Duality of Life

Observation is the key for unlocking the secrets of nature and life. It is these observations which gave rise to science and religion. Today I would like to present one such observation. If you analyse very carefully there is duality everywhere in this world. Positive/negative, Light/Darkness, Happiness/Sadness (pain), Success/Failure, Living /Nonliving, Knowing/ Unknowing etc. Both entities are interdependent; they give a meaning to the other.

This duality can be only be understood by knowing both the extremes. For example, if a person is born blind, he has no idea about light. All he knows is darkness. He is not aware of how light is. He can only assume it. Such a kind of person cannot understand about light when we tell him. So the key thing here is that to understand one extreme you should know the other extreme too. Else it is impossible for such a person to understand the real differentiation between them. Similarly pain and happiness, if a person does not suffer pain he will not be able to differentiate between pain and happiness. Think over it.

Unknowing/Knowing (Awakened state):

When we are born we don’t remember anything. Our mind starts from a clear state. It starts to learn from everywhere. As the learning increases the mind alters. It undergoes a gradual linear transformation.  The nature of mind is such that once it is transformed it never returns back to the same original state. Every human being has a potential to reach and experience the extreme of knowing. Only then can he understand the grandeur of consciousness and preciousness of his life. But how many of us know this? We limit ourselves by closing our minds and by not exploring.

Knowing Vs realizing (experiencing),

Understanding Vs Implementing,

Ideas Vs Action,

Observe the above lines in silence, they have great meaning.

 Knowing, understanding or by just having ideas nothing can be achieved. First realization or experiencing, the implementation and action are necessary. Only when a person experiences can he truly believe. That is the reason this life is a journey of experiences or experiences make life.


Authored by GANDHARV

Mexican Fisher Men

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village. 

A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

   "Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.

We have a full life."

                                                                                                 

The tourist interrupted, 

"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day.
You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat." 

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. 

You can then leave this little village and move to   Mexico City , Los Angeles , or even   New York City !

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."


"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

  

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, " answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"  

 "Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.. 

"After that you'll be able to retire,
live in a tiny village near the coast,
sleep late, play with your children,
catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends." 

"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.   

And the moral of this story is:

Know where you're going in life.... you may already be there!!    

Courage

Courage to see,

Courage to explore,

Courage to know that is unknown,

Courage to fight for the truth,

Courage to accept and face life as it is,

Courage to believe in yourself,

Courage to go beyond the expected.

Every person makes mistakes but the person who courageously comes out learning from his mistakes is a wise person.....

People are always busy going about their daily chores without stopping for a moment to think. They adapt themselves to other people’s beliefs and start living life for other’s sake and commit all kinds of mistakes not thinking for a moment that it is a mistake. Their borrowed belief system says they are doing the right thing. They commit crime and are happy committing it. One day their fate changes...360 degrees change. Just 5 minutes is enough to wipe out everything- all the beliefs they had borrowed. And these 5 minutes of silence they find after they have committed the mistake and are reaping the punishment. At such times they cannot ignore their thoughts of guilt as their inner consciousness comes into play. They start thinking about all the deeds they have committed. They start analyzing and questioning their thoughts and beliefs - where it came and how it had conquered them. They realize that there is no better judge then their inner conscience and then start trusting their true conscience (self belief) because it brought them face to face with the naked truth and opened their eyes. From that moment of their life they acquire the strength and courage to leave behind the past and learn from their mistakes. This changes them forever and in the end they become the noblest of all.

Authored by GANDHARV

Calm Mind Clear Life

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”--Buddha

Everyday GOD puts something good in your life. Embrace it. Let all the other stuff fall away. The challenge we face is recognizing the answers to the most burning questions. It may be right in front of us, so keep your mind clear and open.

Enjoy every moment. They say “if you are sad for 60 seconds it means you are missing precious 60 seconds of happiness”. So be happy. Take things positively.

Mind is highly unstable - all the time it has to attach itself to something. This is the nature of mind. When you sit silently and observe your mind you can find numerous thoughts, it will be either thinking about the past or the future and rarely about the present moment. If a person is experiencing happiness it attaches to it, if a person is experiencing depression it attaches to it thus making us get attached to the situation. Happiness and sadness are like clouds, they keep moving. Can a cloud cover up the bright sun all the time? No. Happiness and sadness are temporary; they do not last for long. When you understand this it makes it easier to not be so attached to what you are experiencing.

Think about it - what if mind is made to attach itself to silence? What if mind is made not to think and to be in absolute thoughtless state? What if you are able to separate mind and your being?

How many people care to train their mind? They all know that mind is the cause of all problems. Mind can be a very good friend but it can also be the worst enemy. How many people are facing mental problems? How many people are stressed and tensed all the time? How many people have become slaves to drinking to escape from the problems they are facing? When a person is faced with problems, some can be solved but the solution to some problems are not in his hand. So it is natural that when problems increase his mind becomes disturbed and he may lose control of himself.

What if he gives even 1hr a day to train his mind, to go into a state of deep silence? All problems he faces can be thought over in a calmer state of mind in a more controlled way by not getting attached to the situation.

Yes, I agree training the mind is a difficult task but not impossible. When a person sees Mount Everest from its foot it is obvious he gets terrified by the idea of climbing it. But if he keeps one step ahead keeping his target in focus, he will definitely reach the top one fine day. Think about it. Training the mind becomes easy when you practice daily and keep one step ahead daily. A journey of thousand miles starts with one simple step you keep.

That is why all great people who have walked on this earth worked on their mind first. Mind is the key to everything.

I remember a quote mentioned in Bhagavad Gita which is worth mentioning in this context. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna

“Whether one attains elevation or degradation through one’s mind depends on oneself only, for the mind can be one’s friend or one’s foe. The mind is the friend of one who has conquered it. But for the one who hasn’t done so, the mind is his foe. For one who has conquered the mind joy, sorrow, pain and pleasure are the same. He attains peace and realises the Supreme Soul"

Authored by GANDHARV

Born Original - Created Copy

My philosophy is that “we should have our own originality but should learn from everywhere”.

Each person is unique in his own way, when a person tries to copy others he is not only wasting his thinking power and creative mind he is losing himself. When he copies it always becomes a second copy and will never have the originality, uniqueness and soul of its own.

Just a thought.... think over it

Observe the creation of nature around you; it’s so beautifully carved. Every object or every living thing that is created by the Creator is unique in its own way and is not a copy. No two organisms are the same, no two intelligence of two persons are same, no two substances have the same purpose.

Every person is gifted with intelligence and is unique. Never underestimate yourself. If you have not explored yourself don’t worry. Start now. Better to be late than not to start. Find out who you are. Understand what you are. Your reality can be uncovered only by you. You are the owner of your life. This existence is precious don’t waste it.


Authored by GANDHARV