From emptiness to fulfillment
K VIJAYARAGHAVAN

John Whittier, the 19th century Quaker poet observed in his Maud Muller, “For all sad words of tongue or pen,/ The saddest are these: It might have been.” Indeed the creative fire that burns, albeit in varying degrees in all humans, is not allowed to manifest in most cases. This results in frustration, self pity, repentance and anger, leading to low self-esteem and regrets for what “could have been” — for not having obtained those acquisitions and virtues which could have led one on. Adi Sankaracharya in his Bhaja Govindam (Verse 7) notes: “Childhood is spent in play, youth in attachment to women and old age in repentance, with no time left for devotion to the sublime.” In fact, the philosophy of enlightened selfishness, as propounded among others by Ayn Rand, observes that fulfilment can best be found in those pursuits which are aimed primarily at obtaining happiness for oneself. A deeper insight on this issue would reveal that true peace can also be obtained through activities which are aimed at uplifting society. Indeed a life dedicated to the welfare of others is a truly worthy life! During recapitulation in the evening of one’s life, if one were to feel that he has contributed his mite in this regard, this feeling would by itself serve to erase any regrets that may still linger.

It is in the above spirit that John Wesley wrote, “Do all the good you can,/In all the ways you can,/In all the places you can,/At all times you can,/To all the people you can,/As long as ever you can.” (Rules of Conduct). Valluvar, the great Tamil saint also observes (Kural 36) that one should not postpone virtuous deeds, as these alone would befriend one always, even after death. Even those who may feel empty within can take heart from these lines of F P Adams’, “And of all words of prose and rhyme,/The gladdest are: Act while there yet is time”. In fact, it is never too late for an aspiring soul. Clarity and effectiveness can be attained through proven methods of cleansing oneself of various afflictions and stresses which retard one’s natural progress. Arriving at this happy state of affairs, one can make up for the apparent drift or waste of time and also accomplish much in lesser time through effective time management and focus. The vast world of immense goodness and accomplishment indeed waits, inviting to be explored, to translate one’s dreams into reality!

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It Is Faith That Keeps Us All Going

Pradeep Nair

One morning, a college student, on reaching the library, didn’t know where to leave her bag since the entire rack was full. On the security guard’s suggestion, she left it on the counter, like many others. When she returned an hour later, her bag wasn’t there.

Mercifully the mobile wasn’t inside, only Rs 350 and many bits of paper, with random jottings. This was the first such incident. The system ran on faith; until one person shattered it.

The next day, I was at a temple in Banaswadi, near Bangalore. There was a designated place to leave footwear, but not helmets, which are now compulsory. I was wary of leaving it unattended. So, I carried it into the temple.

A security guard, with a disarming smile, stretched out his hands, and offered to keep the helmet safely. His body language infused a lot of faith in me. I involuntarily handed it over to him, but he didn’t give me a receipt. Just as I was about to enter the temple’s inner premises, the previous day’s incident of a girl losing her bag came to my mind. What if I would be the first one to lose something in the temple, and that too my helmet?

No, I won’t take a chance. I turned around. I tore off a piece of paper from the pocket notepad I carry. Splitting it into two pieces, I wrote my name on both. I showed the security guard the tags I had just created. He looked amazed. He obviously wasn’t getting a hang of what I was up to. ‘‘Just to make sure that no one else by mistake picks up my helmet’’, I explained as I tucked one tag under the visor of the helmet and put the other tag into my pocket.

“There’s no need for all this...”, he said. The warmth of the smile - that he sported a couple of minutes back when he offered to keep my helmet safely - was missing. God, did I indicate that I didn’t have faith in him? Am I distrusting someone who is genuinely helpful? Within seconds, did I convert a trusting person into a suspicious one? How would I have felt if the world didn’t have trust in me?

No. I got to be realistic. I drew on my resources of body language and I told him gently in the friendliest tone, ‘‘Just in case; lot of helmets here...’’ He had a reassuring smile.

Yet, I couldn’t still help asking myself: What if I still lost my helmet? What if the guard would have only shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘‘I told you there’s no use keeping all these tags’’. I left those thoughts aside as I moved into the temple. When I brought my palms together in prayer, I realised there were more pressing things in life than a helmet - with or without a tag.

When I came back, the helmet was there, but not that security guard. As I picked it up and began walking away, I saw him. With the same disarming smile, he raised his open palms upwards, indicating all was well, not just the helmet, by the Grace of God.

Life is about relationships - matrimonial, parental, sibling, fraternal, friendly and even the one with strangers. It’s faith that sustains a relationship, it fuels our daily lives. Faith need not be spiritual. William Adam, the British businessman navigator, said, “Faith is a continuation of reason’’. Henry Bailey, a British author of medical detective short stories, said, ‘‘Faith is a higher faculty than reason”.

St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, said, “Faith is to believe in what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe”. It’s the faith that we have in one another that makes our lives comfortable.

A Positive Attitude Affirms Life

A Positive Attitude Affirms Life

Discourse: Swami Anubhavananda

Attitude determines the lifestyle of a person and it develops when perception is followed by projection.

Positive and negative attitudes are acquired by an individual over a period of time and according to their development, human beings fall into three categories:

There are those who imagine and project difficulties in any undertaking even before they start work and end up doing nothing. They are like the car which will not start unless given a push.

The second kind are called Prarambh Shura. They are inspired initially, but give up for lack of perseverance.

The third are those who become more and more inspired to execute a job, the more they face challenges and difficulties.

Even if you are successful, negativity in attitude can crop up at any time for unknown reasons. Remember:
1. You alone are responsible for your attitude.
2. As is your attitude, so are your perceptions.
3. As is your perception, so is your interaction with the world.
4. As is the interaction, so is the experience of life and,
5. As is the experience, so is the quality of life.

During camps for children, I often hear this complaint: “Swamiji, before and after an examination, I remember everything but during the examination, I forget things”. This happens only because of the attitude problem. People who have negative attitude think and project only negative things and they develop it to such an extent that even a positive thinking person can become a victim of their presence. Such negative people can do nothing and they don’t allow anybody else to do anything.

Negative attitudes are the result of a weak personality at the physical, emotional and intellectual level. Physical strength can be gained by proper intake of food, and regular exercise. Some are obsessed with their figure. They torture their bodies. They get cranky and misunderstand anything their parents say. This is a negative attitude, the reason being that when you don’t eat properly you think about food. When you do this, the food has gone to your head. Good health helps us to come out of negativity.

Emotional stamina too is a must. Emotional strength is gained by discovering some altar in life — it could be God, your guru, an idea; surrender yourself at that altar with total involvement and faith. Put logic away because by logic, no problems are solved. By love alone all problems get dissolved.

When we apply our faculty of intellect and enquiry in doing a job successfully, it is vital to get things done not ‘because of all odds’ but ‘despite all odds’. Enquire into ‘how a thing is possible’. One must also remember that life is not about being successful, it is also the ability to go through both success and failure with grace. In success, we enjoy and from failure, we learn.

When we have mastered the art of learning from failures, it leads to success ultimately. This attitude towards failure is a positive one. When these three aspects of your personality are cultivated and developed systematically, you grow and develop Atma balam or inner strength. With inner strength, positivity becomes the foundation of our expression.

The Mundaka Upanishad says that the Truth is not revealed to cowards. Success is not for weaklings. When you have physical strength, emotional beauty and intellectual capacity, your attitude becomes positive. With this positive attitude, you jump into the battle of life, and success is bound to happen.

www.justbehappy.org

Courtesy Indiatimes