also known as Satyavrata) put the little fish in a jar. After a few days the fish grew and the king transferred the fish to an urn. It grew even more and had to be transferred to a pond, then a river and finally it was moved to the ocean. When it was put in the ocean the fish asked the king to build a boat and take along with him all types of seeds, eggs, animals and birds. King Manu realised that this was no ordinary fish but was the avatar of Lord Vishnu himself. Subsequently there was a great deluge and the fish with a horn came to King Manu. The King tethered his boat to the horn of the fish using Adisesha the serpent and the fish took King Manu to Mount Mandara. All the living creatures on the earth were wiped out by the deluge except King Manu and the creatures in his boat.
Old Testament : Genesis 6, of the old Testament says that Lord was unhappy with the wickedness of mankind and requested Noah to build an Ark. The Lord told Noah "of very living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee they shall be male and female". Hence Noah built a huge ark and like Manu took into the ark seeds and a pair of every living creature. Then there was a deluge which lasted for several days. Noah took his ark to the top of Mount Ararat. All creatures on earth
were destroyed by the deluge except Noah and the creatures in Ark.
The similarity in these stories are really striking. Was there really a great deluge about 1200 B.C. Did the legend of Manu travel to the West or did the story of Noah's Ark travel to India. The common thread in both stories is about the deluge which is supposed to have lasted for 7 days and 7 nights.
An Adventure called Life
If we really pause to think for moment we will realise that our lives are one big adventure. Every moment that we encounter in our lives unfolds new things, new challenges and new mysteries for us to unravel. We always have to be alert to handle these challenges that our lives throw our way.
None of us know what is going to happen the next moment. Nobody can divine the future and that is precisely what make our journey in life so enjoyable. There is untold mystery in every moment. Life throws ups new problems, puzzles and conundrums for us to crack. The problemes could be in the personal or professional space but it is brand new challenge that we are confronted with. When we solve the problem we move up a notch in life with the lessons learned. Life and time are the greatest teachers of mankind.
Yesterday, while gazing out of the window of my train I saw another train passing by. Ordinarily I would not have given it more than a fleeting glance but yesterday I was really fascinated by the huge mechanical contraption chugging in the opposite direction. I was amazed that man has been able to use his intelligence in making such a grand design to carry men and goods across long distances. There are several such brillant inventions where human beings have solved difficult problems and conundrums of nature.
Whichever side you look you will always find the progress made by human thought is great. Whether it is computer science, medicine, physics, bio-technology creative writing etc. All these have been possible because man has used his intelligence and creativity to solve the difficult problems of nature and life.
As long as we are filled with wonder at nature and human ingenuity, all problems that our life throws up will be regarded as just another test for us to pass and progress in life. The most important ingredient for success is to have an unquenchable zest for life.
None of us know what is going to happen the next moment. Nobody can divine the future and that is precisely what make our journey in life so enjoyable. There is untold mystery in every moment. Life throws ups new problems, puzzles and conundrums for us to crack. The problemes could be in the personal or professional space but it is brand new challenge that we are confronted with. When we solve the problem we move up a notch in life with the lessons learned. Life and time are the greatest teachers of mankind.
Yesterday, while gazing out of the window of my train I saw another train passing by. Ordinarily I would not have given it more than a fleeting glance but yesterday I was really fascinated by the huge mechanical contraption chugging in the opposite direction. I was amazed that man has been able to use his intelligence in making such a grand design to carry men and goods across long distances. There are several such brillant inventions where human beings have solved difficult problems and conundrums of nature.
Whichever side you look you will always find the progress made by human thought is great. Whether it is computer science, medicine, physics, bio-technology creative writing etc. All these have been possible because man has used his intelligence and creativity to solve the difficult problems of nature and life.
As long as we are filled with wonder at nature and human ingenuity, all problems that our life throws up will be regarded as just another test for us to pass and progress in life. The most important ingredient for success is to have an unquenchable zest for life.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Changing Gears in Life
Our lives are never smooth sailing. We are always faced with different situations constantly in life. To navigate smoothly through life we need to change gears at appropriate times in order to handle different situations.
There are two classes of people. Those who live in constant fear of the future and spoil the present for themselves. And then there are those who just drift about aimlessly in life. Both these types of people need to change gears to handle their current position.
Those who worry and are anxious about a terrifying future must shift a gear down. They need slow their lives. They need to take each day as it comes and not worry about a distant future. Why should one worry about something that may only happen in future. By worrying about the future in the present we make our lives unbearable.We should take each day as it comes. If the crisis, which we imagine, does occur, then we will be better equipped to handle as we would not have wasted our energies worrying about it even before it happens.
Then there are others who just exist from day to day. They just seem to go through the motions of the day just existing and living in a mechanical way. They seem to devoid of any purpose. They are bored and listless with their lives. These people need to shift a gear up and set little goals in their life, If they try to achieve the little targets that they set for themselves then their life will have a purpose. It is very essential that we have a clear plan of where we want to go in future and how we will achieve it in the present. Our lives will be more full if we take this approach.
Hence as we travel through life we need to make appropriate changes so that we move towards thr future with a purpose and without undue worries.
There are two classes of people. Those who live in constant fear of the future and spoil the present for themselves. And then there are those who just drift about aimlessly in life. Both these types of people need to change gears to handle their current position.
Those who worry and are anxious about a terrifying future must shift a gear down. They need slow their lives. They need to take each day as it comes and not worry about a distant future. Why should one worry about something that may only happen in future. By worrying about the future in the present we make our lives unbearable.We should take each day as it comes. If the crisis, which we imagine, does occur, then we will be better equipped to handle as we would not have wasted our energies worrying about it even before it happens.
Then there are others who just exist from day to day. They just seem to go through the motions of the day just existing and living in a mechanical way. They seem to devoid of any purpose. They are bored and listless with their lives. These people need to shift a gear up and set little goals in their life, If they try to achieve the little targets that they set for themselves then their life will have a purpose. It is very essential that we have a clear plan of where we want to go in future and how we will achieve it in the present. Our lives will be more full if we take this approach.
Hence as we travel through life we need to make appropriate changes so that we move towards thr future with a purpose and without undue worries.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Right Living
We never lives our lives in isolation. Our individual lives are made of events and interactions with other people.We interact within the family, with friends, colleagues our bosses and others.Not all of these interactions are according to our taste. During the course of our life there will be many events that happen to us. Failures, victories and personal losses. There will be many things that will make us sad, angry, or plain upset. There will be some things which we will be able to set right and others which we just have to put up with. These are things that are beyond our control. The important thing is that we should not let the external world influence us beyound a certain limit. We should not let the external world of events and interactions influence our inner world of peace. We should do our best to solve the issues as see fit but beyond that we need to move on in life.
We human beings are diferent from all other creatures in a unique way. While our lives are determined by external events and interaction we can of our own volition determine and influence the external world through our inner drives. So while we should not wallow in hatred or self pity because of external events or interactions we need to take steps to perform positive actions in the world.
All us of us internally have hopes and ambitions. We should take steps to put these hopes and dreams of ours to real action. For example we may dream of trying our hand at some creative activity like writing poems or painting. We may be interested in learning in music or playing some musical instrument. There may be others who want to spend some of their leisure time in participating in some social cause or helping the under priveleged. The key thing here is that we should mobilize ourselves into these positive actions and not squander our time in feeling upset or hurt because somebody said or did something to us.
We should not live our lives outside-in but we should live our lives inside-out. What is meant by this is that we should be bogged down by the world of external events and interactions. Rather we should determine things in the world by our internal ambitions and passions.
The key to living fully in life hence depends on one's abiltiy to take one's problems in one's stride while at the same time initiating action to realize their passions and dreams
We human beings are diferent from all other creatures in a unique way. While our lives are determined by external events and interaction we can of our own volition determine and influence the external world through our inner drives. So while we should not wallow in hatred or self pity because of external events or interactions we need to take steps to perform positive actions in the world.
All us of us internally have hopes and ambitions. We should take steps to put these hopes and dreams of ours to real action. For example we may dream of trying our hand at some creative activity like writing poems or painting. We may be interested in learning in music or playing some musical instrument. There may be others who want to spend some of their leisure time in participating in some social cause or helping the under priveleged. The key thing here is that we should mobilize ourselves into these positive actions and not squander our time in feeling upset or hurt because somebody said or did something to us.
We should not live our lives outside-in but we should live our lives inside-out. What is meant by this is that we should be bogged down by the world of external events and interactions. Rather we should determine things in the world by our internal ambitions and passions.
The key to living fully in life hence depends on one's abiltiy to take one's problems in one's stride while at the same time initiating action to realize their passions and dreams
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Redefining happiness
The human yardstick for happiness is the success one achievs in life. And success to most of us is measured in terms of wealth, fame, power and recognition. When we don't achieve these things life we assume that we are unsuccessful which in turn results in us being unhappy. However these measures of happiness are a social invention through the ages and in reality should not have any bearing one's happiness.We are programmed
to feel elated when we achieve material successes like fame, wealth and power the reality.
However,with a little thought we realize that happiness is a personal emotion and is of our creation. With a little introspection we will realize that happiness or contentment does not require external successes or validation but depends
more on our inner victories that we achieve.
We need to set small, realistic goals for ourselves and strive to achieve perfection in them. For example we could learn to play a musical instrument, or spend some time in creative arts like painting, writing etc. The satisfaction that we gain by achieving success in our personal goals will result in real personal satisfaction and contentment in us. So we can measure our inner joys by the little achievements we make towards our own personal goals. We should not hitch our happiness to external validation.
Besides, there are other sources of happiness in the real world. We could find joy in the innocence of children or in the endearing qualities of older people. We could find happiness in the accident of human life and its place in the cosmos. We need to understand that we are just minute specks in the vastness of the universe. We could find true pleasure in the evolution of life or as Kahlil Gibran puts it as "Life's longing for itself"
Hence there are many avenues for happiness in life and we should not base our happiness in life on a narrow view of success on achievement of money,power and fame but on tre internal peace and contentment.
to feel elated when we achieve material successes like fame, wealth and power the reality.
However,with a little thought we realize that happiness is a personal emotion and is of our creation. With a little introspection we will realize that happiness or contentment does not require external successes or validation but depends
more on our inner victories that we achieve.
We need to set small, realistic goals for ourselves and strive to achieve perfection in them. For example we could learn to play a musical instrument, or spend some time in creative arts like painting, writing etc. The satisfaction that we gain by achieving success in our personal goals will result in real personal satisfaction and contentment in us. So we can measure our inner joys by the little achievements we make towards our own personal goals. We should not hitch our happiness to external validation.
Besides, there are other sources of happiness in the real world. We could find joy in the innocence of children or in the endearing qualities of older people. We could find happiness in the accident of human life and its place in the cosmos. We need to understand that we are just minute specks in the vastness of the universe. We could find true pleasure in the evolution of life or as Kahlil Gibran puts it as "Life's longing for itself"
Hence there are many avenues for happiness in life and we should not base our happiness in life on a narrow view of success on achievement of money,power and fame but on tre internal peace and contentment.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Untying the Devil-Deep Sea Bind
There are times in our life when we are caught in a real bind. We feel that we are caught between the Devil and the Deep Sea or in effect a position of extreme difficulty, the alternative to which seems to be another position of even worse consequences. In these situations we really tie ourselves into knots and it appears that we have been effectively checkmated by fate.
A typical situation could be when your boss at office makes you life a living hell every day. While you sweat in office and you are in a mental turmoil it appears that there are no alternatives to your situation. The alternative of quitting your job appears scary and you really are worried whether you will land a job in the first place. There may be many other such situations at home or in personal relationships where the present situation and the other possible alternative appear extremely painful.
What does one do in these situations? Typically when we find ourselves caught between the devil-deep sea or caught between the frying pan-fire situation what we need to do is to stop tormenting our mind on the seeming impossibility of situation. We need to allocate some time during the day or week when we can look at our situation in a more composed manner.
We first need to look at the pros and cons of our current situation vis-Ã -vis the alternative position. If our boss is torturing us on a daily basis first we need to look at whether we can remedy the situation. Can we do things differently that will make our current situation any better. If so then we need to accept that our current issues are of our own making and we should put our whole hearted effort in solving all the issues in the current state of affairs. While at first sight it may appear that the only alternative to your current position is to quit, in reality there may be openings for your skills in other departments of your organization.
However if we reached a point of no-return in our current position then we need to look at the alternative for e.g. quitting or getting another job. This may seem to be a daunting and scary prospect. Typically our imagination will tend to run riot where we will imagine that we are jobless for many months. However if we address this in a level headed manner we may find that the situation may not be really as frightening as it seems. If we connect with our friends and actively look at the job market we may actually land a much better job.
Hence there will be situations in which we will be in bind for which there will appear to be no escape route. However if we cease to be overly emotional about the situation and analyze it in a rational way we may find different possibilities do exist. So rather than getting stuck in blinkered-thinking where it appears that there are only two possibilities to your current state in life if we put our mind to it we may actually land up in much more creative possibilities.
A typical situation could be when your boss at office makes you life a living hell every day. While you sweat in office and you are in a mental turmoil it appears that there are no alternatives to your situation. The alternative of quitting your job appears scary and you really are worried whether you will land a job in the first place. There may be many other such situations at home or in personal relationships where the present situation and the other possible alternative appear extremely painful.
What does one do in these situations? Typically when we find ourselves caught between the devil-deep sea or caught between the frying pan-fire situation what we need to do is to stop tormenting our mind on the seeming impossibility of situation. We need to allocate some time during the day or week when we can look at our situation in a more composed manner.
We first need to look at the pros and cons of our current situation vis-Ã -vis the alternative position. If our boss is torturing us on a daily basis first we need to look at whether we can remedy the situation. Can we do things differently that will make our current situation any better. If so then we need to accept that our current issues are of our own making and we should put our whole hearted effort in solving all the issues in the current state of affairs. While at first sight it may appear that the only alternative to your current position is to quit, in reality there may be openings for your skills in other departments of your organization.
However if we reached a point of no-return in our current position then we need to look at the alternative for e.g. quitting or getting another job. This may seem to be a daunting and scary prospect. Typically our imagination will tend to run riot where we will imagine that we are jobless for many months. However if we address this in a level headed manner we may find that the situation may not be really as frightening as it seems. If we connect with our friends and actively look at the job market we may actually land a much better job.
Hence there will be situations in which we will be in bind for which there will appear to be no escape route. However if we cease to be overly emotional about the situation and analyze it in a rational way we may find different possibilities do exist. So rather than getting stuck in blinkered-thinking where it appears that there are only two possibilities to your current state in life if we put our mind to it we may actually land up in much more creative possibilities.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Ride of Life
Our lives are one long journey in time. We each go through life in our own specific vehicle “the mind”. We are the occupants of this vehicle and we go through the different stages of life in it. This psycho-physical vehicle, the mind, which we will call the PPV, is unique from other vehicles we know of. Unlike other vehicles the PPV has a mind of its own (pun unintended). While we are the effective driver of the PPV there are many times in life when the PPV can take over the control and takes us on a trip. The other important fact about the PPV is that it programmed or conditioned from our past experiences, from our habits and from our biases.
To a majority of us the PPV takes us on a ride and we are not even aware of it. The PPV decides on destinations and also the routes it needs to take. It may decide that the destination is “greed” and it will take us on a greedy trip. Alternatively the PPV may decide to embark on a “pride” trip which will result in feeding our ego. While we may experience the different emotions that the PPV chooses for us, most of the times we don’t even realize that we are being taken for a ride.
When the emotions of greed, conceit, hatred take a hold of us we are aware of its effects. The mind wrests complete control over us and we are in its sway. Unless we consciously decide to put ourselves in the driver’s seat and consciously steer our lives we will be buffeted by pettiness and evil ideas.
All great sages from time immemorial have stressed the importance of being constantly aware of the workings of the mind. However it is also the most difficult, unless we consciously put our whole hearted effort towards it.
Hence we must ensure that we are not driven by the mind but control our journey in life based on good values of integrity, compassion and kindness.
To a majority of us the PPV takes us on a ride and we are not even aware of it. The PPV decides on destinations and also the routes it needs to take. It may decide that the destination is “greed” and it will take us on a greedy trip. Alternatively the PPV may decide to embark on a “pride” trip which will result in feeding our ego. While we may experience the different emotions that the PPV chooses for us, most of the times we don’t even realize that we are being taken for a ride.
When the emotions of greed, conceit, hatred take a hold of us we are aware of its effects. The mind wrests complete control over us and we are in its sway. Unless we consciously decide to put ourselves in the driver’s seat and consciously steer our lives we will be buffeted by pettiness and evil ideas.
All great sages from time immemorial have stressed the importance of being constantly aware of the workings of the mind. However it is also the most difficult, unless we consciously put our whole hearted effort towards it.
Hence we must ensure that we are not driven by the mind but control our journey in life based on good values of integrity, compassion and kindness.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Parallels in Hindu and Christian philosophy
It is remarkable that Hindu and Christian philosophies which evolved independently of one another more than 2 millenniums ago have such striking similarities.
1) The Bible maintains that all human beings have a soul behind the material body. The Bible also states that somebody can hurt the body but not the soul which is immortal. According to the Hindu belief behind the body is the unchangeable Atman which is immutable and eternal. In Chapter 2 of the Gita Krishna expounds "That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable Atman."
2) According to Christian thought is the concept of sin. Based on our actions in this world we will be judged on the ‘day of judgment’ when the good deeds of the person will be weighed against the bad deeds. A virtuous person will enter heaven or the kingdom of God and an evil person will enter Hell. Similarly according to the Mahabharata there is a concept of “swarga” or heaven and “naraga” or hell. Chitragupta is the king who keeps tally of the good acts of the person against the evil acts and sends the person to either swarga or naraga. However the Hindu philosophy differs slightly from Christian thought in that a human being’s stay in swarga or naraga is not permanent and he will have to undergo another rebirth. The concept of rebirth is not there in Biblical thought.
3) In the Bible, in Matthew 7.7 are the words “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”. There is a similar saying in the Ramayana which states “If only it would ask, it would tell the truth”.
It is really amazing that these two major religions of the world have such similar ideology.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Karma, Sin - Myth or Real ?
The law of karma is central to Hindu philosophy. According to the law of karma a man’s situation in any point in his life is the consequence of his past acts. In other words karma can be summed up as “Good actions beget good results and evil actions beget evil results. Similarly, in Christian thought is the concept of sin or evil. According to Christian thought, a person will receive his punishment for his evil deeds on the “day of judgment”. Every major religion in the world has similar ideas where one’s evil ways will always return to the perpetrator himself and ones good deeds will always result in good providence.
Is the law of karma or the theory of sin and punishment real or is just a myth? When one looks at karma or sin superficially one is led to believe that these theories are brilliant ploys of our bright ancestors for keeping mankind on the right path. The law of karma definitely does explain unexpected troubles that come our way. We can conveniently say that we must have done something bad in this life or in our past lives and hence we are bound to undergo the suffering. Similarly we expect evil people to be punished for their evil acts. But we do see instances of evil people in our midst who are happy and successful and there are good people who undergo undue hardships.
However a deeper analysis into either karma or sin will show that there is an underlying principle of truth behind it. Karma and sin can be explained as below.
We human beings come into this world with pre-programmed behaviors. This in-built program of ours is the result of the generations of evolution of mankind from time immemorial. In these programmed behaviors of ours are the wisdom, common sense and values of our ancestors. We can either look at them as our genetic programming or the repository of conscious, sub conscious and unconscious behavior transferred to us through the ages. These learning’s and wisdom of our ancestors and forefathers are handed down to us as our programmed behavior. For e.g. in these programs will be rules like kindness -> joy, compassion –> joy, anger ->pain, hatred -> pain, violence -> pain and so on. These rules are reinforced as we grow from a child to an adult. A person’s individual values are not just the result of environment and parents alone and we do not learn all the intricacies of human behavior in one lifetime, from a child to an adult. There is a lot which comes to us in our pre-programmed unconscious self as the wisdom from our ancestors.
When we violate the law of karma or commit a sin we are actually changing some of these in-built rules. When we try to change one of the rules from violence -> pain to violence-joy then we run against the grain of human understanding and human wisdom. Not only do we mutate our own rules when we commit such a violation but such a change will also result in a jarring effect on others. People around us will subconsciously or unconsciously recognize that a violation of one of basic rules has happened. Hence when we go against the time-tested wisdom or the in-built wisdom of our ancestors the result will be incorrect and we will reap the evil that we caused. In fact our voice of conscience is nothing but these inner programs telling us that we are violating a basic rule of human wisdom.
Hence karma or the principle of sin are not just idle inventions of our ancestors but are real and true. They are eternal truths discovered by our forefathers which have with stood the tests of logic, reason and time.
Is the law of karma or the theory of sin and punishment real or is just a myth? When one looks at karma or sin superficially one is led to believe that these theories are brilliant ploys of our bright ancestors for keeping mankind on the right path. The law of karma definitely does explain unexpected troubles that come our way. We can conveniently say that we must have done something bad in this life or in our past lives and hence we are bound to undergo the suffering. Similarly we expect evil people to be punished for their evil acts. But we do see instances of evil people in our midst who are happy and successful and there are good people who undergo undue hardships.
However a deeper analysis into either karma or sin will show that there is an underlying principle of truth behind it. Karma and sin can be explained as below.
We human beings come into this world with pre-programmed behaviors. This in-built program of ours is the result of the generations of evolution of mankind from time immemorial. In these programmed behaviors of ours are the wisdom, common sense and values of our ancestors. We can either look at them as our genetic programming or the repository of conscious, sub conscious and unconscious behavior transferred to us through the ages. These learning’s and wisdom of our ancestors and forefathers are handed down to us as our programmed behavior. For e.g. in these programs will be rules like kindness -> joy, compassion –> joy, anger ->pain, hatred -> pain, violence -> pain and so on. These rules are reinforced as we grow from a child to an adult. A person’s individual values are not just the result of environment and parents alone and we do not learn all the intricacies of human behavior in one lifetime, from a child to an adult. There is a lot which comes to us in our pre-programmed unconscious self as the wisdom from our ancestors.
When we violate the law of karma or commit a sin we are actually changing some of these in-built rules. When we try to change one of the rules from violence -> pain to violence-joy then we run against the grain of human understanding and human wisdom. Not only do we mutate our own rules when we commit such a violation but such a change will also result in a jarring effect on others. People around us will subconsciously or unconsciously recognize that a violation of one of basic rules has happened. Hence when we go against the time-tested wisdom or the in-built wisdom of our ancestors the result will be incorrect and we will reap the evil that we caused. In fact our voice of conscience is nothing but these inner programs telling us that we are violating a basic rule of human wisdom.
Hence karma or the principle of sin are not just idle inventions of our ancestors but are real and true. They are eternal truths discovered by our forefathers which have with stood the tests of logic, reason and time.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Delicate Art of Listening
If there is one aspect of nature which is common to all us, it is that each one of us considers himself/herself to be the center of the universe. It is always our ideas, our perceptions, our opinions and our worlds that are the most important. Given this view of the world and ourselves, how can we expect anybody to spend time listening to others.
As Stephen Covey says in “Seven habits of highly effective people”, that we have to “learn to understand, before wanting to be understood”. That is we need to listen to others actively and effectively. There is a lot of finesse required in the delicate art of listening. We need to be “all ears” whenever we are listening and pay complete attention to others when listening.
There are many ways of listening to others. Depending on the situation we need to listen differently. We have to be certainly empathetic in our listening. Some of the ways of listening are
The Silent Listener: In this type of conversation we are expected only to listen and appropriately nod our heads as and when the situation demands. In this case the person doing the talking is not expecting any opinions or judgments from us. They want to pour their innermost feelings of joy or sadness. They want to share their emotions with us. In this case we should neither judge nor voice our opinions. We should encourage the other person to come out fully with their feelings. If we do this the other person will experience a sense of relief and lightness.
The Active Listener: In this situation again we are not expected to voice our opinions based on our own perceptions of what is right or wrong. The person is just expecting somebody to look at the world through their eyes. While our initial reaction may be to correct the other person’s misconception we should not be too brutal and interrupt their outpouring of their emotions. In this type of listening it is “more important to be kind than to be correct”. Though we may feel that the other person may be mistaken it sometimes helps to soften the truth by initially agreeing with the thoughts of the person. We need to aware of the verbal, facial and emotional cues and just allow the person to empty his feelings to us. We may be later try to help think through the situation.
The Participatory Listener: This is another type of listening where we are expected to help the speaker with his/her own thoughts. In these situations the person is having some serious problem or crises in life and is unable to cope with the situation. Here we sincerely need to help the person by thinking and voicing our thoughts to them. We need to help them look at the situation more objectively and in more ways enabling them to come towards a conclusion. In other words we need to help the other person think through the problem.
Hence there are different ways of listening and it is an art that needs to be constantly practiced. For one we need to have a genuine concern for the other person and try to look at the world through their eyes. In empathetic listening the speaker can definitely unburden himself and the listener comes away feeling that he has truly helped the other person.
As Stephen Covey says in “Seven habits of highly effective people”, that we have to “learn to understand, before wanting to be understood”. That is we need to listen to others actively and effectively. There is a lot of finesse required in the delicate art of listening. We need to be “all ears” whenever we are listening and pay complete attention to others when listening.
There are many ways of listening to others. Depending on the situation we need to listen differently. We have to be certainly empathetic in our listening. Some of the ways of listening are
The Silent Listener: In this type of conversation we are expected only to listen and appropriately nod our heads as and when the situation demands. In this case the person doing the talking is not expecting any opinions or judgments from us. They want to pour their innermost feelings of joy or sadness. They want to share their emotions with us. In this case we should neither judge nor voice our opinions. We should encourage the other person to come out fully with their feelings. If we do this the other person will experience a sense of relief and lightness.
The Active Listener: In this situation again we are not expected to voice our opinions based on our own perceptions of what is right or wrong. The person is just expecting somebody to look at the world through their eyes. While our initial reaction may be to correct the other person’s misconception we should not be too brutal and interrupt their outpouring of their emotions. In this type of listening it is “more important to be kind than to be correct”. Though we may feel that the other person may be mistaken it sometimes helps to soften the truth by initially agreeing with the thoughts of the person. We need to aware of the verbal, facial and emotional cues and just allow the person to empty his feelings to us. We may be later try to help think through the situation.
The Participatory Listener: This is another type of listening where we are expected to help the speaker with his/her own thoughts. In these situations the person is having some serious problem or crises in life and is unable to cope with the situation. Here we sincerely need to help the person by thinking and voicing our thoughts to them. We need to help them look at the situation more objectively and in more ways enabling them to come towards a conclusion. In other words we need to help the other person think through the problem.
Hence there are different ways of listening and it is an art that needs to be constantly practiced. For one we need to have a genuine concern for the other person and try to look at the world through their eyes. In empathetic listening the speaker can definitely unburden himself and the listener comes away feeling that he has truly helped the other person.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Me and the Atman
Central to Hindu philosophy is the concept of the Self or the Atman which is the unchanging phenomenon behind the changeable universe. The Atman is supposed to be changeless, formless, colorless and immanent, indestructible and so on. Knowledge of the Atman, the sages say, will enable us to transcend the dualities of this world.
However, any attempt to know and understand this phenomenon is a difficult task and is fraught with dangers. We can easily start hallucinating or imagining things that are not true. As the Gita says that only a true yogi who is completely disciplined in mind, body and spirit can probably attempt such profound knowledge.
However closer to the earth, we mortals can definitely attempt to understand ourselves better. We have to look inward into ourselves. We need to understand why we react the way we react. We need to look into ourselves and find out what is it that causes us to be impatient, to be intolerant, to get angry, or makes us swell with pride or conceit.
Rather than chasing some difficult concept as the Atman, Brahman we need to get down to earth into the journey into ourselves. Why are we so proud? Why do we crave for attention? What makes us sad?
These are questions for which the answers only we have. It is all based on our inner beliefs, our convictions and our view of what is right and what is beautiful. Before judging somebody we need to look into ourselves and look at our beliefs of what is it that is correct behavior. While it is likely that the other person had transgressed, it is equally likely that our understanding of what is correct behavior in the given circumstances could be wrong.
Hence we have a lot of answers within ourselves. Sometimes we have to correct our view of the world. Once we understand ourselves better, and on why we behave the way we do we can understand the world better and why people behave the way they do.
However, any attempt to know and understand this phenomenon is a difficult task and is fraught with dangers. We can easily start hallucinating or imagining things that are not true. As the Gita says that only a true yogi who is completely disciplined in mind, body and spirit can probably attempt such profound knowledge.
However closer to the earth, we mortals can definitely attempt to understand ourselves better. We have to look inward into ourselves. We need to understand why we react the way we react. We need to look into ourselves and find out what is it that causes us to be impatient, to be intolerant, to get angry, or makes us swell with pride or conceit.
Rather than chasing some difficult concept as the Atman, Brahman we need to get down to earth into the journey into ourselves. Why are we so proud? Why do we crave for attention? What makes us sad?
These are questions for which the answers only we have. It is all based on our inner beliefs, our convictions and our view of what is right and what is beautiful. Before judging somebody we need to look into ourselves and look at our beliefs of what is it that is correct behavior. While it is likely that the other person had transgressed, it is equally likely that our understanding of what is correct behavior in the given circumstances could be wrong.
Hence we have a lot of answers within ourselves. Sometimes we have to correct our view of the world. Once we understand ourselves better, and on why we behave the way we do we can understand the world better and why people behave the way they do.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Impossibility of Being Good
Being good under all circumstances is next to impossible, We can be good in bits and pieces. We may have understood difficult philosophical ideas, We may also be able to expound esoteric concepts and abstruse ideas. But under certain situations our baser feelings and emotions predominate.Try as we may we cannot get rid of our feelings of pride, the need for validation, the temptation of desire and the all consuming power of hatred or anger.
Every little act of charity and kindness we do is temporary . We think such acts and such benevolence will increase the amount of goodwill in our kitty. Sometimes the acts of charity are our amends for our bouts of bestiality.
Somehow it is almost impossible to really good, to always be uniform in our reactions to others. There is extraordinary difficulty in being compassionate, humble and honest. Unless one has renounced life and lives in a convent, monastery or a ashram trying to be good at all times in daily life is truly the greatest achievement. There are probably only a countable few in the world who really achieve such greatness.
In fact, while fully participating in worldly affairs, it is "easy to be wise but impossible to be good".
Every little act of charity and kindness we do is temporary . We think such acts and such benevolence will increase the amount of goodwill in our kitty. Sometimes the acts of charity are our amends for our bouts of bestiality.
Somehow it is almost impossible to really good, to always be uniform in our reactions to others. There is extraordinary difficulty in being compassionate, humble and honest. Unless one has renounced life and lives in a convent, monastery or a ashram trying to be good at all times in daily life is truly the greatest achievement. There are probably only a countable few in the world who really achieve such greatness.
In fact, while fully participating in worldly affairs, it is "easy to be wise but impossible to be good".
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Avoiding Mental Traps
In life there are many things that are not to our taste and our liking. There are many things that we would like to be different and work differently. However these things are beyond our control. We may dislike our job, our boss, habits of our friends or spouse. But it is better that we accept things the way they are and move on in life.
However the danger is that we quickly form opinions and make judgments on others and our state of affairs. The issue is that we tend to put ourselves into mental traps of our own making. We tend to base our actions and decisions on malformed opinions in our mind. The mind is goal seeking and tries to substantiate our own false ideas and ill-formed judgments. The mind tends to distort reality in order to substantiate our biases. We are led deeper and deeper into erroneous thinking. In fact, we can end up deceiving ourselves completely in the web of our thoughts which are based on completely wrong ideas. It is imperative that we identify the error in our thinking and remove any pre-conceived notions we may have about things.
We should not let our mind drag us into the quicksand of hatred, contempt or jealousy based on biases that we have in our mind. We should rise above pettiness in life and move ahead in life. We really need to understand the workings of our mind and be able to overcome emotions of anger, envy, contempt and excessive desire.
Being able to transcend our own pettiness in life is one of the most difficult things in life. While we may be capable of thinking lofty thoughts, if we drop our guard we can be very quickly deceived by our minds.
We need to mentally alert all the time and channelize our mental energies into creative and problem solving activities then we are truly on the road to real wisdom.
However the danger is that we quickly form opinions and make judgments on others and our state of affairs. The issue is that we tend to put ourselves into mental traps of our own making. We tend to base our actions and decisions on malformed opinions in our mind. The mind is goal seeking and tries to substantiate our own false ideas and ill-formed judgments. The mind tends to distort reality in order to substantiate our biases. We are led deeper and deeper into erroneous thinking. In fact, we can end up deceiving ourselves completely in the web of our thoughts which are based on completely wrong ideas. It is imperative that we identify the error in our thinking and remove any pre-conceived notions we may have about things.
We should not let our mind drag us into the quicksand of hatred, contempt or jealousy based on biases that we have in our mind. We should rise above pettiness in life and move ahead in life. We really need to understand the workings of our mind and be able to overcome emotions of anger, envy, contempt and excessive desire.
Being able to transcend our own pettiness in life is one of the most difficult things in life. While we may be capable of thinking lofty thoughts, if we drop our guard we can be very quickly deceived by our minds.
We need to mentally alert all the time and channelize our mental energies into creative and problem solving activities then we are truly on the road to real wisdom.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The State of Perfection
Who is the perfect human being? How does one achieve perfection in life? To reach a state of perfection one does not require the ability to understand esoteric concepts of the soul, atman, Brahman or to understand how one can unite with the Universal Consciousness. Neither does it require the practice of austerities nor the mindless chants of hymns or prayers.
What is required of everyone is to understand the import of philosophy and the need to understand the principle behind the unalloyed devotion to God. The end of all philosophy is that we become better human beings. Whether one understands the higher flights of philosophic thought or whether one performs rituals daily is not important. What is more important is the need to be a more compassionate, kind and an understanding person. We need to be able to perform our duties with integrity, to be charitable and to be forgiving. We need not indulge in intellectual understanding of philosophy but we definitely should make ourselves a better person. In fact it is harder to be devoid of hate, pride and envy than it is to mouth philosophical cliché’s. This is the most important learning that all of us should take away.
In fact, in the Mahabharata, there is the story of the sage who through the practices of extreme austerities is able to achieve great powers. In a fit of rage he is able to burn two birds just by his look. This sage goes to a village to beg for some food. He goes to a house and is asked to wait by the housewife. The sage thinks to himself “how dare this woman ask me to wait. She does not know my powers yet”. While he is in the midst of his thoughts the woman tells him from inside the house not to mistake her for the two birds he burnt in the forest. The sage is amazed and asks the woman how she knew what the sage was thinking. To which the housewife replies that she is just an ordinary housewife performing her duties to her husband and to her family. She also tells him to meet a “vyadha” or a butcher in the village if he wants to really wants to learn philosophy and dharma. The sage then meets the vyadha who expounds the meaning of dharma and the importance of ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truth) . This is known as the “Vyadha Gita” and contains profound philosophic thought.
Hence achieving perfection does not depend on comprehending neither abstruse philosophical concepts nor the observance of rituals but the need to perform one’s duties with the absence of hatred and envy. We are also required to be forgiving, charitable and magnanimous to others. This is truly a state of perfection worthy of being achieved by all of us.
What is required of everyone is to understand the import of philosophy and the need to understand the principle behind the unalloyed devotion to God. The end of all philosophy is that we become better human beings. Whether one understands the higher flights of philosophic thought or whether one performs rituals daily is not important. What is more important is the need to be a more compassionate, kind and an understanding person. We need to be able to perform our duties with integrity, to be charitable and to be forgiving. We need not indulge in intellectual understanding of philosophy but we definitely should make ourselves a better person. In fact it is harder to be devoid of hate, pride and envy than it is to mouth philosophical cliché’s. This is the most important learning that all of us should take away.
In fact, in the Mahabharata, there is the story of the sage who through the practices of extreme austerities is able to achieve great powers. In a fit of rage he is able to burn two birds just by his look. This sage goes to a village to beg for some food. He goes to a house and is asked to wait by the housewife. The sage thinks to himself “how dare this woman ask me to wait. She does not know my powers yet”. While he is in the midst of his thoughts the woman tells him from inside the house not to mistake her for the two birds he burnt in the forest. The sage is amazed and asks the woman how she knew what the sage was thinking. To which the housewife replies that she is just an ordinary housewife performing her duties to her husband and to her family. She also tells him to meet a “vyadha” or a butcher in the village if he wants to really wants to learn philosophy and dharma. The sage then meets the vyadha who expounds the meaning of dharma and the importance of ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truth) . This is known as the “Vyadha Gita” and contains profound philosophic thought.
Hence achieving perfection does not depend on comprehending neither abstruse philosophical concepts nor the observance of rituals but the need to perform one’s duties with the absence of hatred and envy. We are also required to be forgiving, charitable and magnanimous to others. This is truly a state of perfection worthy of being achieved by all of us.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Uncovering morality through the Mahabharata - Part 3
The tragedy of Karna
The tale of Karna in the Mahabharata is really tragic. Karna is the illegitimate son of Kunti who disowns him at birth. Despite being born a Kshatriya or a warrior he is raised by a charioteer. During Draupadi's Swayamvara though Karna wants to participate and prove his skills in archery, Draupadi he is barred from entering the competition since it is assumed that he is a charioteer's son To add insult to injury Draupadi scorns his lowly birth.
Karna is also truly selfless. In fact his largesse and magnanimity becomes his undoing. Karna being the son of Surya is born with an armor and earrings which make him invincible. But Indra comes in the guise of a brahmin and asks Karna to part with his armor and earrings.
Similarly Kunti asks Karna to vow that he will not harm the Pandavas who are in the enemy ranks. Karna immediately obliges. Though he could have slain the Pandavas he upholds his vow to his mother.
Finally Karna is slain by an arrow by Arjuna when Karna is trying to lift the wheel of his chariot which is stuck in the mud.
So the question that arises as to what extent can one be selfless in one's deeds. In fact the tragic story of Karna brings back the ethical question of the Greeks "Is it better to be strong or is it better to be good ?".
Karna was both good and strong but his excessive selfless goodness proved to be his undoing. As somebody said 'Don't compromise on yourself, you are all you got."
The tale of Karna in the Mahabharata is really tragic. Karna is the illegitimate son of Kunti who disowns him at birth. Despite being born a Kshatriya or a warrior he is raised by a charioteer. During Draupadi's Swayamvara though Karna wants to participate and prove his skills in archery, Draupadi he is barred from entering the competition since it is assumed that he is a charioteer's son To add insult to injury Draupadi scorns his lowly birth.
Karna is also truly selfless. In fact his largesse and magnanimity becomes his undoing. Karna being the son of Surya is born with an armor and earrings which make him invincible. But Indra comes in the guise of a brahmin and asks Karna to part with his armor and earrings.
Similarly Kunti asks Karna to vow that he will not harm the Pandavas who are in the enemy ranks. Karna immediately obliges. Though he could have slain the Pandavas he upholds his vow to his mother.
Finally Karna is slain by an arrow by Arjuna when Karna is trying to lift the wheel of his chariot which is stuck in the mud.
So the question that arises as to what extent can one be selfless in one's deeds. In fact the tragic story of Karna brings back the ethical question of the Greeks "Is it better to be strong or is it better to be good ?".
Karna was both good and strong but his excessive selfless goodness proved to be his undoing. As somebody said 'Don't compromise on yourself, you are all you got."
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