You don’t make a great museum by putting all the art in the world into a single room.
That’s a warehouse. Continue reading
success
There ain’t no free lunch
Years ago the people of a very successful civilization thought they had all the answers to success. The king called the wisest people in the kingdom together and said, “I want you to put down all the reasons why we are successful. Place them in writing so future generations will be able to read it and duplicate our success.” They worked for approximately two years and came back with the answer, and it consisted of nine volumes. Continue reading
Psychological Literacy
We have noted already that the default psychological protection against fear and anxiety is neurotic defense. It is a way of dealing with complexity by withdrawal from contact with the world and so not dealing with it at all. Persons of tomorrow, by contrast, embrace the world. They engage with their existential reality in a spirit of hope, courage, invention and play. Continue reading
Thought For the Week – 3rd November 2014
Our current approach to chronic disease is like using hack saws to treat trauma….
‘Eppavo Mudintha Karyam’ – Your task in life is to discern that pattern, listen for it, and give room for it to emerge….
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Eppavo Mudintha Karyam: The event was completed long ago. It was all over long ago. Everything has been pre-ordained. Man may like to think that he can determine the course of his life and in a general sense even shape the course of human affairs. It feeds the vanity of man to think that he can shape the future. But man is a mere instrument in the hands of God. It is God alone who controls the past, present and future. Ego-centred man prides in the belief that he has free will when in actuality he is a mere puppet in the hands of an unseen power. One had better accept this fact and surrender oneself to God.
– Yoga Swami
Thought of the Week – 18th August 2014
An opportunity is never lost. It’s just found by someone else.
The lack of opportunity is ever the excuse of a weak, vacillating mind. Opportunities! Every life is full of them. Every lesson in school or college is an opportunity. Continue reading
No one else can choose for you. No one else can change you.
In every situation you have ever been in, positive or negative, the one common thread is you. Continue reading
Hands in Society and Head in the Forest
‘Hands in society’ means I am in society. I am born in society and I am a part of it. I grow in society and end in the society. So, no one can say that I don’t have anything to do with society. If anyone says so, it only means there is a lack of understanding. We cannot exist without society. Society is a must for everybody. We are products of society. We are the beneficiaries of society. Therefore, my friends, ‘hands in society’ means or refers to our very base, our very existence, our sustenance, and our maintenance.
The other extreme is ‘head in the forest’. What does this mean? It doesn’t mean that your head is going to be suspended from a tree in the forest, certainly not! The head represents thought and contemplation. The head represents the goal or aim. The head stands for the objective of life. Therefore, while the hands represent action, the head symbolizes the aim, goal and objective of the life. So, ‘head in the forest’ means the aim or objective of life is not society. The purpose of life is not society.
In the statement ‘head in the forest’, the forest symbolises renunciation. The forest stands for detachment and represents penance. The forest means a life in solitude, aloneness. Therefore, ‘head in the forest’ means that your constant thought should be towards solitude. You have to repeatedly ruminate and travel towards detachment. The purpose is renunciation.
– Sathya Sai Baba
We must not create a wall between our worldly and spiritual lives.
People disorganized in their worldly life search for spiritual wisdom in seclusion; whereas, if organized properly, they can have all the means and resources that are of utmost importance for spiritual enlightenment. The purpose of human life is to make the best use of the resources that nature or God has given us.
But there’s more to it.
There are typically two kinds of people. Some are involved in the world and are busy in their self-centered activities. Others renounce their families and do not participate in worldly life at all. There are very few people who use discrimination, work hard for their self-fulfillment, and at the same time, contribute to the welfare of society. People belonging to these two categories have an incomplete world view, and therefore, strive for their limited goals.
In our modern age, where the standard of living has been facilitated by science and technology, we must learn to make the best use of our ample resources. A lifestyle that is suitable for both worldly fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment is the best.
Those who strive to attain personal enlightenment and help others light their lamps are the true leaders of the human race. ….
Today’s society is waiting for selfless, spiritually enlightened, well-balanced leaders to guide them in how to live happily here and hereafter. Such leaders or reformers will not come from outside our society. They have to be born, raised, and trained right in our own society. We are the ones to become our own guides, our own leaders, and we are the ones to enlighten our own lives…..
—Swami Rama from A Call to Humanity
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