Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta
Science and Religion
When the Katha Upanishad introduces its young boy, Nachiketa inspired by a passion for truth and nothing but truth, it presents him as ‘possessed’ by sraddha )Sraddha dcivase. What does that sraddha mean? Does it mean that he believed in all the cock-&-bull stories. Told to him by his elders? Not at all. He was in search of truth and he had a deep faith that a profound truth lay behind the diverse phenomena of nature and life. Nichiketa’s mind was thus exactly like the mind of a scientist face to face with the problem of the mystery of nature – the positive attitude of mind, distikypdhiti, which is deeply convinced that there is truth hidden somewhere in the recesses of life, I am convinced of it. I am in search of it; I have not seen it yet, but I believe it is there. Otherwise why should I dedicate my precious young life to the arduous search, if I knew in advance that there was no truth hidden in life?
The known world I can see and experience with my senses; the unknown I do not see or know and yet I feel it is there . this basic prostive attidue to the unknown dimension of reality is called sraddha. No scientist can enter the field of scientific quest much less discovery any truth in that field and no science can progress without this positive attitude. So, in Vedanta we emphasis the need for this sraddha , the need for a positive attitude towards the meaningfulness of the world around you and in you, for this faith in your capacity to unravel that mystery , and for a sincere and sustained search in that direction. This is absolutely essential.
Those who are terrified of being alone – without someone next to them, or
without e-devices and other external aids – are perhaps missing out on one of
the most creative and delightful opportunities that life has to offer. Most of
us hesitate to spend too much time in our own company. We like to surround
ourselves with sights and sounds, with people, with audio-visual stimuli, so
that we are never alone.
Melinda Moyer writes in the New York Times that a study published recently
suggests that our tendency to avoid being alone with our thoughts is in part
because “we tend to underestimate the value of thinking.” Kou Murayama, a
psychologist at the University of Tubingen in Germany, and his team asked
adults to first predict how much they would like sitting in a quiet room alone,
and then actually had them do it for 20 minutes. To their surprise, the
participants enjoyed the experience more than they had expected them to.
Spending your time alone, creatively
.jpg)
Why people avoid being alone with their thoughts could be because we tend to worry a great deal. We list out all unfinished chores, of payments to be made and deadlines to be met at work. Or past mistakes come back to haunt us and make us feel guilty. But research shows that letting our minds wander and engaging in certain kinds of daydreaming can give us joy, serenity and can even make us more creative.
Daydreaming need not be seen as an escape chute from reality. What we
perceive as reality could itself be someone’s dream, according to some schools
of philosophy. Entire creation and our daily lives could all be part of
dreamtime, according to indigenous people in New Zealand and Australia. Once we
set aside any prejudice we may have about daydreaming, we will discover the
joys hidden in our thoughts that are not necessarily anchored in time frames of
past, present and future. Dreamtime folklore tells stories of the infinite
nature of creation. In his cosmic sleep, Vishnu is said to create and sustain
the world in his dreams, traversing past, present and future. From nothingness
and its expansion there is potential for myriad types of creativity.
According to a researcher, “An ideal time to drift off is when you are
doing something that doesn’t demand much mental attention: waiting for the bus,
gardening, cleaning, showering, taking a walk or even brushing your teeth.” It
can be easier to daydream when you’re engaged in a menial task than when you’re
doing nothing at all, says Jonathan Schooler, a psychologist at the University
of California, Santa Barbara who studies human cognition.
There is no need to feel guilty of thinking thoughts that are not
apparently ‘useful’ – they may be random thoughts that float in and out, but
they may in fact take shape as something quite creative and concrete and could
even translate to real life in many useful ways.
One could call this ‘mindful daydreaming’ – wherein you daydream about
things that ignite your curiosity and which interest you. Seekers may daydream
about existential questions, about the mysteries of life and after-life,
without reaching for the phone or iPad, without having to sound out your doubts
to another person and without putting pressure on yourself to find the right
answers. That is, let the mind wander free but in positive and happy ways.
IF HE EXIST
I drive joy there was a doctor in
Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God.
Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued
that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled
into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that
I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting
your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why
should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-
ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment of
the week S.gill 77 won man of the
seires, in epl leeds united no 7 got a goal
No comments:
Post a Comment