Pain & Pleasure

They say are complementary.

We complain about pains & troubles, but they come to teach us patience, perseverance & increase our fortitude.

For pleasure we rejoice and want more. But they come to teach us & increase our gratitude.

If we acknowledge that God has sent either of them to teach us something and both will end , our attitude will be improved.

Manual for life!

When we buy any gadget or electronic it comes with a manual. Most of us just flip through it & shove in a corner as we know how to use the item. When there is trouble we search in the manual for trouble shooting guide etc & usually the problem is resolved. Note nobody throws the manual away, just store it away out of sight!

Some call Gita a manual for life.

Gita teaches you a lot on how to lead a good life. However it does not have a quick solution in form of a trouble shooting chart. What it has is knowledge that changes your attitude which in turn changes circumstances around you.

Whatever part of Gita you read, it has an application to the dilemma in ones head. If we absorb & apply the knowledge , our botheration's begin to dissolve.

A washing machine manual we can keep stored away but Gita principles need to be applied.

Preparing for take off

A rocket before its launch.....huge amount of energy that helps them propel into the atmosphere & further.

A plane on the runway gathers its energy & then soars off.

A young adult when about to take off or launch himself/herself in the world uses all the education he/she has ever received.

Education here includes what he/she learnt as a baby, through school, from all his teachers at school & otherwise. Its a process of preparing the children to take off independently. Holistic education will always include awareness about culture, society, health, environment and self. Many modern schools have included serving the community & caring for environment as part of its curriculum. Its to get the young ones to imbibe that we are a part of the whole & all of us beings & the environment are God's creation and we need to care - selflessly!

The Gita knowledge professes (among other fundamental truths), helping others and for the environment as its all part of God's manifestation.

So if Gita principles were part of the children's education it would truly give them holistic education and prepare them for take off and smooth soaring as well as soft landings!!!!

War & peace : Preparation for war, exam or moksha ( For older kids & adults)

This may remind you of the famous book by Leo Tolstoy. Let's give a thought - all preparation of war happens during peace time. Not because a nation wants war but just in case! But all nations spend a huge amount of its GDP on defence!!!

Now lets look at academics we start at say age 4 and are preparing for middle school & then high school & we continue to prepare till we get to university. Then one is still preparing to get a job and then have to keep preparing for a larger role and so on. Successful people (in the corporate world) are ones that continue to learn & evolve.

The spiritual journey is a preparation as well. Preparation and continuous evolution is essential. Its never early or late to start. The end point may not be in sight but being on the path will get us there

Intellectual & Emotional strength (IQ & EQ)

Most of us grew up in an environment that focused on intellectual superiority & the measure was IQ.

In the current times there is a shift to emotional quotient as an important measure!

Well compare an intellectually strong person who is emotionally weak with a person average on intelligence & very strong emotionally.

A person with high EQ will have great relationships, be able remain calm & centred during troubled times.

Where as a person with high IQ but a very low EQ will loose his balance during tough times.

If one has Bal ( Physical strength), Budhi ( intellect ) as well as Vidya ( emotional strength through knowledge) , that person will be the ideal one.

The Chapeter 2, Shloka 50 talks about the Sthir Pragya person - a person who is stable . He is insulated with knowledge & nothing disturbs him or shakes him. He has emotional independence.

A high EQ does not necessarily mean the person is Sthir Pragya, it just helps understand that apart from intellect, emotional awareness & freedom are key to a meaningful life.

Below is a copy paste regarding EQ and IQ

DEFINITIONS

EQ - is a measure of your emotional intelligence, or your ability to use both your emotions and cognitive skills in your life. Emotional intelligence competencies include but are not limited to empathy, intuition, creativity, flexibility, resilience, coping, stress management, leadership, integrity, authenticity, intrapersonal skills and interpersonal skills.

IQ - a number used to express the apparent relative intelligence of a person that is the ratio multiplied by 100 of the mental age as reported on a standardized test to the chronological age. IQ is the measure of cognitive abilities, such as the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new situations; the skilled use of reason; the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests); mental acuteness; logic and analytical skills.

COMPARISONS

EQ gets you through life vs. IQ gets you through school

Appealing to reason and emotions to convince someone vs. Trying to convince someone by facts alone

Using your emotions as well as your cognitive abilities to function more effectively vs. Relying solely on your cognitive skills

EXAMPLE

Samuel had a high IQ. He could reason, was analytical and logical, and had a steel-trap focus on tasks. He learned new things quickly. However, he ignored how he was feeling and how others were feeling. If things didn't do the way he expected them to, he would lose his temper and lash out at others. He was unable to relate to people who weren't as smart as he was and lacked empathy. This limited his ability to be effective in team situations even though his IQ was very high.

Jose had a high EQ. He got along well with people, and managed his own emotions well. This made him highly effective in his work, even though there were others in the firm with higher IQs. Jose was able to consider the emotional component of interactions, using both his cognitive abilities and his understanding of emotions. He was able to influence and motivate people because he understood what mattered to them and was an excellent communicator. His authenticity and integrity made him a natural leader. He was flexible and creative when faced with a challenge, and resilient in the face of temporary defeats. He was well-liked and well-respected.

KEY POINT

Your EQ has more to do with your success and happiness in life than your IQ and emotional intelligence can be learned.

Action & Reaction

We study in science thate every action has an equal & opposite reaction. And we know of the cause & effect theory.

In spirituality we learn that the quality of the action ( the intention ) determines the reaction.

There will be a result / reaction is a definite, what is not definite is what & how sometimes. We cannot determine the outcome.

Lets take an example of shooting from a rifle . When we pull the trigger the bullet is released for sure , and there will be a back lash is also certain. What is not certain is will it hit the target! That is determined by the shooters ability, intention, commitment and many other variables.

So whether is the action & reaction theory or Karam & Phal , the action is what we can control and should do it with commitment and trying to predict & control the result is futile and a waste of energy that if put in effort of the action will be better utilised.

Schooling stages

A child progresses from play group to high school. From gross motor skills to fine motor skills. Learning to read and write. Building a vocabulary. Communication skills. From short and active lessons to long and passive lectures. From instructive study to projects to self study & researches.

Its all a process of preparing the child to learn - " how to learn".

Similarly spiritual education of the Gita is prepare a child to manage life based on principles & not based on people & opinions

Magnetism & spirituality - For adults

We have learnt about the properties of magnet. And the fact the rubbing a magnet over iron will magnetise it - temporarily make the iron a magnet.

Well its similar to how our behaviours changes with the type of company we have. In "Satvic" company our conversations are different and when we are with people that align to partying etc we have a different conversations. We behave like an iron that is magnetised. Iron has certain properties that attract it to the magnetic field of the magnet.

Its like us we have the Satvik properties that attract us to satsangh and we have the Tamsic/ Rajasic ones that attract us to other things.

Iron can become a magnet when combined with the elements boron and neodymium, or when a copper wire is wrapped around the iron and electricity is run through that wire.

If we can control our Tamas & manage our Rajas we will be living more in Satwa. And when we are in Satwa we have our own magnetic field, just like a magnet.

The contracting & changing world - for parents.

Recently I watched a video about changing times and teh fact that we are preparing our children for a largely unknown future (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY).

There was another one I watched which spoke about the size of the computer 30 years ago having memory much less than a regular phone today .

Also if you watch cricket and know that its was a primarily a 5 day game. Then came the ODI's and now its 20-20. Did anyone think of cricket matches like IPL etc competing with Bollywood for the viewers time???

If you watch cricket or tennis and have been watching for years, do you notice how the game has become more about agility & speed.

We all know the world is changing, getting fast paced & contracting. But what do we do as parents to prepare our children for this world. Please post comments for sharing & common good.

Experiencing the learning

Nowadays Math is taught to kids with materials they can touch & feel. Its like saying 2+3=5, versus experiencing 2 blocks plus 3 blocks make 5 blocks. Also after learning units they visit museums or do a project to experience some of their learning.

Imagine learning about rain forests and then when we visit one, all the learning becomes vivid and we feel assured & good. Similarly learning at school about erosion and then seeing the rocks on a cost or learning about seasons and living in a location that has seasons.

If we saw the coastal rocks or lived through seasons or visited the rain forest & then learnt about them later how would that feel??? We will learn very fast for sure.

But will it make the experience of seeing the rock or being in the rain forest better!!!

Learning followed by experience, makes the experience very assuring about the knowledge and we enjoy it & understand it.

A learning that follows experience is different & has its own advantage. In this the learning with some memory from past makes it a different kind of experience.

Difficult to compare the 2, but the ability to connect a learning to an experience or the other way round greatly contributes to ones growth.

Imitating others!

Often in life we imitate others. Our friends, parents & teachers, movie stars & TV personalities.

Since we are not being ourselves in imitating others then we should imitate only what is best. (Imagine a kid who wants to cheat in an exam, he will choose to cheat from the kid known for having the right answers !!!)

So we can choose to imitate our friends best quality or TV personalities best habit. Its OK to copy other peoples good virtues as its their divinity we copy to help awaken our own divinity & good self. So if we take good habits & qualities from people around us , we are just awakening our goodness and becoming better individuals.

If we are going to copy/imitate , then one should do it for the best. So if are intending to be like someone else then makes sense to trying to be like the perfect self - the Divine!

Enlightened!

Will to explain what enlightened means to me.

Imagine a big living room that is completely dark. Now if we switch on the light an individual can look around and see everything fairly fast . Say 10 minutes!

Now imagine having to verbally explain & describe this to a blind person. It will take a while. Say 2 hours.

And if the description was done by someone seeing the room for the first time probably even longer. Maybe 6 hours!

Being enlightened is like that light switch with which one quickly experienced your surrounding & learnt about the room. Spiritual enlightenment is like the knowledge just clicked in you!!

It may be compared to hearing it from someone with no experience or someone with experience.

Action with Knowledge

We all would have heard about the story of the woodcutter & his axe.

Two woodcutters are competing to see who cuts more wood in a certain time.

Mr A keeps constantly cutting. Mr B stops after an hour for 10 minutes and sharpens his axe. Mr A thinks what a waste of time & cuts another tree. Next time when Mr B stops to sharpen his axe, Mr A still keeps cutting. without lifting his head. At the end of the day though Mr B was cutting for less time as he kept sharpening his axe, he had cut much more than Mr A. Simply because he always had a sharp axe that made him effective.

Knowing when to stop to sharpen the axe for efficiency was the lesson here.

There is another one.....

There was a man in the village who could run very fast. Once a robber came & stole cash from his home. His wife said go run after the thief. So he ran after the robber. Robber ran faster and this man ran faster too. After a few hours he returned. His wife asked where is the thief & the stolen cash ??? His response was - you asked me to run & I ran faster than the robber & he was far behind within 20 minutes!!!! So he ran with little purpose & knowledge.

So action with out knowledge does not get us there. Acting with knowledge ( sharpening axe, knowing why I am running!) is the purpose of life. Gita helps us with the knowledge and its up to us to act with the knowledge.

Cycling & Gita ( for adults)

When we learn to cycle we need training wheels & an adult to guide us. Some use knee & elbow guards , but we all have to have a few falls as part of the learning. Balancing is the main core to leaning to ride and then once we know that we learn to cycle & we learn forever! Kids take a while to learn but also their wounds from healing heal faster. Adults trying to learn have more fears & the falls sometimes take a longer while to heal.

Skills like cycling , swimming , driving take a while but are skills for ever. If we swim after a long time we take a while to get the rhythm or if have not cycled for long we may have very achy legs. So we don't forget to swim or cycle but takes an effort and causes some discomfort for a short while

Now lets relate this to learning Gita. When we start we need a Guru & a support system to help us learn. And it has to be an ongoing process for best learning. Gita knowledge is also for life and is best when in constant practice.

Kids who are introduced to it in childhood , may not get it all but have in their conscience.

Cycling is all about balancing and so is life - balancing spirituality along with everything else.

Method and Answer

In Math we often emphasis that the method needs to be correct and carries marks.

Having a correct answer with the wrong method gets no marks. The correct method with a wrong answer still gets marks.

We all know the movie will end in 2 hours, do we fast forward and reach the end to know what happened or do we watch to see how it all lead to & what happened at the end???

Do we read only the last chapter in a book???

We all are going to die. But what is more important the lives we live or the final death????

The process & method of doing a math problem or living life is important. Sometimes more important than the end or the answer!!!!

If the method is right, we need not worry, the answer will be right . So when we focus on learning & applied a method, we need not worry about the answer!