Monday, January 2, 2012

In conversation with a wise man




I have introduced Mr. SS to this blog earlier and coupled with the reason that he does not want his name to be disclosed, so I shall refrain from talking specifics about him. I like the company of Mr. SS very much because he always manages to stimulate me and reaffirm my belief in the spiritual evolvement of human being. His honesty, simplicity and frankness in the midst of high achievement both is business and in meditation always leaves me feeling like a speck of dirt at the feet of a great man. We have shared many a wonderful conversation and this note is a summarized form of another interesting conversation I had with him when we were together at Mumbai recently.

One. Maintaining a pleasant state of mind is everything. If one can maintain a pleasant frame of mind at all times, nothing can go wrong. Nothing is impossible to the person who can maintain pleasantness of mind irrespective of whatever happens around them. In fact such a person can bring around every bad situation to their favour with such a frame of mind. First it requires some strength of mind to not get disturbed and secondly a strong power of visualization to the minute details. Together the combination works wonders. Pleasant frame of mind is to remain positive, happy, accepting and anticipating every situation, and firmly contended. In the practical world the ability to visualize in details works better when the mind is free of thoughts. This delivers desired results. This is the practical usage of meditation because while meditating we make the mind free of thoughts and concentrate on the self, the prana, the life energy. However this seeking a pleasant frame of mind and visualization of desires would take one towards the opposite path of spirituality.

Two. The human body and the mind are both part of nature and therefore whatever action we do through our body and whatever thoughts we think through our mind are also limited by nature. We cannot do anything beyond what nature permits us. Some people have a better ability to think through a problem or to visualize a solution. They become great inventors and great philosophers. But we can never think beyond the four corners of nature. We humans are restricted by our environment and there are many issues which puzzle us and for which we don’t have the answers. We call it the hand of God; all that we don’t know.

Three. Our reality is to a large extent is based on our perception. The way in which we perceive things, influences our thinking and feelings. Different people can perceive differently, different life forms would also perceive differently while looking at the same thing. Viewing a tree, one man could praise the beauty of nature, another man could think of new firewood for his kitchen, a bird would think of building a nest for her eggs and a squirrel would look at it like its home itself. While the base fact is the same for all, the feelings are different, the outlook is different. We are therefore bound by our perceptions, our needs, and our insecurities which may not be the entire truth.

Four. I go by the line that there are no mistakes in life and whatever happens, it happens for the good. Mr. SS adds a corollary to that. Every person has a ‘viveka’ or innate wisdom, and their ‘viveka’ guides them every moment in life towards what is good and essential. When somebody defies that ‘viveka’ then it is definitely a mistake.
Amazing insights from a very wise man.  

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