LIVING IS A TECHNIQUE

The art of living is a technique to be learnt. If you have the will and the skill you will have the way to know what it is all about. Brahman the imperishable truth has created plant, animal and humans. Of all these only the human beings have been given the Buddhi and intellect and they have the option to tear the veil of ignorance and experience the everlasting truth and the fullness of permanent bliss.

What a person gets from going to a school or college is information and knowledge and thereby you get intelligence. To use your intelligence you need intellect (thoughts and ideas). You have to question things right from your formative years and thereby develop your intellect. To develop your intellect you have to question everything and not take anything for granted.

Enjoyment, happiness and peace are in your state of mind. You are in stress when your mind is agitated since mind has no direction. Only the intellect monitors the mind and controls it and when the mind is in control there is no longer agitation. Pleasure or pain is not in the external objects and it is how you relate to it.

What is the purpose of my Life? Bhagavad Gita presents to the humanity the ultimate truth of life and explains what is living is all about. Every human born has to die one day as life is given to us for a limited period of time.  We have to use the equipment Buddhi or Intellect to the fullest extent. You should have Buddhi to sharpen the intellect. Intellect is the capacity to reason and understand and not using your intellect will cause worries, stress and strains. For any human being who faces any difficulty in life, the fault lies within himself and never outside. We have to use our intellect in accepting this.

You gain what you pursue in life say the scriptures. Every scripture has the same theme. Everybody is engrossed in this world. To pull the mind from material entanglement and engrossed on god is impossible. Through steadfast yoga and meditation you reach Brahman which means you have got to be consistent in your efforts. A clear understanding with a proper plan of action and consistency will enable you to reach your destination.

The supreme Brahman is beyond the manifest and unmanifest world. What you see in the world is an expression of truth. There is a substratum (Brahman) of everything which is unseen that supports the world. You can see waves on the ocean big and small and a constant display which never stops. It is the vast sheet of water that supports the waves. You focus on the manifest waves alone rather than on the vast unmanifest sheet of water that supports the waves. The unmanifest truth which is the reality (Brahman) is the one which supports the truth. If you are determined to get to the truth you can reach the goal. You have to set the right direction without which you can’t get Peace, Happiness and contentment.

You have a Physical body, Mind and intellect which are the three equipments given to everyone. The body acts, mind feels and intellect thinks. All of us have not used the equipments fully and accordingly we can rate ourselves as not developed and fully developed by measurement between 0 and 100. As you move to the higher your understanding gets better and better and you will realise the path. By this way when you move higher, you can never fall back in life.

When a person drops off all his desires viz. vasanas which are nothing but unmanifested desires coming from the past and has successfully dealt with his vasanas he will come to know the truth. When the last thought or desire is dropped you merge with the truth. This is the theory of reincarnation.

Phenomenon of death is that your resultant thought decides your movement. Thought determines your movement. Your destiny your fate is in your own making because of your own feelings and your own actions. You are whatever you are consciously or unconsciously. The beauty of human life is that you can alter whatever way you want if you decide. The present life is the result of our past actions. A human alone has the ability to alter his being to change and take control of himself. You have to take responsibility for your own life. You are whatever your thoughts are. Whatever you perceive.

You have got to act in this world. Think of reality Brahman and do whatever you ought to do and not looking for any benefit. You have got to move from self centeredness (inability to accommodate anything beyond your own interests). Let your home become the centre of happiness. Your home should be the centre, not the boundary of your affection. Then the world compliments whatever you do. You are the architect of your fortunes. You are the architect of your misfortunes.    

Eradicate your vasanas (unfulfilled desires) so that the mind and intellect is absorbed in the truth. You merge with the reality. For example if you determine to be healthy your mind will think about being healthy. Mind and intellect get absorbed in this reality and you merge with the truth.

Physical body is your outer personality. Mind and intellect are your inner personality. Beyond the outer and inner personality is your real personality (your own dharma). Who you are.

What are you doing to discover who you essentially are? You desperately try to find happiness. At every level of your personality you chase it. Religious books and discourses by themselves cannot bring about spiritual development in you. You have to take effort in reflection and contemplation upon the knowledge received. The truth is you have got to lift yourself by yourself.

Human life is unique. To be born a human is very rare. It is a God given opportunity. Human beings about 99.9% have no clue what is beyond regular, mundane, repetitive, routine work that has to be done. A small percentage suspect this is not everything. These infinitesimal numbers think that there is something missing in my life. I feel a sense of incompleteness. This thought comes but you dismiss it and carry on in your life. Those who pursue are spiritually inclined. It takes them to the truth. Karma, Bhakti and Gnanam are required to realise the truth.

The entire creation is called Prakriti and is made of the three gunas – Satva (pure and balanced attitude), rajas (Dynamic and action oriented) and tamas (Inactive and inert). These three attributes are responsible for the subtle varieties in creation and upkeep of the cycle of life in nature – causing birth, growth, old age and decay. Human behavior is also based on these three gunas which is the tendency inherent in individuals.

To put it shortly, it does not matter what you do in life. It matters how you do it. Whatever you do, you change your attitude. By changing the attitude towards the world you can condition the mind. Happiness is not dependent on what you have but dependent on what you are. The five senses should be under your control. Have a value system. You should uphold your values. Keep in mind that your thoughts always should be on something higher. The law of life is that the mind should be at rest while the body engages in action. You do everything for success. Be prepared in all respects for a possible failure. Do what you are supposed to do. Learn to be peaceful inspite of situations rather than because of situations. That is wisdom. Always remember that you get what you deserve, not what you desire. Aham Bramasmi is the essence of all Upanishads. We get to know this through Shravanam, Mananam and Nidhithyasanam. Can we use this knowledge in solving day to day problem is the question? To receive the teaching, assimilate and implement is difficult. It requires a lot of preparation and internal refinement in a person. Always remember! “Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise and Wisdom makes Life endurable”. After all life is for living and try to enjoy your life by having an equanimous mind accepting success and defeat on the same level and doing what you ought to do with a desire less mind.

Be blissful

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com