Nature is meaningful.However,its meaning is read differently by different kinds of people.A poets expression of nature is different from the way a scientist interprets it.Both,however,try to see the truth in it.Truth is one and simple,but the paths to it are many and complicated.Each of these paths presents natures variety. If winter comes,can spring be far behind asked an English poet.This is true because some temporal events in nature are periodic like the seasons.Time spans like a day,month and year are periodic,too.A week is periodic,but it is not a natural period.It is man-made,so that at an interval of five or six working days we could get a day or two for relaxation and personal work.
Regularity in periods,whether natural or otherwise,sets a pattern and life could be systematised as it would be reasonably deterministic.Events of life are controlled by time and space.However,space is not periodic.Our environment and natural landscapes are not periodic.This irregularity also affects our lives.A person who continues to live at one place does not experience the irregularity of space and hence his life is reasonably predictable.However,this kind of life could lack excitement and challenge.On the other hand,the life of a perennial wanderer might be unpredictable and unfulfilling,and perhaps have little impact on society.
Nature being periodic in one aspect and not so in the other is not our doing.Perhaps it is so because otherwise life would have been drab and dull.Natural phenomena are tuned to instill a certain order in life,although at times these appear to occur with some degree of uncertainty.This tends to happen when nature is tampered with unnecessarily.
The situation in matter is somewhat different.A solid matter is largely periodic,so assuming periodicity in the arrangement of atoms in a solid could lead to the understanding of several of its properties quite satisfactorily.This is an example of periodicity in space,which is so useful.The pattern Again,again,again is true in matter spatially,but not so in life.In other words,there are no agains in life.The following throws some more light on this aspect.
Events in life are not periodic.Childhood,teenage,youth,old age and death all these occur only once in a normal life.Sometimes due to illness and accident,some might miss one or two stages.A wise person,according to the Bhagavad Gita,should not worry about these things.Different phases of life are meant for different roles.Just as childhood and teenage years are meant for education,youth is the phase of work.Periodicity gives rise to regularity;all aspects of life and nature,however,lack this regularity.
Through selfcontrol and discipline we can reduce the impact of irregularity and order our lives to some extent.However,life no longer follows simple laws.It has become complex because of what we call non-linear responses from the system.It can be chaotic.But once chaos reaches a critical point,the system reorganises itself and order is restored.The Gita says that whenever there is a rise in unrighteousness (chaos) and it reaches a critical value,the system becomes ready for the creation of a supreme process that restores order.But whether this is periodic,we dont know!
source:speakintree/timesof india
Showing posts with label spiritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual. Show all posts
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Be Happy Even in Unhappiness
See the dictionary under the letter 'h' only there will you always find happiness. In life things are very mixed up. Like day and night,life and death,you have happiness and unhappiness. Life is rich because of polar opposites. The very idea that one would like to be happy forever is stupid, and the idea will only create unhappiness. You will become more and more miserable in your greed for elusive eternal happiness. Then who is the happy person The happy person is not one who is always happy. The happy person is one who is happy even when there is unhappiness. Try to understand it.
The happy person is one who understands life and accepts its polarities.He knows success is possible only because failure is also possible.So when failure comes he accepts it.I remember one incident of my childhood.A great wrestler had come to my town.Everybody was interested in wrestling,so the whole town had gathered.I have seen many people and many wrestlers in my life but he was really rare.He had something of Zen in him.For 10 days the wrestling continued,and every day he defeated a famous wrestler.Finally,he was declared the winner.That day he went around and touched the feet of all the 10 persons who he had defeated.Everybody was puzzled about why he did it.
I was a small child,i went to him and asked him,Why did you do that This is strange. He said,It is only because of them that i am victorious.If they had not allowed themselves to be defeated,i would not be victorious.So i owe it to them.My victory depends on their defeat,so really i feel greatly thankful to them.There was only one possibility: either i was to be defeated or they were to be defeated.And they are good people,they accepted defeat.
This is a very Sufi or Zen idea.Things are interdependent: failure-success,happinessunhappiness,summer-winter,youth-old age,beauty-ugliness they exist together.Then what should the attitude be When happiness comes,enjoy happiness;when unhappiness comes,enjoy unhappiness.When there is happiness,dance with it;when there is unhappiness,cry with it.That's what i mean when i say 'enjoy'.If you can accept unhappiness as smoothly as you welcome happiness,you will transcend both.In that very acceptance is transcendence.
Then unhappiness and happiness will not make much difference to you,you will remain the same.And sadness has something of depth in it which no happiness can ever have.Happiness has something shallow.If you want to be happy always you will become a superficial person.Sometimes it is good to fall into dismal depths of sadness.Whatsoever happens,go totally into it.
When crying,become the crying,and when dancing,become the dance.Then the ultimate happens to you.By and by you forget the distinction between what happiness is and what unhappiness is.You enjoy both! So by and by the distinction disappears.And when the distinction has disappeared,there arises something which is eternally there,which remains always there.That is witnessing.
The happy person is one who understands life and accepts its polarities.He knows success is possible only because failure is also possible.So when failure comes he accepts it.I remember one incident of my childhood.A great wrestler had come to my town.Everybody was interested in wrestling,so the whole town had gathered.I have seen many people and many wrestlers in my life but he was really rare.He had something of Zen in him.For 10 days the wrestling continued,and every day he defeated a famous wrestler.Finally,he was declared the winner.That day he went around and touched the feet of all the 10 persons who he had defeated.Everybody was puzzled about why he did it.
I was a small child,i went to him and asked him,Why did you do that This is strange. He said,It is only because of them that i am victorious.If they had not allowed themselves to be defeated,i would not be victorious.So i owe it to them.My victory depends on their defeat,so really i feel greatly thankful to them.There was only one possibility: either i was to be defeated or they were to be defeated.And they are good people,they accepted defeat.
This is a very Sufi or Zen idea.Things are interdependent: failure-success,happinessunhappiness,summer-winter,youth-old age,beauty-ugliness they exist together.Then what should the attitude be When happiness comes,enjoy happiness;when unhappiness comes,enjoy unhappiness.When there is happiness,dance with it;when there is unhappiness,cry with it.That's what i mean when i say 'enjoy'.If you can accept unhappiness as smoothly as you welcome happiness,you will transcend both.In that very acceptance is transcendence.
Then unhappiness and happiness will not make much difference to you,you will remain the same.And sadness has something of depth in it which no happiness can ever have.Happiness has something shallow.If you want to be happy always you will become a superficial person.Sometimes it is good to fall into dismal depths of sadness.Whatsoever happens,go totally into it.
When crying,become the crying,and when dancing,become the dance.Then the ultimate happens to you.By and by you forget the distinction between what happiness is and what unhappiness is.You enjoy both! So by and by the distinction disappears.And when the distinction has disappeared,there arises something which is eternally there,which remains always there.That is witnessing.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Happiness Through Head and Heart
Thoughts dodge you. Questions storm you. And you are lost in the jigsaw puzzle of queries and more queries. The question that troubles most rational human beings is, "Why am I born? My humble answer to that is the one given by Buddha, The Enlightened one to his disciple: When the house is on fire, first extinguish it with water. Don't just stand there in front of the burning house and reason out the cause of it. The cause would be known only when the fire is put out. Similarly, now that you are born and are living on this planet Earth, you must live in the manner which is most positive. For that you have to work hard.
Treat life not as an imposition but as a gift from God - to be loved and to be cherished. Move on the pathway of live with faith and courage. and the confidence that he is with you. Accept life with all its trials and tribulations. Acceptance of whatever is, will solve half of your problems.
Know that whatever your life is today, is your own making. It is combined result of your karma, in the previous birth and the exercise of your free will before you were born in this life. You yourself have shaped your life for your own good. So my mantra is: Accept your life with all its trials and suffering.
What do you seek is your day-to-day living ? Happiness. How many have experience happiness? How many can define happiness Yet everyone seeks happiness. That's ultimate goal. Few know where to seek happiness. Most of you seek happiness out-side of yourselves. You run after money, power, wealth, authority, status, name and fame. You are running after the shadows of happiness. True happiness comes from within, from the purification of mind and the ultimate intuition of heart.
Yes, there arises a question. Should you listen to the voice of the head or the voice of the heart?
My answer is simple. Listen to the voice of the heart through the head. Emotions lead us astray. We need head as much as we need heart. Develop both to an extent where both converge to a point of light, and your goal of happiness is achieved.
People are awed by the miracles of science as much as they are fascinated by the powers of spirituality. There is no competition between the two. Science is the discovery of one area and spirituality is the discovery of another area; in the final analysis there is no difference, both are discoveries, both are an experience of an 'awareness'. Our rishis had this knowledge of science through intuition. So where is the difference ?
As the New Age dawns, materialism will automatically lag behind spirituality. And people will live the 'Vedanta' in their daily lives. The verdant concept is spiritual. One life flows in all things. Therefore the future civilization will be built on reverence for life. All life is sacred. Therefore in your day-to-day living, show reverence for everything. The earth, the sky, the trees, stones, rivers, animals, flowers. The vedantic concept is spiritual but it is one which is scientific, for scientist tell us that there is life even in a stone and that the molecules in a stone are ever changing. Now the time has come when man must either make friends with nature or perish. This is the Truth.
Religion is life; it is fellowship, the mingling of the individual with the Great Life and it is not shut up in temples, it is moving in the market place. The great God is not somewhere in isolation. He is in procession of life. Greet Him there. You will not find him in the temples of marbles and stones, you will meet him in the sweat and struggles of life, in the tears and tragedies of the poor; wiping the tears of the poor and singing his new gita for the new age. So if you want to be happy make others happy.
Yes, my vision of life is secularistic. Secularistic in the spiritual sense and not the religious sense. The spirit of humanity is One. In this life we have to work for the unity of mankind. The coming civilisation will be built on a nobler thought, and that thought is, "You are Me, I am You". In that oneness, Joy, Peace and Love will grow.
Treat life not as an imposition but as a gift from God - to be loved and to be cherished. Move on the pathway of live with faith and courage. and the confidence that he is with you. Accept life with all its trials and tribulations. Acceptance of whatever is, will solve half of your problems.
Know that whatever your life is today, is your own making. It is combined result of your karma, in the previous birth and the exercise of your free will before you were born in this life. You yourself have shaped your life for your own good. So my mantra is: Accept your life with all its trials and suffering.
What do you seek is your day-to-day living ? Happiness. How many have experience happiness? How many can define happiness Yet everyone seeks happiness. That's ultimate goal. Few know where to seek happiness. Most of you seek happiness out-side of yourselves. You run after money, power, wealth, authority, status, name and fame. You are running after the shadows of happiness. True happiness comes from within, from the purification of mind and the ultimate intuition of heart.
Yes, there arises a question. Should you listen to the voice of the head or the voice of the heart?
My answer is simple. Listen to the voice of the heart through the head. Emotions lead us astray. We need head as much as we need heart. Develop both to an extent where both converge to a point of light, and your goal of happiness is achieved.
People are awed by the miracles of science as much as they are fascinated by the powers of spirituality. There is no competition between the two. Science is the discovery of one area and spirituality is the discovery of another area; in the final analysis there is no difference, both are discoveries, both are an experience of an 'awareness'. Our rishis had this knowledge of science through intuition. So where is the difference ?
As the New Age dawns, materialism will automatically lag behind spirituality. And people will live the 'Vedanta' in their daily lives. The verdant concept is spiritual. One life flows in all things. Therefore the future civilization will be built on reverence for life. All life is sacred. Therefore in your day-to-day living, show reverence for everything. The earth, the sky, the trees, stones, rivers, animals, flowers. The vedantic concept is spiritual but it is one which is scientific, for scientist tell us that there is life even in a stone and that the molecules in a stone are ever changing. Now the time has come when man must either make friends with nature or perish. This is the Truth.
Religion is life; it is fellowship, the mingling of the individual with the Great Life and it is not shut up in temples, it is moving in the market place. The great God is not somewhere in isolation. He is in procession of life. Greet Him there. You will not find him in the temples of marbles and stones, you will meet him in the sweat and struggles of life, in the tears and tragedies of the poor; wiping the tears of the poor and singing his new gita for the new age. So if you want to be happy make others happy.
Yes, my vision of life is secularistic. Secularistic in the spiritual sense and not the religious sense. The spirit of humanity is One. In this life we have to work for the unity of mankind. The coming civilisation will be built on a nobler thought, and that thought is, "You are Me, I am You". In that oneness, Joy, Peace and Love will grow.
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