2nd Anniversary

HIV awareness

first in person volunteering activity in India :). Earlier one was in Singapore long back in 2006 . As part of I volunteer we had performed a skit to educate Metro construction workers on HIV , its causes and some of the misconception people usually associate it with. It was a good experience.  

Diwali @ Bangalore

The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das

This book takes few character of Mahabharata and try to decipher what is the meaning being conveyed through the acts of each. Author covers Duryodhana, Draupadi, Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bhishma, Karna, Krishna and Ashwatthama in the book. After the read it looked like no one is right all time including God. Lot of emphasis is put on actions described in the epic and trying to decipher if that was the best way. Even the God's are at fault at times  when seen from dharma point of view. I never new Mahabharata went way beyond the ending of war until I read this one. The art of dharma is subtle... likely it depends on the context one is in which defines what to do. There is no one right answer all time.

Some notes:
1. If greed is the sin of capitalism envy in the vice of socialism. Envy is felt more strongly between near equals than those widely separated in fortune.
2. Draupadi assumption: Law too often reflects the will of the powerful in the society and diverges from the right thing to do.
3. Manu smriti - Satisfaction of the mind is the only authority in cases of conflicting alternatives
4. Idea of dharma based on one's reason  sits side by side with deep faith in the existence of God in the Mahabharata.
5. Happiness comes from upholding a certain balance, by living according to a system of beliefs that restrains them and gives coherence to their desires.Dharma is precisely discipline of ordered existence
6. To fight is easy, to forgive is more difficult
7. The great divide in ethical thinking is between those who judge an act based on its consequences versus those who judge it based on duty or some role.
8. One who is destitute of wealth cannot practice dharma.
9. Adopt a friendly face to the world but do not allow yourself to be exploited.
10. Caste duty-- Svadharma
     duty of Consciousness - Sadharana dharma
11. Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action.
12. On some occasions we let "ends" dictate our behaviour; on other occasions, 'means' seem to matter more.
13. Selfishness is the principal cause which makes life unsatisfactory
14. Let no man do to another that which is repugnant to himself
15. Purpose of yoga- to calm the ceaseless activity of mind
16. To be happy one must not be too concerned with the opinion of the others. One should pursue one's goals single mindedly. with a quite confidence. without thinking of others.
17.True dharma is not the sva dharma of caste , but the sadharana dharma of truth, commitment , generosity and friendship.
18. Karma has its optimistic side in a human being's ability to act with freedom , and be responsible for this act. Its pessimistic side is a feeling that we cannot escape from our past.
19.Point of Mahabharata is that dharma is Sukshma (Subtle) and it is often difficult to tell right from wrong.
20. In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; in passing it over, he is superior.
21. There is no future without forgiveness.
22.If strict justice is viewed as a precondition for peace, then the quest for national unity and peace may be doomed to failure.
23. One who gains victory also suffers loss.
24. Ahimsa is the highest dharma
25. One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself. This, in brief, is the law of dharma.
26. Compassion is the highest dharma
27. Moral integrity begins with the awareness of other human beings.
28. Good behaviour grounded in dharma earns good karma.
29. Mahabharata was divinely pre planned in order to rid the earth of Kshatriya's. This is the epic's way of reminding that human lives are vulnerable.
30. Who has in his heart always the well being of others, and is wholly given, in acts, thoughts and in speech, to the good of others, he alone knows what dharma is.
31. Unexamined life is not worth living

paisa

jo haath mai hai wo jamta nahin
jo nahin hai uski chahat hai
hum phas gayee aise jaal mai
jahan na sima hai na rahat hai
bas hod hai aur ki
jitna bhi ho ye bharti nahin

aj bhi sara jivan lage ghar bananae mai
usse kuch bach jaye to kharch ho baccho ki parvarish mai
pehle pati akele ghiswae
aajkal biwi bhi saath nibhaye

kaisi tarraki kaisa sudhar
aaj bhi jab jhuke kamar udhar ke byaj se lagatar

paise ka moh badh raha
bhaichara ghat raha

kaise duniya bana raha insan

jahan paise ke piche lut raha jahan

Slideshare version of Fall of Human Intellect

View more presentations from ParshwadeepLahane.

School of Ancient Wisdom

Vedanta Retreat notes

DESIREà DECIDEàDESIGNàDESERVE

One way to keep brain activated is through learning new languages

Most believe we need to have some dramatic cause underlying behind dramatic effect. This is NOT TRUE

Mind and Intellect – does not have a form only function – just like software

MIND	INTELLECT
Feelings	Thinks
Emotions	Discriminates
Impulses	Judges
Likes and Dislikes	Reasons
Desires	Analyses
Indecisive	Decides
Sporadic thoughts	Deliberate thoughts
Pattern Making	Pattern breaking
Operates with known	Probes with unknown
Compulsive Thinking	Conscious thinking

Indiscriminate flow of thoughts= MIND

Discriminated flow of thoughts= INTELLECT

Vedanta preaches to produce the effect and cause will be followed.

Example: be happy –cause for happiness will follow

Ignorance of things make them look mystical.

Learn to live life by thinking alone

Living – desires and values

Desires – primary ( present in everyone ) and secondary ( depend on situation- stimulus based)

Desires by nature are always conflicting in nature.

Primary Desires

For Bodily comfort

For a Sense of security

To be Noticed and admired

Feel that one matters to somebody

To feel superior

For companionship and fellow feeling

To be like others of ones own “Set”

To be attractive

To look after and protect

To find out- discover- gratify curiosity

We always have dilemma between Good Vs Good and Bad Vs Bad

If one has Inferiority complex it is expressed as superiority

But this is not always the case and hence complex

Example

We usually associate with some charity… all acts of charity have root to feeling of superiority

EGO- cannot be seen by self mostly

Cause……….à………… Effect

We must put in efforts for Effects-----à--------Cause  cycle .  We don’t do this usually.

“Way to get anything is to lose it”

Always when planning a course of action –consider desire. When you are executing your plan keep aside desire.

Never bring in desires while performing action

Scriptures at 3 levels:

1.       Shruti- pure truths declared

2.       Smriti- explanation of the truths…. Influenced by time and place

3.       Puranas- telling stories to convey the message. Problem is usually the message gets lost in the story

Areas emotions influence:

-Selective perception

-choices

-language

- first reaction

Apply intellect when deciding on something but introduce emotion just before conclusion. Ex. Just like desert positioning in a full course meal.  This needs to be there to maintain humanity in decisions taken.

At level of perception don’t bring in emotions.

If a person is using more adjectives in speech he is using more emotions than intellect.

Emotions by itself are not a problem --- the manner in which they are expressed is the real culprit

Emotions coming out of DESIRE are always negative.

Expression cannot be classified as right or wrong  but appropriate or inappropriate

Don’t lose temper- use your temper

Any emotion stemming out of GRATITUDE is a positive Emotion

Keeping GRATITUDE as base, a feeling directed towards equal/lower object or being is LOVE

Feeling directed towards higher object or being is DEVOTION.

Synthesis of Thinking and Feeling only in positive emotion.

Positive emotion--- stems from—alertness—stems from—GRATITUDE—stems from—reading of scriptures(VALUES)

Knowledge does not help in living—we live life by wisdom

Sanyasi –one who has moved away from cursing and blessing

How to improve one’s intellect:

1.       Introspection/ Listen to live master/ reading ( less preferred as does not bring in conviction)

2.       Retrospection

3.       Meditation ( last 10% associated to this)

Look at existing intellect available. ( introspection)

Simple exercise to start with : Before hitting bed run through the days activities

Do not while performing this activity:

-          Do not analyze your action

-          At no point move backward and forward . Go serially only from first to last activity of the day

-          Should not take more than 5 min

Practice at least for a month to see the effect

Path of spiritual growth –

1.       Monkey way – take complete responsibility

2.       Kitten way- don’t do anything

Till a certain level we need to be monkey type and then we switch to kitten type

Relationships

-only exists at thought level

3 most difficult statements in the world for people to say:

1.       I Love You

2.       I am Sorry

3.       I need Help

At one point of time we can manage at max 7 relationships on day to day basis.

Rational sufferance – most tough to do-

Go through the suffering of other person thinking one day other person will grow

Communication:

-          Don’t use many adjectives

-          Watch the tone

-          Use plain, direct and simple statements

LOVE	ATTACHMENT
Universal	Preferential
Unconditional	Conditional
Thankful for taking	Tallying accounts
Self sufficiency	Dependency
Freedom	Binding
Peaceful	Agitated
Evolve	Devolve
Things gain personality	Person becomes things
Irreplaceable	Replaceable
No Polarization	Swing to opposites

LOVE + SELFISHNESS= ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT- SELFISHNESS=LOVE

  

Foundation of Harmony:

-          Have a common goal

-          Respect others independence

-          Identification not attachment

-          Communication

-          Be suggestive not compelling

-          Familiar not vulgar

-          Rights vs Duties

-          Rational Sufferance

 Relationship Snags

-          Justified expectations

-          Want unconditional acceptance

-          Mind reading

-          Refuse and resist change

-          Law of distance

-          Want to change the other

-          Intentions justify actions

LADDER OF FALL

Indiscriminate thinking

 

Attachment

 

Desires

Fulfilled                                                              Unfulfilled

|                                                              |

|                                                              |

Fear, envy, greed, arrogance                                  Anger

Delusions

Loss of memory

Intellect Lost

Burger Forks !!

Clouds

captured on flight from Delhi to Bangalore. Clouds looked amazing...