I sometimes wonder if people are happy with what they do. One sees people whose real passion are the arts working as a receptionist, absolutely frustrated for the way their life has worked out. One then considers if one is happy, making conclusions if the accomplishments were a satisfaction or if one is a frustrated engineer working as a taxi driver. In a way, each day is an opportunity to change the vicious cycle we live in, to think out of the box and have a breakthrough with joy. Krishna has an interesting way of explaining why joy is so relative. “The joy that is passionate at first seems like ambrosia when senses encounter sense objects, but in the end it is like poison.” (18, 38) Our passion for the material obscures the mental and spiritual, our hunger to emulate our neighbor is the cause of the demise of our inner peace, our innate tendency to look for the newest gadget, clothes etc. and our judgement on others for what they own or are economically able to get is the basis of our hypocrital, plastic relationships. Cultivating deeper, more soulful connections by sharing activities that stimulate creativity, service, culture and just plain fun.
When doing something that isn’t of my interest I tend to procrastinate and for the time I do I feel pretty good, I try to convince myself that I have more than enough time to finish my work. I usually enjoy the time being but when the due date starts coming I get off the train of procrastination and rapidly get on to nervousness speedway. “The joy arising from sleep, laziness, and negligence, self-deluding from beginning to end, is said to be darkly inert.” (18, 39) Krishna and this clear definition of a day to day process gives us the key to act out, act different and do it now! Most of the time it’s not the work itself what really matters is our personal, unique approach/ our sacred focus…the same goes for our life.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Pathos, Logos and Ethos Of The White House
Logos: “On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.”
Ethos: “Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.”
“For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”
Pathos: “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
Ethos: “Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.”
“For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”
Pathos: “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
Monday, January 19, 2009
Addicting To Balance
When we talk about being balanced in life, one has to understand that anything, absolutely anything done to an extreme, brings complicated consequences. One must be careful on becoming too closed-minded and stubborn that you only believe what you think your limited senses perceived or what your mind is obsessed with, or being too open-minded to the point you have no idea of how to think on your own or how to stick up for your own ideas. Krishna brings to us great influences on how one acts and how one is influenced when making a decision. “Lucidity addicts one to joy, and passion to actions, but dark inertia obscures knowledge and addicts one to negligence.” (14, 9) He continues to talk about our great passion for material things that doesn’t bring us close to our real mission. That dark inertia he talks about brings to mind a pendulum of solitude, of never-ending greed for old ideas that will continue impulsing that pendulum of inertia; tragically weaving that soul’s eternity into tedious circles of sterile habit.
Not letting go of your possessions has a great influence on who you are. Being able to appreciate what one has and is capable of obtaining; yet knowing that one’s value cannot be based on possession but on being and on one’s actions is the most important yet most complicated step to becoming a truly free person. “The fruit of good conduct is pure and untainted they say, but suffering is the fruit of passion, ignorance the fruit of dark inertia.” (14, 16) Following the laws of a moral and just life and accepting differences brings a happy way of living to your life. Not being resentful of others progress and jealous of other’s accomplishments is basically due to good, moral, intelligent conduct and also understanding the intrinsic connection we all have. That those accomplishments are also your accomplishments, nothing is accomplished alone. Everything we do, have and are, stands on the shoulders of those who came before us and those who now share this time with us on the planet. The ignorance of this fact causes great frustration and slows evolution.
Being unable to accept one’s mistakes is probably one of the reasons most people feel unable to make great accomplishments in life. That extreme conservative idea of not letting other’s ideas come even to one’s ears is the first step to having the same results over and over again. “From lucidity knowledge is born; from passion comes greed; from dark inertia comes negligence, delusion and ignorance.” (14, 17) Being in the light brings more light and having good intention brings more great things to the day to day moments in one’s life.
Not letting go of your possessions has a great influence on who you are. Being able to appreciate what one has and is capable of obtaining; yet knowing that one’s value cannot be based on possession but on being and on one’s actions is the most important yet most complicated step to becoming a truly free person. “The fruit of good conduct is pure and untainted they say, but suffering is the fruit of passion, ignorance the fruit of dark inertia.” (14, 16) Following the laws of a moral and just life and accepting differences brings a happy way of living to your life. Not being resentful of others progress and jealous of other’s accomplishments is basically due to good, moral, intelligent conduct and also understanding the intrinsic connection we all have. That those accomplishments are also your accomplishments, nothing is accomplished alone. Everything we do, have and are, stands on the shoulders of those who came before us and those who now share this time with us on the planet. The ignorance of this fact causes great frustration and slows evolution.
Being unable to accept one’s mistakes is probably one of the reasons most people feel unable to make great accomplishments in life. That extreme conservative idea of not letting other’s ideas come even to one’s ears is the first step to having the same results over and over again. “From lucidity knowledge is born; from passion comes greed; from dark inertia comes negligence, delusion and ignorance.” (14, 17) Being in the light brings more light and having good intention brings more great things to the day to day moments in one’s life.
Discipline And Silence: Keys To Faith
When asked a question, sometimes one doesn’t understand the question and even so, one tries to answer it and fails because one never understood the question in the first place. It is somewhat similar to the relationship with one’s life mission, one is devoted to one aspect of one’s life and isn’t aware of what the real objective is. “Without faith in sacred duty, men fail to reach me, Arjuna; they return to the cycle of death and rebirth.” (9, 3) This mission Krishna talks about “to reach me” is still somewhat esoteric but one can limit this idea to that one must follow certain rules to be in peace with the environment and be not only aware of other people’s needs but try to fulfill those needs through selfless service. This basic premise of how to live is the foundation of most religions and is elegantly expressed as the golden rule. One point that needs to be examined with the golden rule is that many humans have very poor self-concepts and self-esteem and so maybe what they would like to be done to them is not the smartest idea.
We can also see that some of these religions use offerings as rewards for our faith and discipline in their beliefs, that range from amazing supernatural powers to a great afterlife. “His spirit quickens to sacred duty, and he finds eternal peace; Arjuna, know that no one devoted to me is lost.” (9, 31) Krishna promises a great afterlife by assuring that it is enough for one to change one’s mind in devotion to him. This sacred duty he constantly talks about must be a predetermined goal to reach in one’s life and that will repeat if one fails. In a way this plays a lot with free will, you are predetermined to do something but it is up to you to do it or not.
One may find the true definition of a true friend to be that of someone who stands beside one in good and bad situations, and is still one’s friend knowing one’s characteristics. It is very interesting how Krishna paraphrases this to the definition of a loyal believer. “Neutral to blame and praise, silent, content with his fate, unsheltered, firm in thought, the man of devotion is dear to me.” (12, 19) He who will always stand beside his beliefs and won’t blame his god for the unfortunate and sometimes unfathomable events that occur in one’s life, is a true, passionate believer. A great dose of compassionate detachment needs to be ultimately cultivated to reach this state of eternal grace or nirvana.
We can also see that some of these religions use offerings as rewards for our faith and discipline in their beliefs, that range from amazing supernatural powers to a great afterlife. “His spirit quickens to sacred duty, and he finds eternal peace; Arjuna, know that no one devoted to me is lost.” (9, 31) Krishna promises a great afterlife by assuring that it is enough for one to change one’s mind in devotion to him. This sacred duty he constantly talks about must be a predetermined goal to reach in one’s life and that will repeat if one fails. In a way this plays a lot with free will, you are predetermined to do something but it is up to you to do it or not.
One may find the true definition of a true friend to be that of someone who stands beside one in good and bad situations, and is still one’s friend knowing one’s characteristics. It is very interesting how Krishna paraphrases this to the definition of a loyal believer. “Neutral to blame and praise, silent, content with his fate, unsheltered, firm in thought, the man of devotion is dear to me.” (12, 19) He who will always stand beside his beliefs and won’t blame his god for the unfortunate and sometimes unfathomable events that occur in one’s life, is a true, passionate believer. A great dose of compassionate detachment needs to be ultimately cultivated to reach this state of eternal grace or nirvana.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Living For The Process
The worst moment of playing a video game is finishing it. Through the whole game one is focused on winning rapidly but what one doesn’t understand is that the real objective of video games is to enjoy the process of playing it, the time you take to develop a perfect strategy. In a way, this is the same as living your life, the fun part of accomplishing goals in life is the process by which you created that perfect strategy that fits perfectly for your individual goal and makes enjoyable reaching that goal. There should come a moment in the living the process itself that the goal disappears because one is immersed in a complete harmonious present. “One who does what must be done without concern for the fruits is a man of renunciation and discipline.” (6, 1) A person who is not worrying of what the benefits are going to be but is focused on the process and that the process is completely balanced, is truly unique and transcendental.
Another bad part of playing video games is when you stand up after your playing session and you feel that you completely wasted your time. One then goes to the opposite extreme of not playing, but one doesn’t find a balance easily between these two positions, where you can enjoy the game but you don’t lose focus on the priorities of your life. “Gluttons have no discipline, nor the man who starves himself, nor he who sleeps excessively or suffers wakefulness.” (6, 16) If one is able to understand that there is a mid-point for everything and that all activities, be they necessities for our survival or our entertainment, even our helping our fellow human beings, any of these when done obsessively, without harmony, in total excess, they become a threat to ours and others lives and the beauty of living gets lost.
Sometimes one does things that seem to benefit us individually, but are immoral and wrong in a macro level, our community’s level. A basic principle of one’s limits is to act in a way, so people aren’t affected in a negative way and that brings benefits for our community as a whole. For most great accomplishments one has to sacrifice something and there is an innate tendency in this moment to consider if our sacrifice is worth what we will personally be getting when our goal is reached. One must strive to create a global consciousness, never forgetting our link to all. “Arjuna, he does not suffer doom in this world or the next; any man who acts with honor cannot go the wrong way my friend.” (6,40) Krishna’s idea of not having this question when acting with honor assures us that what is right for our community will ultimately be beneficial for us all.
Another bad part of playing video games is when you stand up after your playing session and you feel that you completely wasted your time. One then goes to the opposite extreme of not playing, but one doesn’t find a balance easily between these two positions, where you can enjoy the game but you don’t lose focus on the priorities of your life. “Gluttons have no discipline, nor the man who starves himself, nor he who sleeps excessively or suffers wakefulness.” (6, 16) If one is able to understand that there is a mid-point for everything and that all activities, be they necessities for our survival or our entertainment, even our helping our fellow human beings, any of these when done obsessively, without harmony, in total excess, they become a threat to ours and others lives and the beauty of living gets lost.
Sometimes one does things that seem to benefit us individually, but are immoral and wrong in a macro level, our community’s level. A basic principle of one’s limits is to act in a way, so people aren’t affected in a negative way and that brings benefits for our community as a whole. For most great accomplishments one has to sacrifice something and there is an innate tendency in this moment to consider if our sacrifice is worth what we will personally be getting when our goal is reached. One must strive to create a global consciousness, never forgetting our link to all. “Arjuna, he does not suffer doom in this world or the next; any man who acts with honor cannot go the wrong way my friend.” (6,40) Krishna’s idea of not having this question when acting with honor assures us that what is right for our community will ultimately be beneficial for us all.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Acting Upon Shame
Having purpose in life is probably one of the reasons we get up every morning and fight for what we think is right. In a way this makes us have a stable mind and a good balance in our life, a happy face for our community and a joyful heart for the days to come. Krishna shows that a perseverant warrior who has a goal on his mind will fulfill his duty. “Look to your own duty; do not tremble before it; nothing is better for a warrior than a battle of sacred duty.” (3, 31) Being able to accept that there are going to be difficulties and benefits in each person’s journey is critical in order to make sacrifice worth one’s goal.
Krishna makes us appreciate the reflection of one’s image through the eyes of others as a guidance in order to understand how strong our purpose in life must be to endure difficult moments. “People will tell of your undying shame, and for a man of honor shame is worse than death.” (3, 34) Shame is the result of a deep, inner failure with one’s deepest values, losing face with one’s core essence in front of those whom one most values including most oneself. Shame, if not analyzed, understood and purged; can cause people to create self-destructive situations to unconsciously punish themselves for having failed their own moral expectations. We have a vivid example of this with the multiple suicides throughout the world of billionaires who lost theirs and their close friends’ and family’s fortunes by trusting Mr. Madoff, who seems to have no shame at all.
It is critical in Krishna’s eyes to not only have a goal in life but make it your daily struggle, your acting point. One must become a spiritual warrior because there are many internal and external battles to confront with all one’s power before we finally lay to rest. “If you are killed, you win heaven; if you triumph, you enjoy the earth; therefore, Arjuna, stand up and resolve to fight the battle!” (3, 37)
Krishna makes us appreciate the reflection of one’s image through the eyes of others as a guidance in order to understand how strong our purpose in life must be to endure difficult moments. “People will tell of your undying shame, and for a man of honor shame is worse than death.” (3, 34) Shame is the result of a deep, inner failure with one’s deepest values, losing face with one’s core essence in front of those whom one most values including most oneself. Shame, if not analyzed, understood and purged; can cause people to create self-destructive situations to unconsciously punish themselves for having failed their own moral expectations. We have a vivid example of this with the multiple suicides throughout the world of billionaires who lost theirs and their close friends’ and family’s fortunes by trusting Mr. Madoff, who seems to have no shame at all.
It is critical in Krishna’s eyes to not only have a goal in life but make it your daily struggle, your acting point. One must become a spiritual warrior because there are many internal and external battles to confront with all one’s power before we finally lay to rest. “If you are killed, you win heaven; if you triumph, you enjoy the earth; therefore, Arjuna, stand up and resolve to fight the battle!” (3, 37)
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