From a tiny seed to a mighty tree
We see
a huge tree and wonder about its mighty size. As time passes, the tree would continue
to grow. But for a moment, if we go back in time, we would realize that once
upon a time the tree that has us amazed was just a seed.
A seed, so puny, that
we would not have taken notice of it. And here it is in front of us, after
having grown for all those years.
After a certain time, this tree will
bear seeds of the future. There might be numerous seeds but not all of them
would grow to become huge.
Some of them will just be carried away by the wind
and get destroyed.
Few may become food for insects. Only a portion would
survive the travails of nature to slowly flourish in a conducive environment
with the required nutrition.
That resulting enormous tree will again through
the same cycle. That is the way nature works.
But it does not mean that greatness is only associated with the
tree being mighty. The true greatness is to realize the humble beginnings of
such an enormous entity and respect the rules of nature.
In a similar vein, a
person of great stature will not take pride in his achievements when he has
grown rich or gained power in the society. A true savant would realize that in pride is his fall and instead gets stuck to his roots.
Let us
never forget that however big a tree might be looking right now, at one point
in its life cycle, it was just a minuscule seed.
Spread the Light
Nobody would disagree that it is required
to acquire knowledge by various means. However it is also equally important to spread
one’s realization for the benefit of others. It is of no use to keep hiding the
wealth of knowledge within oneself. It would only lead to a build-up of ego
which causes nothing but a downfall.
The enlightened
ones who have grasped the real knowledge don’t need to be taught about this.
The means to deliver their wisdom to others is quite natural to them.
However
for others who may have embarked on this journey difficulties will arise in
their path.
It can be thought of as a sort of test to the candidate in order to
prove one’s worthiness to attain the life’s secrets. One who understands the truth
will find this test easy.
The truth is that knowledge exists everywhere around
us and there is no secrecy involved.
But to perceive this truth is not easy. Hence
one should strive to gain knowledge by all possible means and at the same time
one should share the knowledge with others.
It is in this context,
Edith Wharton,
American novelist commented “there are two ways of spreading light: to be the
candle or the mirror that reflects it”. Ones who have been illuminated with
life’s knowledge will naturally share their wisdom by being the source of
light.
Another means to contribute in spreading the knowledge is to act as a
mirror to return this light of course by first absorbing the essence.
What aids a sharp mind ?
The
question looks very simple. If you happen to think about it for a while, an
answer would soon make an appearance. You may excitedly say, “Of course, exercising
is the key. Similar to keeping physical body fresh and agile by flexing muscles,
as mind is related to brain you need to perform mental exercises to keep your
brain sharp”.
You ask this to your acquaintances and as you expected, yes, your
views will be echoed.
Well, the
argument is quite logical. There have been so many games and methods devised to
train the brain. Claims are made that by performing the right kind of mental
exercises, one can be bestowed with powers of attention, improvements in memory
capabilities and intuitive reasoning.
However is this the reality?
This write-up doesn’t support the above case.
It collates results from experiments conducted across the world that indicate physical exercises play a
major role in maintaining a sharp brain as opposed to popular belief that
mental exercises are involved in this task.
It seems that people who indulge
themselves in physical exercises regularly have more healthy and sharp mind
compared to others who don’t go to gym!
The studies also mention that people
from all age groups get this benefit apart from gaining their physical fitness.
So
shall we scrap all the stuff related to mental exercises?
Although these
experiments don’t help us conclude anything they have hinted that to keep our
brain in fine fettle, a simple physical exercise such as brisk walk for a few
minutes regularly could be quite sufficient.
Another study identified that regular exercises increased the strength of memory. Click here to know more.
Time
to go to gym!
Relevant and Irrelevant
Imagine
you are at a crowded airport waiting for the boarding call. You pick up a book
to spend your time wisely. It isn’t difficult to visualize the din around,
people chattering with each other, cracking jokes & children laughing
aloud, automated announcements blaring across the hall.
In spite of these
distractions, you get engrossed in the book. Now the obvious question hangs in
front of us – how does this happen?
It is
a well-known fact that we interact with the external world using our sense
organs.
In this context it is logical to think that one or more of our sense
organs have been shunted out to achieve a purpose. We know the purpose – to
read the book.
But who was responsible for taking this action? The answer
“Brain” immediately pops out.
Researchers have proposed a new theory about how our brain makes a distinction between the relevant and irrelevant information. Based on a
computational model, it suggests that within the complicated structure of
brain, a gating mechanism must exist in order to block specific sense organ
inputs and route only relevant information for further processing.
The
researchers also comment that brain has mechanism to learn through experience
and thereby improving upon the ways such situations are dealt with.
It
seems the human brain is possibly capable of selectively blocking information
flowing from specific sense organs. Pondering over its enigmatic nature, we may
visualize that it can also be possible that based on one’s needs all of the
information flowing may be considered irrelevant.
And when this happens the
external world as we see it now, will not exist. At that moment, our life force
will be directed inwards. This leads us to think if this is the approach that
one should take to realize the inner self?
And is that relevant or irrelevant?
Which is better – Prodigality or Parsimony?
Spending
money in an excessive, wasteful, extravagant manner is Prodigality. The exact
opposite is Parsimony. It is an unwillingness to spend money wastefully.
Some
relate it to miserliness but it is apt to define it as the quality of being
careful with money matters.
Now,
let us look at the question. Which quality do you think is better?
Can
the golden plates and spoons in dining hall suffice to kill hunger? A person
who wishes to be indulged in extreme comforts, attempts to display the riches
that he possesses lavishly dives into a self-created well of egotism.
Without
being able to come out of the borehole, the person struggles to lead a happy
life.
However he makes the well look like a beautiful spring in an attempt to
mask his own struggle. He turns arrogant.
On the
other hand, when a person leads a simple and austere life, he would learn to be
content with his possessions.
He would understand the reality of life and won’t
have to wear a false face in front of others.
It is important for him to assess
this quality and not allow it go to extremes however this person gradually
turns to be treated as a niggard.
In
this context, Confucius comments that it is
better to be a niggard than arrogant. To become haughty in presence of opulent
things and being indulged in grandiose display of such stuff will only lead to
a downfall.
Thus the great master tells us to choose wisely the path of
parsimony. But it has to be noted that being a miser serves no good purpose. Being conscious about our own attitude, we need to avoid embracing arrogance unless we have decided to destroy our own life.
Did you spot rabbit on the moon?
However peculiar as it may sound, it wouldn’t take much
effort to spot the distinct animal silhouette on the moon. The shape is clear
with its ears widely spread, prettily covering the entire face of the earth’s
natural satellite.
Yes, we are discussing about the image of a rabbit that can
be seen on the moon. Is it true that a rabbit lives there? Is it a coincidence
that the image resembles one of an innumerable variety of creatures on earth?
In psychology, this phenomenon is known as Pareidolia. It is a situation when our mind perceives a
well-known pattern of something in an image or sound where in reality it
doesn’t exist.
The most common example is the rabbit on moon. Sometimes we
experience familiar patterns in cloud formations in the vast sky and these
could also be attributed to Pareidolia.
Why does this phenomenon occur in the first place? Is it
due to a psychic ability or is it just another instance of a crazy mind.
Scientists have performed experiments on subjects to understand this in depth and
attempted to provide an explanation.
The studies indicate that people identify
known patterns with just outlines and come to a conclusion.
And to the most
part, this activity is completed by subconscious mind. This task is completed
so fast that before further processing happens in brain, the judgment is
already done about one’s perception of the image seen or the sound heard.
Whether this is of use to us? Well, this debate would
never end. Pure rationalists would just discard this as meaningless. Religious
fanatics would never rest until they convince everyone in the world about the
essence and consequences regarding their observation of a god’s figure on a
tree, rock, wall, mountain or even on a grilled cheese sandwich!
Commercially
oriented businessmen would make money by selling such items. You better decide
which path you would take.
An Uncertain Life
Life
exists in various forms. The innumerable creatures on this earth complete their
lifespan leading a life filled with comforts, accomplishments and struggles.
Man is one among these diverse life forms and noticeably evolved to a great
extent in terms of thinking abilities.
This position of human beings brings in
a sense of superiority. The modern man is rapidly advancing scientifically at a
great pace and can without any doubt claim that the entire world is under his
control. But is that the reality?
Even
though Man has been able to identify causes of many seemingly mysterious
situations, provide rational explanations for circumstances found in nature,
the secret of controlling life energy is still eluding the scientific
community.
How long will I live is a
question that bothers intellectuals. The doctors are now able to cure many
diseases however nobody can predict when a person will die. Of course there are
people who don’t give a damn to these queries and instead concentrate on
enjoying the glories that life bestows on them. They think that their life goeson forever but the impracticality doesn’t occur to them.
This
nature of mortal human beings prompted Adi Shankaracharya to explain the fragility of life in this verse of Bhaja Govindam.
He
cites the example of rain drops deposited on a lotus leaf. The drops will be
quivering and can be non-existent the next moment.
He indicates such is the
nature of one’s life. We may think that our supreme life will be forever
persistent but it is not true.
Today we may be celebrating our achievements,
tomorrow we may not be alive. We need to reflect upon this verse and search for
a path that leads us towards realization.
Vicious Cycles
One does not have to possess an enormous amount of thinking faculty to understand that nature
works in cycles. It is a known fact that Earth rotates on its axis and revolves
around the Sun. It results in day and night.
Seasons change periodically. At a
regular pattern we complete a full cycle around center of solar system. The
moon waxes and wanes, the ocean tides rise and fall.
Viewing
these from a certain perspective, we may notice that these cycles may not be
independent. The termination of one may possibly lead to another one.
If we
happen to notice, at a fundamental level, the vital breath that supports our
life system comprises of cycle in the form of inhalation-exhalation.
The end of
which brings death and thus a cycle of life and death forms.
At a different level,
we may visualize the entire universe breathing resulting in the death and
formation of stars, galaxies and other celestial phenomena.
Well,
we human beings are so puny within this vast cosmos. If it can be concluded
that we are entangled in various forms of these vicious cycles, an obvious
question would arise in our minds.
“Is there really any end to this trap? How
can we break free?” Do you have any answers?
The Butterfly Brain
The
various bright colors of a butterfly are a feast to our eyes. There is such
variety in the fauna that we will be dumbfounded seeing the wonderful winged
insects flying from one flower to another.
It is quite amazing when we realize
that right from its birth the butterfly religiously gathers nectar, plays its
role in continuing its species and then bids goodbye to this world.
How long do
you think a butterfly lives? The average adult lifespan of a butterfly is
around 2 weeks. Such a short time period, isn’t it?
Now
just change the scale from level of a butterfly to that of a human. A
butterfly’s entire lifespan is too puny in our scale. But having forgot that we
are still on the same scale but only on different levels, we humans think that
we are here for eternity.
Either we choose to conveniently ignore the fact or
we don’t realize the universal truth. Thus the famous cosmologist Carl Sagan quoted
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever”.
This
significant realization finds mention in yaksha prashna when yudhishtira answers one of the questions posed by yaksha. He indicates
that it is the most surprising thing on earth.
When we find ourselves in a different level on the scale compared to a
butterfly, in addition to an increase in lifespan we are supposed to have an
evolved brain.
The butterfly’s brain may treat its short lifetime as perpetuity
but the mature brain of humans should lead us towards the right direction.
Focus On A Single Goal
Goal setting is not new
to us. We set goals in our life that we desire to reach and achieve the set
objective. Once we realize that our target is reached, satisfaction seeps in.
This
encourages us to go further high, we set loftier goals and attempt to capture
our wish. Sounds simple and straightforward, right? However oftentimes we
commit a mistake.
The
following story drives the point home. There was a student of martial arts who
was eager to learn all the tricks and become a master himself. He approached
his teacher and earnestly spoke of his interest.
"Sir,” he said, “I would like to achieve mastery in the martial arts. I
want to become great and popular. So I’ve decided to learn the different styles
that are prevalent in this field.
So in addition to learning from you, I would
also like to practice with two other teachers at the same time. What do you
think of this idea?"
The master calmly replied, "The hunter who
chases two rabbits catches neither one."
The student
understood the hidden meaning within his teacher’s words. He bowed before the
master and asked for his forgiveness.
In the yearning to achieve more, we tend
to blindly set more goals than can be achieved practically. We set too many
targets at the same time and end up not achieving even a single goal.
Let us always
remember to do one thing at a time and to do it perfectly right!
Save for a rainy day but don’t be a miser
A quite logical thing is to make hay while the sun shines for you never know when the sun sets. However it is also a rational thinking that our brain comes up with to
create a safer vault for the future which is unpredictable.
It does always
remind us to save a portion of our earnings. The financial gurus make it a
point to indicate a definite percentage as well.
It
makes sense but some of us overdo it to such an extent that we miss the point.
A conscious person who saves for a better & safer future transforms to a
miser who becomes stingy. Aesop brings out this learning magnificently in the
following story.
A miser had lot of wealth, obviously! Being afraid of robbers,
he decided to hide the accumulated stuff by burying it inside the ground in his
backyard.
Every day he religiously went to that place, dug a hole, saw the
wealth to his satisfaction and covered it back. If a needy person asked his
help to borrow some money, he would shout at the top of his voice and shoo away
the person.
As
always a clever thief noticed this ritual and one fine day made away with all
the good stuff. Crying with despair, he went to the village head and narrated
his plight. The head asked the miser “Did you ever take any of stored wealth
and use it?”
“No”, came the reply, “I always just looked at it and then filled
up the hole”. The wiser chief of village concluded “Then go again and look at
the hole for it does not make any difference if there is anything in it or
not.”
Pondering over it, we
realize that wealth unused is just as good as it didn’t exist. Yes, it is
important to save “something” for tomorrow but if that “something” is not of
use to anyone, then it is good riddance.
Perceive the Reality
We are
bound to the earthly elements to such an extent that we fail to notice the
reality. We tend to follow our daily routines rigidly without spending even few
moments to reflect upon the truth.
It is not that we can see, however we do not
attempt such an exercise. Once this question appears in our mind, it will
surely trigger us to raise our awareness and then perceive the reality.
So
what is this reality that we do not have an idea about? Confucius narrates
following parable to make us understand this.
A baby fish asked its mother, “I
keep hearing from everyone about water. What is it?"
The mother answered “Water
is what you swim in. We are made of water and we go back to water after we
die.”
"But where is it? I cannot see it?” questioned the baby to which the parent
answered “You look around, there is water everywhere. There is water inside us
as well as outside. Water surrounds us. We cannot be separated from water.”
Now
how can a fish know about it if it has not seen anything other than water? It
spends the entire lifetime within that but without realization. It has to raise
above the surface and then it can see the reality.
In a similar manner, we,
human beings forget the cosmic laws that surround us. We ignore the principles
underlying the universe and instead think that we rule the world.
Thus Confucius concluded “Fish forget they
live in water; people forget they live in the Tao." We all live in the
ocean of Tao. It flows over us; it is within us and all around us. It enfolds
us like our own skin, and yet we cannot perceive it; Indeed, most of us have
no idea what it is.”
Let us
reflect upon this thought and at least make a sincere effort to become aware of
the reality.
Clutch of Habits
As we grow, we pick up
some actions and repeat them regularly on a daily basis until it becomes second
nature to us. Over a period of time, these actions become so very powerful that
it would be next to impossible for us to detach ourselves from them.
These
actions are known as habits. With this premise, it is not a surprise that most
of us are enslaved by our own habits.
Thus it is important to cultivate only
the good ones and keep distance from the bad ones.
It does not take much
time to appreciate that if we have to change the way we live, we need to change
our habits. And it is quite a struggle to modify something that we have been
doing over the years.
Often we end up not trying at all just by imagining our
life without actions that we hold dear to ourselves. However as the old saying
goes, “Where there is a will there is a way”.
If we focus our mind with
dedication towards changing our life for good, it is possible but it requires
efforts.
First step is to become
conscious about our bad habits. Next step would be to convert it into a good
one.
Now it would seem to be very difficult to totally eliminate it altogether.
In such cases at least masking the wrong actions consciously with right actions
initially would help.
Gradually the latter will replace the former. Some claim that if an activity is done regularly consistently for 21 days, it becomes a habit. However this is not quite the reality and cannot be generalized.
Changing a habit is not so easy task. But
acknowledging the power of habits on our life, a just decision would have to
trigger the process of changing the bad habits and imbibe good ones.
So if one
wills to change with concentrated and focused efforts, it can surely be done. You ready?
Recipe to forget the past
It sounds non-sense but
it is true. Most of the time we live in the past. Our brain tricks us in such a
manner that we fail to notice that it is of no use to live in the past. However
by knowing this secret of human behavioral pattern, we can convert this seemingly
problematic condition into our advantage.
A story from
Mahabharatha throws more
light on this. Even after the war was over, king Yudhishtira was not in a mood to perform his duties. He was always disinterested in running
his kingdom and instead he spent most of his time brooding upon the past and
kept on thinking the amount of loss incurred because of war.
Noticing this,
Krishna with help of Bhishma convinced Yudhishtira to perform a get-together function and invite the near
and dear ones for the event. Soon after the event was conducted, a change was
seen in Yudhishtira. He was now more involved in the happenings of kingdom and
was eager to deliver his duties as a king.
A few days later when
he happened to meet Bhishma, the latter explained him this secret knowledge. He
mentioned that even though the real war was over within 18 days, Yudhishtira's mind was
continuing to play it.
This is the way our mind functions. It has a habit of
keeping alive the memory of latest event that has happened. This will last
until another event has an impact on our memory.
When that happens the old memory will be suppressed by the more recent
one. If the recent one is a good event, the person will be in high spirits. As there is no certainty about the good event
that is yet to take place, it is all the more reason for a person to “create”
this event that will benefit him.
By planning any such occasion which focuses your
energy in making it successful, you will automatically suppress the bad memories.
This takes us away from the path of inaction towards an enthusiastic mindset
which craves for strength to perform a good deed. This is definitely the right
approach to bring ourselves back on track especially after suffering from a bad
situation.
Criticism – Get into the other’s shoes first
We face situations in
life where the behavior of others take us by surprise. At times it may look
very obvious and in some other occasions the moves of a person would leave us
bewildered. And there is one thing that will definitely follow – criticism.
Most often this criticism will not be positive in nature and not constructive.
Only the wearer of the
shoe knows where it pinches is a saying in English which makes us ponder over
this point. It is easy to criticize others and knowing well that they will not
revolt will only add fuel to the fire.
But how justified we are if such an
action is performed without identifying ourselves in the situation which the
other person is into? Does it not become a prerequisite to find out what the
person has been through?
Yes, it definitely is an obligation on the part of an
observer before a meaningful delivery of words. If it doesn’t happen, the words
spoke will only be meant to cause a conscious damage to the person at the receiving
end.
Whenever we face such a situation again, let us
resolve to get into the right frame of mind. Before we utter any word against
or for a person involved in the situation, let us walk a mile in the other
person’s shoes.
Let us understand the environment the person is in and what
phase he is going through and ask ourselves a question – what would I have done
if I were in his position? The reflections upon the answer to this question
would then lead to a meaningful conversation and constructive criticism when
necessary.
Acknowledging the worthy in life
Life teaches us many lessons. It can be
likened to a web that surrounds us posing as a network of strands. It contains
various things that stick to the individual strands. There are times when the
strand is strong enough to hold on to what falls on its way.
Sometimes a heavy
object comes through and the strand would break. At that time, we are
enlightened and to our astonishment the situation was created by the absence of
strand and not the presence of it.
It turns out that in our life we turn a
blind eye towards things that we take for granted. We do not realize their
usefulness, potential, benefit until a point in time when we do not have them
anymore.
Thus it is rightly said “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of
water”. We are so entangled within our daily chores, gossiping, warmongering,
preaching others how to lead their lives and other exciting things that we lose
sight of what is relevant to ourselves. We fail to notice that which is
important to us, our own self.
And life’s learning doesn’t always
occur in calm waters. It hits us hard when we stand in the timeline and look
back upon our deeds. The harsh reality dawns upon us then but it would be too
late.
We would be embarrassed to recognize the exploitation done, misery
caused, downfall bestowed upon ourselves as a result of our own actions. Before
the situation goes out of hand, let us learn to realize the worth of our dear
ones – animate or inanimate, appreciate their existence and reciprocate our
goodwill.
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