WHY PHILOSOPHY IS IMPORTANT?

Physical science helps mankind in general. Physical science increases the utility.
Now everyone wants to be practical. We appreciate practical man. Practical man means one who recognizes material needs and who works for his food to the body and who works for every possible comfort to the body. But these are people who are oblivious of the necessity of providing food for the mind.
If poverty and disease is removed from mankind, it would not necessarily result in the society being a valuable society. Goods of the mind is as important as goods of the body.
There are men who never leave the small circle in which they are placed for the fear that his word may not be the last elsewhere. These are people for whom knowledge is a set of prejudices. Habits and desires makes an impenetrable veil between them and the world beyond. For these people Personal and private things become a prison to the intellect.
Free intellect requires to see things without a here and now, without hopes and fears, without fundamental beliefs and prejudices, calmly and dispassionately and it would see things with the sole and exclusive desire of knowledge. Knowledge which is impersonal, contemplative.
Philosophy is to be studied not for the sake of any definite answers. No definite answers can as a rule be known to be true. Philosophy is required to be studied to enlarge our conception of what is possible. It is meant to enrich intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation.

ASSERT TO GOD YOUR FREEDOM.

The recognition of existence of God who is omnipotent and good must be a false recognition because there cannot be omnipotent and kind God when misery is seen in the world. Either no God exists and it is man made. In the alternative he is not omnipotent and good. Either he is good or omnipotent. There cannot exist God who is omnipotent and good in the light of misery seen everywhere in this world.
At any rate we are speaking of omnipotent God. Omnipotent God means he has unlimited powers. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. hence power is bad. Hence we have to reject it from our hearts. It is here that man’s true freedom lies.
The freedom I am speaking requires strength. Strength has to be respected. Let us respect the strength of those who refuse false recognition of facts.
Man must struggle to become free as far as possible from the tyranny of non-human power. The moment you attribute absolute power to God, we think that it has got to be worshiped and It must be given unlimited respect notwithstanding its wanton infliction of pain.
In addition to this Unfortunately in our actions we have no option but to submit perpetually to the tyranny of outside forces. However in thought, in aspiration we are free. We are free when we live, even from the tyranny of death .
If you oppose God on the basis that God is a creation of man and if that ideal grows fully visible, a spirit of fierce revolt and hatred of the Gods would come and it seems necessary to the assertion of freedom.
It is the duty of one and all to keep the evil always in view but always actively hated. In this regard man shall learn to refuse no pain that the malice of power can invent ,to assert man’s freedom.
For all the above what is most important is we should see that our thoughts are not burdened by the load of eager wishes. If it is not so loaded, freedom comes automatically. Freedom is available to those who do not ask of life that it shall yield them any of those personal goods that are subject to the mutations of time. When we loose all eagerness of temporary desire, struggle and strife for petty ends and trivial things which would make the common life day by day, we would be able to enjoy our freedom.
It is the part of courage to turn away our thoughts from vain regrets. The degree of submission to power should be just and right and it is wisdom.
We have to resign to the out world rule of fate but we have to recognize that the non-human world is unworthy of our worship.
Ideas are from mysticism and logic and other essays by Bertrand Russell.

MAN MADE GOD. IS IT TO RUIN HIMSELF?

I was very busy. Sorry that I have not written for long.
If there is God, he must be omnipotent. It is so by the very definition of God.
But we see misery and more misery everywhere. If misery exists in the eyesight of omnipotent God, it means he wants misery to exist. He wants people to be miserable. Otherwise as omnipotent he would have removed all miseries.
It is surprising and in fact amusing that such God who has kept people miserable gets undeserved praise to be worshipped by beings whom he tortures.
He looks at things being bad, he makes it worse by giving hopes to men that future might be better. He gives men strength that enables them to forego even the joys that is possible with the idea that future could be better.
God is omnipotent. So he must be smiling. We have seen people perfect in renunciation and worship. This must be the work of omnipotent God.
The only upright thing for any human being is to be free. Man is free to examine, to criticize, to know to create and to imagine to create.
It is only to man this freedom belongs. It is this freedom which makes him superior. It is this freedom which gives him superiority in-spite of the irresistable forces that control his out world life.
In-spite of this freedom if man is willing to prostrate himself before Gods, without enquiring whether God is worthy of his worship, he is surrendering his freedom and he does not deserve to live.
If a person become so much a slave to God that he dare not even in his heart, think or allow the thought to come that his master God deserves no worship, it is unfortunate.
Tomorrow we shall examine our freedom and what gives us the freedom to say “I don’t care to the God who is omnipotent and gives misery”. What gives us freedom to say “I don’t care to the omnipotent”.

YOU HAVE OBSESSION. IT WILL HUNT YOU.

There was a person who believed only in Hari, he did not like Hara. But he had one idol of Harihara wherein one face was of Hari and another face was of Hara.
Every day when he has to perform pooja, he used to block the nostrils of Hara lest Hara would take the perfume of the incense he would offer, he would block the ears of Hara lest he would hear his chanting, he would put some mud or such on the eyes of Hara lest Hara would see him doing pooja. This is how he performed the pooja. He was expecting that Hari would come and bless him.
One day Hara came before him and told I am absolutely pleased with the faith you have in me. Please ask me for any boon.
The man was perplexed. He asked I have never offered you pooja. I don’t want you. In what way you are impressed?
Hara answered “No devotee of mine ever had as much faith in me as you had. The pains that you took to close my nostrils and so on every time you did pooja, is absolute indication of your absolute faith in me. I am extremely happy that there is one person who has so much of faith in me”.
If you are obsessed with anything, the thing with which you are obsessed would certainly hunt you one day.

YOU HAVE MORE FAITH THAN REQUIRED. YOU ARE EXPLOITED.

Two pilgrims were going one behind the other. There was a small water channel that was flowing. By the side of the Channel there was an idol of a Devi. The first person took that idol, placed it across the channel, walked on the idol of the Devi.
The second pilgrim who was following him saw that, felt very bad. He came. Took the idol, made it stand, took his shalya, dipped shalya in water, cleaned the idol using his shalya, made namaskaram and jumped across the channel.
Devi was very angry. She cursed the second person “you go without offering me coconut. You have unwanted courage to disrespect me like that. You shall have misery for three days”.
The second pilgrim was astonished. He asked “Oh Devi, pardon me. I did not have a coconut. Excuse me, at any rate you did not curse the man who ill-treated you by walking on you. Why are you selecting me”.
Devi answered “I have jurisdiction only on those who have full faith in me”.
Our dealings with any person should be with full knowledge as to how much of faith we should have, in whom.

ARE YOU AFRAID? NO ONE CAN HELP YOU.

There was a very powerful saint who loved a cat very much. One day the cat went out and came back running, perspiring as if being hunted.
The Saint asked the cat “what is the matter? Why are you perspiring?”. The cat answered “there is a dog outside”.
The Saint converted the cat into a dog and told “now that you are a dog, go out, play with the dog”.
The cat went out and came back running, perspiring as if being hunted.
The Saint asked the cat “what is the matter? Why are you perspiring?”. The cat answered “there is a dog outside”.
The Saint converted the dog to a Tiger and told “now that you are a Tiger, go out, the dog will run away, enjoy”.
The cat went out and came back running, perspiring as if being hunted.
The Saint asked the cat “what is the matter? Why are you perspiring?”. The cat answered “there is a dog outside”.
If you have fear in heart, no one can help you. Fear comes from within. It is impossible for any outside agency to remove your fear.
It is only an attitude not to be afraid that would help.

SOCRATES

Socrates never asked that he should be accepted. Socrates is saying, “please leave me alone – just as I leave you alone. Please allow my freedom. I don’t trespass on your life, you should not trespass on my life.”
He was told “It is very simple. Leave Athens. You can make your home in any other city, and wherever you are you will find disciples, friends – about that there is no question.
“I’m not going out of Athens because it is a question of choosing between convenience or life, and I choose life – even if it brings death. But I will not choose convenience, that is cowardly.”
“Then do one thing: remain in Athens, but stop teaching.”
“I am going to continue teaching the truth.”
“Then we are helpless, because the mob, with a majority, wants you to be poisoned and killed.”
“That’s perfectly okay. You can kill me, but you cannot kill my spirit.”
By spirit he means his courage, his devotion to truth, his way of life.
He died joyously.
In fact Socrates asked again and again, “What is the matter? Ask that man; it is getting late.”
The poisoner asked Socrates, ‘Why are you in a hurry?’
‘I am in a hurry because I have lived life tremendously, totally; I know it. Death is unknown; it is a great adventure. I would like to taste death.’
You cannot kill such a man.

LIVE DANGEROUSLY II

The whole thing is extract from Unconsciousness to Consciousness from Osho.
The golden rule for life is that there are no golden rules.
Life is so vast. Anybody living according to a rule is destroying himself, poisoning himself. Once I have passed a bridge I want to destroy it, so that I cannot go back.
In life there are always alternatives. You are always at a crossroad, always and always. Each moment is a crossroad.
Now, if you choose the comfortable, the convenient, then you will never be able to live intensely. Be away from well trodden path. The comfortable, the convenient, the conventional, of which the society approves, means that you are ready to become a psychological slave. That’s why all this convenience.
Living dangerously means whenever there are alternatives, beware: don’t choose the convenient, the comfortable, the respectable, the socially acceptable, the honorable. Choose something that rings a bell in your heart.
The society will give you everything, if you give your freedom to it. But you have to drop one thing: your freedom, your individuality. You have to become a number in the crowd. The crowd hates the person who is not part of it. The crowd becomes very tense seeing a stranger amongst it, because the stranger becomes a question mark.
The real man would always say, ‘This is what is appealing to me, and I am going to do it.’ Then whatever happens is welcome. He will never regret. A real man never regrets, never repents, because he has never done anything against himself.
Living dangerously means: don’t put such stupid conditions between you and life like comfort, convenience, respectability. Drop all these things, and allow life to happen to you, and go with it without bothering whether you are on the highway or not, without bothering where you are going to end.

GOD SHOULD BE ORIGINAL CONCEPT.

Borrowed knowledge is no good.
God and knowledge of God is borrowed knowledge. To almost every one God had never been an experience. It is based on other’s teachings.
Atheism or Godlessness should be an experiment. It should not necessarily be the end. When you undertake such experiment you will get cleansed, you will shake of borrowed knowledge, you will try to find your own route.
Osho says an authentic atheist is better than pseudo theist but atheism should be the first step and not the end of the journey.
Society is against thinking. Society does not like children questioning about God or religion. Society wants God and religion to be accepted as the child is told. For this reason children will accept the truth of others.
One must first get rid of borrowed knowledge of God. Should become free from teachings of the society, books and sanyasi, then a person would become empty. At that stage he will deny God. He is the atheist.
If his journey does not stop there in becoming an atheist, if it persists, if he analysis the outer world and inner world, if he analysis the ultimate good of pursuing outer attractions and in the alternative making an enquiry into his self, he will realize that atheism is not the ultimate. He will become a real theist and he will cease to be a pseudo theist.
First become a genuine atheist. Keep your mind open. Never live on borrowed knowledge without experience.

BELIEVE IN GOD

Bertrand Russell writes that significance of a thought lies in the action to which it leads. In order to estimate the difference between the different beliefs about the same matter, we ought to consider what difference in conduct would result based on one belief or the other.
In certain cases it is right to believe whole heartedly in one of two alternatives even when there is no evidence as to which of them is true.
In the absence of evidence as to which is true, we have to choose that answer which gives greatest emotional satisfaction.
The duty in the matter of opinion is firstly we must know the truth and secondly we must avoid error.
If we abstain from either belief, we are sure of not incurring error and we are also sure of not knowing the truth.
We must be very clear that our errors are surely not such awfully solemn things. In a world where we are so certain to incur errors inspite of all our caution, a certain lightness of heart as to errors is healthier than excessive nervousness in that regard.
So in the absence of proof of existence of God if only you believe in God, you would like up to the expectation of God. You would try to avoid hurting others. If you have right belief that God supports you, your approach will be more confident.
If your thought is that God exists, it would lead to such action from you which would not hurt others. If your concept as to God is right it would lead to an action where you are more confident.
Hence existence of God is irrelevant. Belief is relevant and advantageous.
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MAKE MONEY

There is no need to tell that money is very important and one should earn lot of money. The absence of need to tell about this is because every one knows it rather believes in it.
If making money is an end, if it is the ultimate objective, if that is the destination, it is proper that we follow the objective and reach the end.
But life is very strange. Reason has never worked, emotions alone work. In this regard earlier I had quoted Ayn Rand as follows:
“You’ll say it doesn’t make sense? Of course it doesn’t. That’s why it works. Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable? The trouble with you, my dear, and with most people, is that you don’t have sufficient respect for the senseless. The senseless is the major factor in our lives. You have no chance if it is your enemy.”
So you have to find a way to make money and if you are looking at a way based on reason, it is unlikely that you will succeed.
Take my words. If you want to make money first stop worrying about money! Stop caring for money! Start proclaiming that you don’t care for money!
He alone wins who does not want to win. Your mind should start having faith (not belief) that having or having no money makes no difference.(But that you would make money with sublime love to it) Start working on anything you are used to. Let earning become a by-product.
A Minister went to a sugar factory, he was told that by-product molasses brings more money than main product the sugar. He suggested that they should start manufacturing the by-product. Let us not do it. Let us concentrate on the main product viz. what ever services you are giving. Let us stop worrying about the by-product the money. Once you don’t care for money, money will pour.
The money you earn is never dependent upon the services that you give. The money you earn is directly proportional to the sublime feeling you give to the person receiving the services as to your capacities, capabilities, individuality. The moment he knows that you have the faith that having or having no money makes no difference to you, he is afraid to offer you less. He himself would volunteer to pay more.
If you want to make money stop asking for money. You should create a situation where others feel hurt not to pay you money rather than you being hurt.
As long as people know that you want money, you will not make more money. As long as you go after money, you will not make much money. You can make much money only when money starts chasing you. Money will start chasing you only when you don’t care for money. You can stop caring for money when you have faith that having or not having money makes no difference.
This Blog is full of contradictions. I start the Blog telling that if you want to make money, make money and work for it. In the same Blog I say don’t care for money.
It is easy to see a contradiction. Even a child can do that. It does not require any intelligence to point out contradiction. If you see something in the contradiction which is not contradictory, you raise.
When you don’t chase money, when you give up attitude to chase money and still have sublime love for money which sublime love is never known to anyone else with whom you are dealing, you can make money faster and easily.

SHREYA AND PREYA

Katopanishad distinguishes between Shreya and Preya. This is the most important chapter in Katopanishad.
Preya is you seeking immediate pleasures. Shreya is to go in search of ultimate good.
You think of a girl. You want to associate with her. If you associate with her It would give immediate pleasure. But very often rather always as soon as you associate with her, you would find that the happiness you thought that you would get by association is a mirage. Preya is that which appears to give a great joy when you achieve it. But the joy would disappear when you get it or approach closer.
In so far as Shreya is concerned it is that which gives you ultimate good. Invariably the path of Shreya would show unhappiness, inconvenience, difficulties in the beginning.
Katopanishad also differentiates between vidhya and avidhya. Vidya and avidhya have a different meaning in Katopanishad. Vidhya is that knowledge which takes you to shreya while avidhya is that which takes you to preya.
There is one inner world and there is one outer world. Inner world is the one which you have to conceive, imagine which is beyond your senses but which does exists. Outer world is the one which you can see through your senses.
The knowledge of the existence of inner world is the crucial aspect to think of shreya, go towards shreya and achieve shreya as well as not to bother about preya. The difficulty arises in knowing that there is an inner world and in understanding of the inner world.
Some other day we shall know what is the inner world and its importance.

EXISTENCE OF GOD IRRELAVANT. BELIEF OR NO BELIEF IS RELEVANT.

By logic existence of God can never be true. By logic there cannot be a person called God whom we can meet or interview. By logic there cannot even be a God who is all powerful, who can take decision and whose decision would always prevail.
But speaking of ultimate reality in Katopanishad it is said “Who but the one who says ‘it is’ can know it?”.
So Katopanishad says only one who has trust in God can know God.
When we say there is no God, we are speaking of logic. Logic defeats existence of God. But a theist does not depend on logic. He depends on trust. He depends upon the omnipotence of his thought, that God exists. He trusts that there is God.
Very often you don’t know as to whether you love a girl because she is beautiful or she looks beautiful because you love her.
Identical. You trust God. He exists for you. You don’t trust God. He does not exist for you.
It is not important as to whether God exists or not. What is important is do you have faith in the existence or non-existance of God.
What does the atheist achieve by telling that no God exists. He wins an argument. He lives on logic. Neither the argument nor the logic will give him the fragrance of life. An atheist can never be convinced. Firstly for the reason that he is not ready to be convinced and secondly for the reason that God is beyond logic.
But except winning the argument Atheist gets nothing. His ego is satisfied.
On the other hand theist looks at life differently, on trust, without logic.
So existence of God or non-existence of God will not make any difference to anyone. The difference is made depending upon whether you trust in him or not.

ENCOURAGE DOUBT. NOT INDECISIVENESS.

Bhagwad Gita is so lengthy because Arjuna goes on entertaining doubts. At one point Krishna tells “sanshayatma vinashyati”.
Krishna answers every doubt of Arjuna. Hence it cannot be said that Krishna is opposed to doubts.
Krishna must have meant indecisiveness (not doubt) to be the meaning of sanshayatma.
Doubt is a step towards decision. Doubt is good. It is only when you get doubt, you will go ahead and there is a chance of arriving at correct decision. But doubts are to be cleared and decision must be taken.
Decisions could be right and it could be wrong. Very often the correctness of the decision will be known after the decision is implemented. Decision is a must. Be it right or be it wrong. Indecision would ruin a person.

Reply

To C.L. Ramanath,
With respect to your comments on ‘What am I for’ I had never differentiated between myself, society and we. I had only said that we should live without a purpose. We should live to be an end by ourselves.
My personal view is I as well as you are important and neither I have a business to interfere with you nor you have a business to interfere with me. I do not want to live for others and I don’t want others to live for me.
I had never said we should disrespect society or some one else. I certainly said that I am important.
With respect to your comments on my Blog ‘Poisonous hope of parents’ my very objection was that parents try to guide too much. I am not in agreement with you that I said that parents should not guide children. I only said that parents should not try to make the child utility oriented. I never said that parents should not have love. I said their expectation should not prevail over a situation where the child would be able to take his own decision.
With respect to your comment on ‘Teach the children how to read’ I don’t know why you say that I said that parents should not ask the kids to read. On the other hand I had specifically said that we should encourage the children to read. I think my Blog has been misunderstood by you. To emphasize that, I repeat what I have said in my Blog.
“It is not enough if we emphasize to the children the need to read, we should emphasize the mode of studying. We must tell that as and when they are reading their mind should simultaneously work and find out what is useful and what is not. They must learn the discretion to skip pages while reading when they come to useless information. Atleast if they can’t skip pages, they must have the wisdom and knowledge to throw overboard what is not useful.”
With respect to your comment on ‘Give the best gift’ you have a total misconception of the word sacrifice. Sacrifice is never two sided. It is always one sided. I have one such relationship. I go down on my knees. I am not able to reciprocate. I am sorry for that. But that does not mean that I should not accept the gift which is given to me. Further although I said that I am not able to reciprocate, it is not for me to say that. May be some one thinks that I have given the best gift and I may not know.
With respect to your comments on ‘The truth you resist is the battle you fight’ what you have written is correct. But my Blog does not cover that situation. My Blog says at a time when you can’t take some one else’s behavior how you should deal with it.
Sorry for the delay. I depend on Stenographer and I don’t know typing.

To Archana,
You are wrong in writing that speech is silver and silence is gold is incorrect. It is correct. What we are dealing with is a situation where people speak.
I had always said communication is very important. The reason I told so is because we have not learnt to express through silence and we have not understood to understand silence.
You yourself have said that the person who speaks less is liked. It is not a merit to say that you don’t care not being liked. You must feel happy to be liked. But absence of liking should not bother you.
There is joy in silence. You may wonder how can I speak about it when I don’t know anything about silence.
Believe me I know what I am missing because of being not able to be silent.

To Bhaskar,
I am sure that to forget is to remember works. I have not read it anywhere. I have heard it somewhere. I have seen in life that those who remember minute things like color of the saree, the type of saree worn by someone on a particular day, the food prepared 5 days back, are not capable of remembering other things which according to us may be more important.
We can put it the other way. It is not the quantity of what you can remember. It is the quality of what you can remember. In fact in my Blog I have emphasized this aspect. I had told that you must try to remember that which is of quality to you meaning that which is of relevance to you.
I will try to find out whether there is any scientific basis to say “to forget is to remember”.

MY LIFE TIME DOUBT

From our childhood we are taught that honesty, hard work and sincerity takes us to great heights. Honesty certainly gives peace of mind. To a great extent it satisfies ego. So is sincerity. Again hard work gives us pleasure if we do it as celebration and not as duty. But I have not seen in my life that any of these responsible for a person to reach great heights. Assuming that there is a person who has reached great heights with these attributes, he would be an exception. All those who are honest, hard working and sincere have not reached great heights.
We are taught that education is very important. It will help us to become successful. Probably this might have been right if the word education had been understood properly. In reality education is understanding life as a whole.
But the moment the word education is used, what occurs to our mind is going to school, college, getting degrees is education. If this is the concept of education, education would not make us successful. This sort of education which is pursued with the idea of becoming successful would make you a mediocre. You will end up an Advocate, an Engineer or a Doctor and you start thinking that you have become successful. Becoming a professional and earning little money or even more money cannot be the definition of success.
We are taught that you should be good, people should like you, people should call you good, everyone should like you. It is good to be good because it gives you inherent and inbuilt satisfaction. But the moment people know that you are good, they would exploit you. At least majority of them would exploit you. The moment people like you, they are comfortable with you. The moment there is a sense of comfort, they misbehave. They don’t maintain the distance. They don’t respect your privacy. They don’t care to know your values or wishes. No, the proper way is to be good, but no one should know that you are a good person. Why should we make our goodness a product available in the market.
You are taught that you should obey parents. If you obey parents what will happen to your originality. Parents in most cases are prejudiced, have an axe to grind in your life by having their own hopes to be achieved through you. They have no objective interest in your life. Their interests are all subjective. They want you to achieve whatever they like.
Be it parents or elders, you have to certainly listen to them with respect, assess their suggestions and reject or accept depending on merits of the suggestion. Where is the question of obeying the parents?
From young age children should be taught that obedience is not a virtue and children should be encouraged to think that they are competent, capable to accept or reject advise and their duty is to only consider the suggestions.
Humility is said to be very good. One of the meanings given to humility is meekness. Humility may mean not to think high of yourself or not to show that you are above others. Humility for all practical purposes is to project yourself to be weak knowing fully well that you are not weak. Why should there be humility? Let us project ourselves the way we think we are.
Humility does not mean not to show disrespect to others. If the advise is not to show disrespect to others or not to ill-treat others, it would be a good advise. We have no business to ill-treat, disrespect or in any way interfere with others’ life. But in the name of humility we are trying to bring down ourselves. Humility is not a good quality.
From start to end everything we are taught at our young age when we have impressionable age, when the age is such that whatever is taught gets imprinted permanently is incorrect. Probably if these things are set right the way the world would steer itself would be different.
I honestly feel that what is being taught to young children is wrong. I honestly feel we should tell them that honesty, work and sincerity is not enough. To become successful originality, conviction to say what you believe, confidence in yourself to proclaim what you believe, love in yourself to achieve what you want are essential. In that connection to be sincere, honest and doing extensive work with pleasure (not as duty and as such is not hard work) is the correct way.
Education does not end with attending schools and colleges. Attending schools and colleges is essential. But to treat it as education is wholly improper. Education is knowing life, knowing the world, knowing the practical aspects of living, knowing that reasons do not prevail, knowing the people are senseless and they constitute majority and knowing how to deal and work in this unreasonable mad world, to know the psychology of people. Education is much more. It escapes any precise definition. But certainly education cannot be confined to attending to schools, colleges and getting degrees.
The moment you have proper education you would not like to be known as a good person. Education would teach you that world is unreasonable, senseless and as such it exploits you if you are known to be good. The moment you know this, you yourself would not like to be called good, although you would like to be good.
Obedience is to surrender yourself. You can never do that. You cannot reduce yourself to a non-entity which would be the result if you are obedient to some one. (Exception to masters)
Humility is bad. You must be strong, world should know that you are strong. Only strong people are respected. Mighty is always right. You must be mighty. People should know that you are mighty. Humility kills the respect that you otherwise command. Humility makes you look good which as I said is a very bad situation.
I don’t know why children are taught wrong aspects. When I disagree with the whole world I get my life time doubt.
“Is there anything seriously wrong with me?”
I hope some one would help me to solve my lifetime doubt.

NO BAD LIFE DUE TO ECONOMIC REASONS

Most of us plead inability to please others and live happily due to want of financial strength. We think that we are not able to please people because we have economic recession.
Why don’t we we realize that economic recession is no ground not to live a good life. We can take our parents to a local temple instead of pilgrimage, We can take our children to a park nearby, instead of international holiday resort.
Happiness is a question of attitude. If we are not happy as poor men, we cannot be happy as emperors.
Poverty is not dependent upon how much less we have, it depends upon how much more we want.
If only our needs are less, we are rich. If we have no needs we are the richest. Experience in life does not require money.
Earlier I had written a Blog on existing and living. Living is a question of attitude. To know whether we are living or not ask one question viz. when was the last time I did something for the first time. This is a question asked by T.R. Rangarajan.
Let want of finance not make our life wanting in everything. We don’t need money to brush our teeth with our left hand for the first time. We don’t need money to sit with our children in a park and play. We don’t need money to enjoy preparing a new type of food for the wife. Let not economic recession result in recession of our interests to live well.

ARE YOU LOVING OR PAMPERING YOUR CHILD

There can be no doubt that children should be loved. It is a wonderful experience to love children. No sane man can dispute this, to my knowledge.
What we don’t understand is what is the love to be given to children. We are not able to differentiate between pampering and love.
The question is, does love mean to give to your child what it wants and in the manner it wants or does love mean that you give to the child what it needs and what it deserves.
The utmost kindness of the parents often requires most unkind acts by them. Every one and more so a child needs a Guru. Guru is the person who in the normal parlance we call “ friend, philosopher and guide. “ This position should initially be filled by parents.
In the name of love we develop tolerance, we become tolerant to the imperfections of the children. When you pamper a child, it would become egoistic. Pampering is a façade. The parents would appear nice. The child will get what it wants and in the manner it wants. But there is no mirror which would reflect to the child its nature and its deficiencies.
If you love the child you will take the risk of the child mistaking you and you would work as a constructive critic. By pampering you will make your child not to see the realities.
All of us have deficiency of our own. The greatest deficiency is we are not able to have objective approach on issues concerning us. Objective approach is a very very important thing. We need guidance quite often. We do not know to whom we should go for guidance. In the above circumstances it is very desirable to have a Guru. Such Guru to children is invariably parents.
A Guru would certainly have great love to the disciple or follower, whatever you call. But it is the job of the Guru to be firm and to show kindness by being firm and by being unkind. Compassion of Guru makes him severre.Unless he is severe he is not of much use. Pampering weakens you, while love creates you.

GIVE THE BEST GIFT

I am tempted to extract a passage from T.T. Rangarajan’s book ‘Unposted Letter’.
“I need a relationship in which I won’t be held against myself. I have my strengths. I have my shortcomings. The search is for that one relationship in which my lesser side will not be provoked and instigated constantly.
I need a relationship in which my today is not viewed with the mistakes I made yesterday. Being human ... I’m bound to err every now and then. I want someone who won’t maintain a database of my mistakes.
I need a relationship where I can be transparent. I need a relationship in which I don’t have to alter my likes and dislikes to gain and retain the relationship. I need a relationship in which my self-image is not scratched. I need a relationship in which I’m not asked to be anyone else. I need a relationship in which I feel completely myself... even more than when I am with my own self.
Oh my dear readers, if you already have one such relationship... please go down on your knees in gratitude, for there cannot be a greater gift from life. Such a relationship is life’s greatest gift.
If you don’t have one, despair not. Didn’t he say from the mountain top – ‘Do unto others what you want others do unto you’? Can you be that one to someone else? Gift ourselves into someone’s life. Love someone so completely that you make yourself worthy of being someone’s greatest gift.”

TEACH THE CHILDREN HOW TO READ.

There are people who read extensively, book after book from start to finish. They know immense extent of information. But they are incapable of assorting the material that they have gathered from books. They can’t classify the information they have as to useful and useless. Very often they have vague information of what they had read and they are neither able to pinpoint where and from which book they got the information nor the information is absolutely correct reproduction.
They can’t give pinpointed information principally because the extent of information is very vast and it is not assorted.
To forget is to remember. If you want to remember important things you have to forget unwanted things. You have to reduce the load on your faculties. If you remember or try to remember every information, the remembrance is neither clear nor full. It is always vague.
It is not enough if we emphasize to the children the need to read, we should emphasize the mode of studying. We must tell that as and when they are reading their mind should simultaneously work and find out what is useful and what is not. They must learn the discretion to skip pages while reading when they come to useless information. Atleast if they can’t skip pages, they must have the wisdom and knowledge to throw overboard what is not useful.
Reading is always with a purpose. Depending on your calling, your need, your love, your taste, you are looking for some information. If you are reading a book with the idea of you having to become a writer, the vocabulary, the presentation, the description of cloud and flowers would all be useful. If you are reading the same book only to know the story, the above informations would be useless. The person who reads must know what is useful to him and what is not useful to him.
Reading could be to earn one’s daily bread or to achieve higher human aspirations or to know about the world in which we have to live or may be to know the inner secrets of philosophy which may give you peace of mind. It is for you to decide the purpose of reading. Depending upon the purpose, what is useful and what is not useful has to be decided.
When you read history if it is to face examination the dates of war would be relevant. If you are reading history to know life or to lead a country being at the helm of affairs the dates are not relevant but what strategies were adopted, what input gave what results would be relevant.
If the children are not respected by giving them choice at each and every stage, if the children are not encouraged to take decisions for themselves, if the children are not told that they are intelligent enough to classify what is useful and what is not useful and if children are not told to forget what is not necessary, so that they can remember what is necessary, their growth would be hampered.
Collection of informations without assorting would make such men useless but egoistic and conceited. He considers himself well educated. whereas the truth is he has distanced himself from the realities of the life.

THE TRUTH YOU RESIST IS THE BATTLE YOU FIGHT

I have always emphasized the importance of communication to my son and daughter-in-law. Communication is the basic lifeline for proper relation to exist and continue. If there is no communication or if there is improper communication it would severe the relation. In this regard I liked a passage from T.T. Rangarajan’s Unposted letter and I am extracting it.
“The secret of emotional health is to tell the persons who hurt you that they hurt you, when they hurt you. Otherwise, these incomplete cycles will reappear sometime in the future and ruin even your good times.
You are telling me, ‘Honestly, if I start expressing all my thoughts and feelings, I will hurt the person who matters so much to me.’ I am telling you, ‘If you don’t, you will eventually hurt the relationship itself.’
Let us learn to face the truth, even if it hurts. Let those who matter to us the most learn to face the truth, even if it hurts. Communicate your thoughts and feelings directly to the person who instigated it. Be prompt. Don’t wait for ideal conditions. Be simple. Finish your complaint and let go. Don’t exaggerate, don’t nag; avoid overkill. If the person feels with you, you have succeeded. If not, understand who you are dealing with. Accept what is. Forgive and let go of your hurt. Move on …. You have nothing to prove.”
Although I had emphasized on the need to communicate, I never had the clarity. I read it today. I am very happy.

never make important work urgent

Every one of us have some work or the other to do.  The type of work that we do can be classified under four heads.

1.      Work which is not important and not urgent.

2.      Work which is not important but urgent.

3.      Work which is important and not urgent.

4.      Work which is important and urgent.

We will not worry much about work which is not important.  So we are left with work which is important and not urgent and work which is important and urgent.

Wisdom lies in taking care to see that we will never have work which is important and urgent.  If we attend to work which is important and not urgent and regularly, we are not likely to have a work which is important   and urgent.

For example doing exercise is important because it would maintain your health.  But it is not urgent because you can do it in the evening, next day, continuously for some days and skip one or two days.  If you don’t do this work which is important and not urgent, you will get diseases, you will get heart problems and a situation would arise where you have to be taken to hospital which job is urgent and important.

I have given only one example.  We have to take care to see that there shall be no important work which is urgent.

POISONOUS HOPE OF PARENTS

Closely associated with my previous Blog “What am I for?” the present Blog comes.

In life man wants to be loved for himself for nothing else.  A man wants to be loved as he is and for his being.  Except parents no one else can give such love.  In this regard Ayn Rand has written as follows which I had quoted in my earlier Blog ‘Subject: To quote Ayn Rand’.

“I am neither foe nor friend to my brothers, but such as each of them shall deserve of me.  And to earn my love, my brothers must do more than to have been born.  I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it.  I honor men with my love.  But honor is a thing to be earned.”

It is only the parents who can make an exception to the above rule  and love their children for the sake of love.  But it does not happen.

Every parent is trying to force children  into some utility.  Every parent want  their children to prove.   Their egos are worried because they are planning   fulfillment of their unfulfilled egos through their children.  That is what the present age children will do to their children as and when they become old and get children.

By the hope of the parents they destroy their children.

Just as a child comes out of womb of the mother, it has to come out of the expectation of the parents.  Then only he becomes free and he would stand on his legs.

The love to the children should be absolute, unconditional, accepting them as they are without expecting them to fulfill any demand.  A child brought up under this condition will live   for delight.  He will be an end by himself.  Otherwise he will be a means to an end.

If your hope is going to convert your child’s life into a means rather than end, such hope is poisonous. 

WHAT AM I FOR

WHAT AM I FOR?

A chair knows what it is for.  It is for sitting.

A man has no purpose.  The purposelessness of man is the beauty and glory of life.

Purpose is required if you are a means for an end.  If you are an end by itself, you can have no purpose.  A man is an end by himself.

A man lives for his satisfaction, for his happiness, for his contentment.

A man sings to his satisfaction.  If he sings to get a prize, a name, money, his singing becomes a means.  It will have a purpose.  It is not an end by itself.  The moment it is not an end, it is not done for satisfaction and happiness.  

That man is happy who has no purpose.  That man is happy who is not a means to achieve an end.  That man is happy who is an end by himself.

There is no need to think that I suggest that men should be lazy.  I am only suggesting to lead life for its intrinsic value.  One should do what he wants and not to prove his capabilities and not to get some advantage.   Do the job you love, for the love of job.  Realize that you have freedom to live the way you want to live.  Only when you completely exploit the freedom, you will be a complete man.

Inspired by Nirvana by Osho.

If you want to live well there should be no suppression, there should be no secrets, there should be no false projection.  The day you are able to live the way you want to live, the day you are able to tell the world that it should accept you as you are, the day you are able to live by yourself the way you are, the day you are not worried about what the world would think of you knowing what you are, your life is the best.

You have made your life a drawing room of your house.  If you happen to visit someone’s sitting room, don’t take it to be his house, he does not eat here, he does not sleep here, he only receives his guests, this is a show piece to create a good impression.  His house is where he lives, eats, grumbles, quarrels, fights and where he is himself.  The sitting room is just a cover. It is a mask to deceive others (Osho).

The day you do not have a separate sitting room and you turn your house into a sitting room, or alternatively the day you are able to show  everyone, without hesitation, your house,   and not merely your drawing room, your life is beautiful.

Very few of us have evening stroll regularly.  There are a few lucky ones who have evening stroll regularly.

I remember my old days.  Between the age of 18 to 25 every day I had evening stroll.  It was with friends.  I left the house, joined the friends, wandered aimlessly.  Walking with friends was the destination.  Making jokes and laughing was the purpose.  Myself and my friends laughed.  We made fun.  We had a very little money  in our pocket.  We pooled it and had a cup of coffee.  What a gorgeous life it was.

I was not running.  I had no purpose.  The only purpose of life was to celebrate.  The only purpose of life was to enjoy.    I had no duties.   Life was a festivity.  I had no home work.  I had no task to be performed.

Honestly I have no work today unless I volunteer.  I don’t have any needs.  I can comfortably wander aimlessly.  I can make my life into a feast.

But my friends are running and if I don’t run I will lag behind.  Ah!!!  What a wonderful concept!!!!  I want to run without aim.  I want to give up festivity without aim.  I want to give up celebration for running without aim.  

Are we working to live or are we living to work.  Unfortunately we are living to work.  I want to run very fast.  I don’t mind having no leisure to sing, dance and celebrate.

Except man all animals are celebrating.  They run to hunt when they are hungry.  Once their hunger is satisfied, they rest.  They love, they enjoy.  Why not man?

What   a   fool   I am!!

It is unfortunate that we don’t want to learn from history.  I shall extract a portion of history.  Alexander the Great, met a great sage Diogenes.  Their dialogue is as follows:

Diogenes “Where are you going and for what?”

Alexander “I am going to conquer Asia minor first, then India, then the whole world.”

Diogenes “What will you do after you have conquered the world?”

Alexander “Then I will rest and relax”.

Diogenes burst into loud laughter, called his dog and said “listen to this mad king, he would like to rest after he conquers the world” and told Alexander “If rest is your ultimate objective why not join me and my dog right now on this beautiful river bank?  There is enough space for us all.  Why are you going to create so much trouble and disturbance around the world just to rest at the end?  You can rest right here and right now.

Alexander said “What you say seems to be sensible.  But I cannot rest now.  Let me first conquer the world.”

All of us are in the same plight.  I am running because my friends are running.  What is the destination, I don’t know.  My friends who are  running also do not know their destination.  I don’t want to lag behind.

 What is the purpose of runing.  Ultimately the purpose is I want to take rest and relax just as great Alexander wanted.   What Diogenes said makes  sense to me also.  But I cannot rest now.  I have to run.

In continuation of my Blog “Why don’t you live dangerously’ I found a passage from ‘Krishna’ by Osho I thought that I should quote it.

“A little bunch of wild flowers lived, sheltered in the crevices of old city wall.  Winds and storms failed to disturb them.  Sun’s rays could not burn them.  Rains could not ruin them.  This is all because of protection of wall.

There was a rose bush in the neighborhood.  The presence of gorgeous roses made the wild flower feel inferior and ashamed.  They prayed God to turn them into roses.

God said ‘why get into in unnecessary troubles, .  The life of rose is very hard when there is storm it shakes the roots, when it blooms someone will pluck it’.

Wild flowers insisted and God made them into roses.  Immediately  after  God made them into roses   saga of trials and tribulations began.  Storms shook its roots, rains drowned it, mid days burnt  its petals, it suffered  miserably.

Other wild flowers around ridiculed the new rose ‘we told you.  You did not listen.  See how secure we are.  Why have you made your life a mess.

The new rose said “You are fools.  I say that it is far better to be a rose just for twenty-four hours and live dangerously than to live in lifelong security as little wild flowers protected by a high wall.  It was great to breathe with the storms and fight with the winds.  I was in contact with the sun and I had a dialogue with the stars.  I have achieved my soul and I am so fulfilled. I lived fully and I am going to die fully.  As far as you are concerned you live a life of living death.”

WHY DON’T YOU LIVE DANGEROUSLY

This blog is principally addressed to me.

I am writing this Blog with great pain.  When I am writing this Blog I feel very small.  It is unfortunate that I have not been able to improve till today.  I don’t know if I would ever improve.  At any rate let me hope to improve some day.

I am not able to overcome the feeling that I should have financial security.  I am not able to overcome the feeling that minimum comforts such as a fan and good food is required.

It is unfortunate that all of us are in search of security.  Security at all places and at any cost.  Economic security.  Social security.  We want no troubles.  We don’t want any opposition.  Every one should like us.  Every where we should be acceptable.  Every one should respect us. We should hold good posts.  We should remain recognized as good people.

Society is eager to give every one of the above.  It loves to give us each of the above.  The only thing it asks in return is our freedom.  Our freedom to think, our freedom to act, our freedom to propagate orr faith,  our freedom to live the way we want to live.

The above is the bargain.  Why does society want us to surrender our freedom?  Our freedom means our individuality.  Society is a crowd.  It wants every one to be part of it.  It is tense to see a stranger outside itself.

In life every moment we have to take decisions.  Every moment we are at the cross roads.  To decide which way to go, every minute we have to decide our path.  Always there are atleast two paths.  One is what is comfortable, convenient, acceptable to the society.  The other is the one which is not often treaded.  It could be dangerous.  We don’t know whether it would be comfortable and convenient or dangerous.

Oh! What pleasure it would give when we enter the unthreaded path!!!.  It would be a great pleasure at the present.  We don’t  follow it because we are more concerned about the future than the present.  We are more concerned with our experiences of the past rather than the present.  Our experiences have conditioned us not to try anything new.  The new may give us extraordinarily great success, comfort and pleasure in the future.  But  we don’t  know the yield.  We are worried that the yield may be bad.  This worry is enough not to choose something new for the present.

Every person who has lived in his own way is disliked by the society.  Socratice was poisoned.  Jesus was crucified.

Why are we afraid of dislike by the society?  Life is so beautiful to live in a original way.  It is the defect of the society that it does not like individuals with original ways and original ideas.  Should we give up our individuality to please the society?.

Respectability is a stupid condition between us and our life.  I have throughout been telling that what is relevant is only the present and we need not necessarily respect judgement of others..

Unfortunately we don’t know ourselves.  We know ourselves only as the society recognizes us.  We recognize ourselves through the mirror of the society.  Until we are able to see ourselves without the media of the mirror called as society, we can never improve.

There is so much of pleasure in the uncertainty.  There is so much of pleasure in the unknown fanthoms of future.  If only we live wanting security every moment, we will ot have  the pleasure of uncertain future.  Apart from that our progress would also cease by what is called as stagnation of security.

I am not advising  to avoid danger.  I am asking  all of us  to live with awareness of danger where danger is our shelter, our resting place.  When we  start living under the shelter of danger, the danger ceases to be danger.

We   should have no antagonism towards insecurity.  If we  reject insecurity.  If we  have antagonism, it can never become our abode. When we  accept danger as natural, it becomes our abode.

Life is wonderful if it is exposed to storms, cyclones, dangers and uncertainty.

Why should write this when  I have failed?

It is said that when a person who has knowledge,  does not share it, he will become a ghost.  Knowing truth is one aspect.  It is not the end.  We have to share it.  If anybody listens, it is good.  If nobody listens, then also it is good.  If the listener understands, it is good.  If he does not understand it is ok.

My failure is no reason to say that I should not tell the truth.

Should we avoid war?

By the word war I mean war as generally understood i.e. war between nations and also  also fight among individuals for the purposes of assertion.

Every person should be interested in the ultimate results.  If good comes through peace, we should welcome peace and if good flows from war, we should welcome war.

It is not proper to talk of non-violence as the absolute rule.  Violence and non-violence, war and peace are equally welcome depending on the ultimate results it would yield. 

Very often it is our cowardice which hides behind our talk of non-violence.  We have to sincerely ask ourselves as to how many times we avoid confrontation on the ground why precipitate the matter while in reality we are afraid to face a possible bad consequence.  It is not  that bad consequences would follow when we assert.  It is the fear that bad consequence may ensue that would prevent us from asserting.  It is this cowardice that makes us avoid confrontation.

Most probably  sorry always  assertion and confrontation would give better results.  If we are on the right path, the right must be asserted even at the cost of confrontation failing which we allow incorrect things to prevail.  The question is why do we do that.

It is not enough that we are on the right path.  It is necessary that we shall continue to be on the right path inspite of opposition and if required by assertion and by confrontation.

In India except Lord Krishna no one has welcome wars.  But it does not mean that we have not fought wars.  We have fought wars for others.  We have fought war as soldiers of turks, soldier of mughals, soldiers of British and we have fought war for the sake of our alien rulers and our oppressors.  We have fought war for the sake of our slavery.  We have fought war to prolong our enslavement.  We have done everything possible to continue to be in bondage.  We have fought all these wars not because we were courageous but because we were afraid even to refuse to participate in war, even to refuse to  fight.  We got into the situation of not being able to resist war which war would have continued our slavery only because initially we yielded to them stating that there should be no violence and we told that there should be no violence to hide our cowardice.

Invariably war results in progress.  War  results in castles and hence  in very very good buildings.  War results in scientific inventions and high technology. This will help the country.  Every country which was actively involved in war has progressed.

Every man should be guided with no settled notion of what is good and what is bad.  It is not correct to say that air conditioned room with no disturbance is a place to find peace.  In the thick of the market you can find peace.  You can be at peace at the very center of the cyclone. You can show abundant love in the battle field.

There should be no war for war sake.  But war is a part of life’s game when it is to be played, it must be played. War cannot be avoid   at any cost.  War cannot be avoided at the cost of truth.  

War should  not be avoided if it results in peace being affected.  War should  not be avoided if it results in not being able to assert the right.  Strength and ability to wage a clear  and decisive war is a must if peace has to prevail and if right has to prevail.

Inspired by KRISHNA by OSHO

TROUBLE FOR WORKING MEN

Yesterday I wrote of a class of people whom I called ‘working men’.  They have lot of problems but for which probably they would achieve higher.

Hank Rearden is a character in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand who was a great achiever and a working man as per my definition.  After heavy work in the factory he goes home and what happens there and what was his feelings is written by Ayn Rand as follows:

“He felt a dim reluctance to enter his home, which he did not want to feel.  No, he thought, not tonight; they’ll understand it, tonight.  But he did not know, he had never defined, what it was that he wanted them to understand.

Why, darling, wife said in a bright tone of amusement, isn’t it too early to come  home? Wasn’t there some slag to sweep or tuyeres to polish?

I’m sorry, he answered.  I know I’m late.

He had no capacity for the sort of conversations which were not supposed to be meant.

Have you had any dinner, Henry?  his mother asked.

Yes … No … I wasn’t hungry.

That’s the trouble I’ve always had with you.  She was not looking at him, but reciting words into space.  It’s no use trying to do things for you, you don’t appreciate it.  I could never make you eat properly.

Henry, you work too hard, said Philip.  It’s not good for you.  Rearden laughed.  I like it.

That’s what you tell yourself.  It’s a sort of neurosis, you know.  When a man drowns himself in work, it’s because he’s trying to escape from something.  You ought to have a hobby.

Oh, Phil, for Christ’s sake!  He said, and regretted the irritation in his voice.

You ought to learn to have some fun, said Philip.  Otherwise, you’ll become dull and narrow.  Single-tracked, you know.  You ought to get out of your little private shell and take a look at the world.  You don’t want to miss life, the way you’re doing.

I had a pretty good time today, Phil, he answered, smiling—and wondered why Philip did not ask him what it was.

He wished one of them would ask him.

It took the whole of his sense of consideration to force himself to answer evenly, ‘I’m sorry if I disappointed you, Mother.’

‘You’re not sorry.  You could’ve been here if you’d made the effort.  But when did you ever make an effort for anybody but yourself?  You’re not interested in any of us or in anything we do.  You think if you pay the bills, that’s enough, don’t you?  Money! That’s all you know.  And all you give us is money.  Have you ever given us anytime?’

If this meant that she missed him, he thought, then it meant affection, and if it meant affection, then he was unjust to experience a heavy, murky feeling which kept him silent lest his voice betray that the feeling was disgust.

Wife knew that his feeling for her was her only weapon.

If she trusted him, he thought, if her feeling for him was still alive, then he would match her trust.”

Every working man undergoes this kind of humiliation.  But what for?  Why can’t people understand that one can enjoy work and such people are not in shell, they are not narrow, single-tracked and that they don’t miss life?  Why can’t people allow them to live the way they want.

That government  is best which governs least.  It is best not to interfere with other’s work and allow everyone to live the way he or she wants.  Even working men need   not and should not find fault with those who enjoy life without work even if it means ruination of the idle person.  Everyone has a right to live the way he or she wants and such right would include right to ruin himself.

Wisdom is to know what to overlook and when to overlook.

Invariably among my friends also there are good number of working men.  I am afraid that they would also have identical problems.  I wish that those who are associated with these working friends of mine would understand and change their approach to see that my working friends would have no problem, so that they can achieve better.

It is a pleasure to give.   

Any person who is competent and capable would find pleasure in working to achieve and for him achievement or no achievement is of no consequence.  We shall call these people ‘working men’.   The moment you concentrate on your work you will have no time for small pleasures.  You will have no time to live up to the expectations of the society consisting of your relatives, friends and so on.  You can’t remember their birthdays to wish and give presents.  Immediately you are called selfish.  They hold that you are not ready to give and hence you are selfish.

Working men find happiness in their work and contribution to the society.  They may be authors giving an extraordinarily good book for the mankind.  They may be scientists giving a great contribution to the world and society at large.

Merely because they can’t remember birthdays and   they would miss all small, trivial matters,  they can never be called selfish. 

For most people these trivial matters are the only matters of concern.  They constitute majority, they would call  the working men as selfish.

It can never be said that working men don’t give.  They are givers.  They find happiness in giving.

What is to be remembered is that the working men never ask anyone for anything.  He is not eager to ask for your time or ask for your concern.  He is busy in his attempt to contribute to the society and to the world and he concentrates to give and he is not in need of anything from you.  These working men are givers.  They are very happy people.  Their slogan is what Ayn Rand said namely

“I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I cover no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to cover.

I am neither foe nor friend to my brothers, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, my brothers must do more than to have been born. I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I honor men with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned.

I shall choose my friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. And I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obey. And we shall join our hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire. For in the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with others if he wishes, but only beyond his holy threshold.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and the impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

If you give up that clause of working men we are left with others who constitute majority.

As far as this clause of people is concerned, it is essential that they should give what little they can give.   They are governed by different rules compared to the working men.  They have to give their time, their resources to the friends and relatives for whom such time and resources are useful.

A visit to a friend when he is not well, a glass of water to your father, a word of solace to a troubled relative, a few rupees to your servant at the time of his daughter’s marriage, a kind word when your maid servant spills the milk, a days paid holiday when your staff is not well, a line of guidance to a dull boy of next house are things which you can give.

You will find pleasure in giving.

BELIEF AND EXPERIENCE

Theory and practice are different.  Theoretical aspect must be known to put it into practice.  But mere knowledge of theory is not sufficient. 

A good life has to be experienced.  Any amount of knowledge as to what good life is would not make one’s life good.  It has to be experienced for which one has to transform himself and his attitudes. 

Your knowledge is futile if it does not result in experience.  Your knowledge becomes a deception.  You think you know it.  It is not true.  In reality that knowledge is no knowledge unless you experience. It would be a knowledge without you knowing it. 

Experiencing a good life requires participation for which your outlook, temperament and attitude is of great consequence.  For that you must know what attitude would help.  Some guidelines may be as follows. 

On one side of the razor edge, success and good life lies and on the other side lies failure and bad life.  If you intend changing yourself or your attitude, by traveling step by step and gradually, you are never transformed.  At the most you are modified, refined a little change here and there.  May be you are better looking, your ugliness is hidden inside, you have colored yourself.  But you remain the same. You must be strong, you must have the courage, energy and conviction to jump and change yourself and your attitudes. 

To achieve experience there should be no guilt feeling.  You should not condemn yourself.  You must know that you are not a sinner.  You must not reject yourself.  You must not be your enemy.  Love yourself.  Accept yourself.  You may be in error, you might have committed wrong, that does not make you a sinner.  That is no ground for you to dislike yourself and reject yourself.   It is only your mistake which has to be condemned and not yourself. 

Only strong people can experience.  Weak people can only have belief.  Your strength grows with your experience and not with your belief. 

You must have clarity that by seeking you may get wealth, power, prestige.  All these are outworldly.  Inworldly the only thing that matters is experience.  To have experience you don’t need wealth, power, money, prestige.  What you need is attitude to experience life. 

There cannot be any universal rule that people with wealth, power, money and prestige experience live and others do not.  In fact experiencing life is totally independent of wealth, money, power and prestige.  A wrong concept that without money, life cannot be lived well or experienced would be wrong and such concept should be avoided.

For living you must live in the present. 

Desire and seeking relates to future.  To live well you must experience the present. 

To search experience there should be no hurry and no impatience.  Greater the patience, easier is the search. 

I had written earlier that achievement is a future and what you are concerned is your effort of today. 

You have a goal.  That is not at all important.  You should never give importance to the goal you have.  But you should give maximum importance to the effort to achieve your goal.  For you the effort to the goal is everything.  Once you develop this attitude, you are never disappointed and with this attitude reaching goal is much easier although it is not of much consequence. 

I had  such heavy work in the last few days, it had become impossible to write.  I thought atleast let us see how a human being should think of himself.  In this regard I thought I would quote from Ayn Rand.

From Fountainhead by Ayn Rand from page 349 & 355 I intend quoting.  Howard Roark was asked to construct a temple.  He was an Architect.  He constructed the temple.  He was given full liberty to design the same.  He was sued for a bad job meaning it did not have any semblance of a temple.  In the said case two persons were examined.  Their evidence is extracted.

 Elsworth M Toohey gave his evidence as follows.

  “Two essential conceptions of a temple are a sense of awe and a sense of man’s humility.  We have noted the gigantic proportions of religious edifices, the soaring lines, the horrible grotesques of monster-like gods, or, later, gargoyles.  All of it tends to impress upon man his essential insignificance, to crush him by sheer magnitude, to imbue him with that sacred terror which leads to the meekness of virtue.  The Stoddard Temple is a brazen denial of our entire past, an insolent ‘No’ flung in the face of history.  I may venture a guess as to the reason why this case has aroused such public interest.  All of us have recognized instinctively that it involves a moral issue much beyond its legal aspects.  This building is a monument to a profound hatred of humanity.  It is one man’s ego defying the most sacred impulses of all mankind, of every man on the street, of every man in this courtroom!”. 

The other person examined was Ms. Francon Dominique.  She gave evidence as  follows.

“Howard Roark built a temple to the human spirit.  He saw man as strong, proud, clean, wise and fearless.  He saw man as a heroic being.  And he built a temple to that.  A temple is a place where man is to experience exaltation.  He thought that exaltation comes from the consciousness of being guiltless, of seeing the truth and achieving it, of living up to one’s highest possibility, of knowing no shame and having no cause for shame, of being able to stand naked in full sunlight.  He thought that exaltation means joy and that joy is man’s birthright. He thought that a place built as a setting for man is a sacred place.  That is what Howard Roark thought of man and of exaltation.”

In this case Toohey had instigated the suit to be filed.  At one place he tells about how to destroy a good Architect as follows.

  “It is difficult enough to acquire fame.  It is impossible to change its nature once you’ve acquired it.  No, you can never ruin an architect by proving that he’s a bad architect.  But you can ruin him because he’s an atheist, or because somebody sued him, or because he slept with some woman, or because he pulls wings off bottleflies.  You’ll say it doesn’t make sense?  Of course it doesn’t.  That’s why it works.  Reason can be fought with reason.  How are you going to fight the unreasonable?  The trouble with you, my dear, and with most people, is that you don’t have sufficient respect for the senseless.  The senseless is the major factor in our lives.  You have no chance if it is your enemy.”   

To speak of myself good reputation is one of the many annoyances to which I have never been subjected to.  This is what was written by Oscar Wilde in his book ‘A woman of no importance’.

This is what I have throughout been canvassing viz. live by yourself and there is no need to assess yourself through the eyes of others.

  Reputation is  nothing  other than how you are assessed by the public at large.  The day you stop bothering about looking at yourself through the eyes of others, reputation will have no meaning.

Identically people would say that you have to develop a personality.  Developing a personality is to project yourself in a manner that the outside world would assess you in a particular manner.  Developing personality has an innate meaning of putting forth efforts to go up in the eyes of the society and others.

As long as you want happiness through the assessment of others, you are a beggar.  You have to please some one.  You want a gift from some one.  You want some one else to give you happiness.

The only way by which you can be sure of being successful is not to bother about how you are assessed by the public.

If you assess yourself to be the best, that is the best that can happen to you.  No one can dispute the omni potency of the mind.  If you think you are the best, it is final as far as you are concerned.

But to be honestly the best in your eyes is difficult.  You have to live only in the white not in the black or grey.   

In reality if you find that you are the best, your mental outlook will be such that your confidence will be very great.  I don’t think I need to write about the effect of confidence.  If you feel confident you would succeed in anything you do.

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