Friday, February 26, 2016

Confronting the Present Reality.



The present reality forms the basis of life. Men often find themselves in a hypothetical reality far removed from the real one. The hypothetical reality offers the man the much-needed cover to mask the real one. It is akin to building castles in the air. When the mask falls or when the dream crashes, men find themselves in a position of weakness and often get angry. They cannot stand the sight of the real one and therefore, start building the castles once again.


Are you in present reality?

There are many reasons why men cannot stand the sight of the present reality. One of the foremost reason is the inability of the mind to hold on itself. Also, men cannot stand the shock of the peace which the present reality offers. Yes, peace comes as a shock to the man. Because peace unveils the layers within, and men cannot stand the sight of the hidden layers of the mind. From the childhood, men are unconsciously trained to live in a hypothetical reality. The reason why men run after the hypothetical reality is due to the ill-training of the mind.

As soon as a man wakes up in the morning, he cannot stand the reality of the day. Men wanted to remain engaged in Tamas or sleep forever. Sometimes men do not have a clear universal goal to strive for and therefore, they fall asleep again. All other subsequent tasks then become botched up, either forgetting this or that. Then we come late for work, and the misery continues for the whole day until we leave the office.


Afraid of confronting the day?

In some cases, man gets engaged in hypothetical reality as soon as he gets up in the morning. Man either gets engaged to social media or television programmes. Sometimes radio, newspapers, and eating without appetite and so on. Too much engagement in such hypothetical realities ruins the body. The body then becomes weak, gradually paving the way for a disease. The physical activity goes down, and the balance in the body is lost.

There are many effects of addiction to the hypothetical reality. We forget to clean ourselves and our surroundings as a result. The unfinished businesses keep piling up, and the promises are not kept on time. Therefore, confronting the real world is a great challenge. It needs constant attention and the gradual training of the mind. There must be a clear understanding of the goal in life. The goal must be in consonance with the present reality. The goal must be a solution for the life's problem. The goal must be a solution for all the pain and suffering in the world. Men are considered awake only when they understand and appreciate the full picture of the present reality.


Home cleaning - the first steps to present reality

The mind must be trained to withdraw from all the hypothetical realities. When a man withdraws from these realities, he remains in peace. Men engage in a tall talk about peace but is actually clueless about the means to find it. Peace is found within and only at the present. Discard all hypothetical realities and remain in peace forever.

Thank You.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Relative and Absolute Law.


The relative Law:

The laws, which bind men together in a society, are always relative. The laws, as made by men and as we know, are relative with regard to the species, gender, belief, and the need of the time. The laws cater the need of the welfare of the human society and enacted taking cognizance of the sustainable development of the society in future. Each country has its own laws. The laws are sometimes strongly discriminatory and biased with regard to the gender in the society. For example, the Taliban imposed strict sharia law in Afghanistan and the women have no right to education in that society.

Madness in AFG.

The laws, as we know, are relative with regard to the species. For example, a murder in any country would be an act that involves killing a fellow human being, with an intent to inflict maximum suffering, and thereby threatening the balance and the value of the human society. This heinous act, at the same time, doesn’t qualify for murder when inflicted on species other than men.

In some countries, the laws are enacted based on the religious faith, and according to their faith, even some relatively small crimes qualify for the capital punishment. Drug smuggling in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq qualify for capital punishment.

Capital punishment for petty crimes in Iran.

Moreover, the laws change according to the need of the time. For example, in Ireland, the gay marriage is legal.  In May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage on a national level by popular vote.

Ireland's nod to LGBT community

The duality forms the basis of all social laws. The duality is nothing but the distinction between good and evil. They hold some men as good and some men as bad depending on the deeds committed by the men. The laws, therefore, differentiates the good from the evil. The good and bad are relative terms and differ from nation to nation.

The lower and upper thresholds:

The laws always have a lower and an upper threshold limit. Below the lower threshold limit man behaves like an animal. We all knew that there are certain heinous crimes committed by some men in the society, which only an animal is capable of replicating it. For example, during the civil war in Liberia, the rebel commanders had the knack for cannibalism. They cut down the hearts of the fallen rival commanders and ate them. These acts fit only the category of the animals. The lower threshold of the law distinguishes man from animals, whereas, the upper threshold distinguishes man from God.

Cannibal warlords of Liberia


The absolute law:

When we transcend the upper threshold limit, the man goes beyond good and evil. The man then goes beyond all social conventions like caste, creed, beliefs, and nationality etc. In the upper threshold limit, everything converges into ‘One’. All laws get merged into ‘One Absolute’. For example, the practice of non-violence beyond the threshold limit prescribed for men transcends the limitations of the species. The man then embraces the entire world. The man begins to love not only human beings but all animals as well. In the absolute one, there is no distinction between good and evil. The good and evil as we have seen are only relative.

Similarly, the practice of anti-corruption laws above the threshold limits will end up in sense control and in higher meditations. The practice of absolute truthfulness above the threshold limits will end up in the highest meditation and so on. Any practice of relative laws above the threshold limits will take one to the higher meditation.

If laws can accommodate murder and theft, then the vast majority of men would be good. Therefore, there is no distinction between a saint and a murderer in absolute one. The man who goes beyond the relativity has an equanimous eye on everyone. The man loves everyone irrespective of the deeds committed by them.

The absolute law is one, and it remains forever. The absolute law cannot be brought down to the level of the society. The absolute law cannot be brought down because it cannot be broken into good and evil. For example, the practice of absolute non-violence at the social level ends up in booking everyone on the charges of murder, because everyone in their lives would have killed a considerable number of species of other organisms. The relative laws are not an end in itself. The goal, therefore, is to transcend all relative laws and merge into absolute one.

The Absolute One.


Thank You.


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Saturday, February 20, 2016

How to Combat Corruption?



Definition of corruption:

Corruption is like a paralysis which severely hampers the growth of a nation. There are many definitions of corruption. According to Transparency International, an International body which monitors corruption across the world, corruption refers to the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. They classify corruption into grand, petty and political, depending upon the amount of money lost and the sector where it occurs.

According to them, grand corruption consists of acts committed at a high level of government that distort policies or the central functioning of the state, enabling leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good.

Petty corruption refers to everyday abuse of entrusted power by low- and mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens, who often are trying to access basic goods or services in places like hospitals, schools, police departments and other agencies.

Political corruption is a manipulation of policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political decision makers, who abuse their position to sustain their power, status, and wealth.

India is one of the chief victims of corruption. The corruption in India is rampant and widespread. There is not a single public office in India which is untouched by corruption. Such is the legacy of corruption is India.


Corruption in India. 


The corruption within:

If we trace the roots of all corruption, we will be astonished to find that the corruption stems from within. Before pointing out the fingers outside, let us examine ourselves. Are we corrupt? Corruption is nothing but the excessive engagement of senses in the sense objects. As soon as there is an excessive engagement in sense objects, corruption sprouts. For example, when we sleep too much there is corruption and when we eat too much there is corruption and when we talk too much there is corruption and so on. Because excessive engagement in sense objects results in addiction, and addiction, in turn, ruins the vital forces in the body. When man become bereft of these vital forces, he sways from integrity and truthfulness. And when he sways from integrity and truthfulness, corruption is the result.




Too much of sleep - a kind of corruption.


In corruption, a man begins to identify himself more of a body. He thinks that the sense objects can offer him more enjoyment and security, and therefore, engage in it unabashedly. All sense objects come with a price, and when it becomes ill-affordable, he resorts to illegal means to obtain them. He then hoards these sense objects for future use. Corruption is like an itch. Corruption is nothing but death. Corruption ruins the senses. When a man begins to fall more and more into this sense trap, death is the result. This kind of corruption is explained by Sri Shankaracharya in this famous verse from Vivekachudamani. He says,

शब्दादिभिः पंचभिरेव पंचपंचत्वमापुः स्वगुणेन बद्धाः
कुरंग मातंग पतंग मीन भृंगा नरः पंचभिरंचितः किम्  

The deer, the elephant, the moth, the fish and the honeybee - these five meet death because of their bondage to one of the five senses. What then is the condition of a person who is attached to all five? (76)

The deer gets captivated by the sound of good music. An untamed elephant gets attracted by the touch of a tamed one. A moth gets attracted by the sight of light. Fish gets attracted by taste and Honeybee by smell. All these attractions are fatal for these animals. The worst case is the man, where all the five attractions remain in its fullness and, therefore, are more fatal.


The moth attracted by light. 


How to combat corruption?

                The only way to combat corruption is by fasting. Fasting doesn't only mean abstinence from the intake of food, but it also means abstinence from the intake of food by all the sense organs. Fasting blunts the attraction towards the objects and thereby denying any chance of corruption by the sense organs. Fasting was used by some great men like Mahatma Gandhi and Anna Hazare, to combat political corruption.


India against corruption. 


                The other way to combat corruption is by following the middle path and resorting to meditation techniques. Meditation reveals the higher dimension in man. This higher dimension in man is beyond death. Sensuality offers the path of death. Whereas, meditation offers the path of immortality. The root of all corruption lies in the senses. Therefore, close the senses and go beyond death.

Thank You. 

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The Answers to all Philosophical Questions in Life.

The Motion:

                Motion is the displacement of an object from one point to another. There is no object in the universe which is not impelled by motion. The galactic systems, the planets, the sun and the moon, the earth and the forces of nature, are all impelled by motion. Motion is the typical characteristic of all the human beings and all animals as well. Without motion, man cannot stand guard against the forces of nature. Also, there are many motivations behind this motion. But as we go deeper we will find that the motion is the result of the ignorance. Motion is the result of false identification of ourselves. Why do we move? Because we don’t know who we are.


Why do we move?


The Differentiation of the subject.

                Motion is the result of differentiation of the subject. The differentiation of the subject is always triggered by a ‘Vritti’. There are millions of Vrittis which bring about the differentiation of the subject. For example, a word is a Vritti, which brings about the differentiation of the subject. As soon a word is uttered, differentiation of the subject takes place, which in turn triggers a motion. The motion then sets forth a series of events culminating in misery. And that is the reason we find why the men of great insight always prefer absolute silence. Because, as soon as the silence is broken, the motion sets forth, culminating in suffering.


Word and an object connected intrinsically. 


                The word is a Vritti, always associated with an object. There is no object in the universe without a corresponding word, and it is the word which brings the subject to the level of an object. Such is the power of the word that the world and its objects emanate from it. The highest meditation is nothing but the undifferentiated subject. Absolute silence is only possible in the highest meditation. In the highest meditation, there is a complete absence of the objects and its corresponding Vrittis. Liberation is nothing but the state of abiding in the undifferentiated subject forever, and the liberation process consists in the elimination of Vrittis which differentiates the subject.

The Superimposition:

                The generation of Chitta Vrittis initiates the process of superimposition. There is a superimposition of the characteristics of the subject on an object. The subject is of the nature of permanence, peace, and joy. Whereas, an object is limited by the constraints of space and time. The following example illustrates this superimposition.

                The child is fond of an ice cream. The ice cream generates a Vritti in the child. The subject of the child is then superimposed by the Ice cream. The ‘I’ faculty of the child superimposes the characteristics of the subject on the object. The “I = Subject” then becomes “I = Ice cream”. The characteristics of permanence, peace, and joy are then superimposed on an Ice cream. The child relishes the Ice cream but is not satisfied because it could not find permanence in it. Because the ice cream as an objected is limited by time and space.

              Therefore, the child goes for more. The child then demands an infinite number of Ice creams to match the permanent nature of the subject but it becomes a failure. Because of  the limitation of the object in terms of space and time, an infinite number of ice creams cannot be procured. When the demand grows more, the mom comes with a stick and teaches a nice lesson. The result of such a struggle would be a disappointment, pain, and suffering. The same is true with chocolates, toys and all the objects of the world.


Kid and the Ice Cream.


The Philosophical Questions:

                For a young man, the objects of the world are different. The objects are his loved ones. From the childhood, the man had practiced superimposition of the qualities of the subject on the object. But nature is willing to teach a lesson. As soon as an object is removed by nature, man feels that he has lost completely. He feels that he has lost the subject itself because of the false identification. The man is then overcome by weakness and cannot stand on his own. He feels the loss of identity. In some cases, man is unable to bear the loss of subject and ends up his life.

                The loss of objects also triggers many philosophical questions in man. The man then asks why injustice is meted out to him. Why it happened to me alone? Why doesn't God help me? Who am I? What am I doing? Is the world real? Why am I suffering? and so on. All philosophical questions don't have an objective solution. There cannot be any external treatment for these questions, and any external treatment again would be in the objective realm and, therefore, inadequate. The solution for these questions is within man himself. This is the only way to recover himself and not by any external means.


Philosophical questions.


Meditation:

                As man experiences more of the objective world and its consequences, he resolves to go back to the subject. The preliminary steps in this resolving process include cutting off all wrong identification with the objects. It involves the non-entertainment of the ‘Chitta-Vrittis’. It involves complete sense control. Self-control denies the formation of Chitta Vrittis. It denies all motion and its consequent suffering. There comes a stage, when the Vrittis are completely eliminated, and when the knowledge dawns, the man abides in the pure subject. There are no more false self-expressions. A self-expression is a degenerative form of the highest meditation. I am writing a blog, and I come down from the level of the subject, and when you read, you come down from the level of the subject, and so on. There are many saints who taught this knowledge by absolute silence. Therefore, meditation is the key to resolving all philosophical questions in life. 

                The message is to cut-off all superimpositions that we have projected so far, and remain absorbed in the subject forever. 

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