Full of Light is your Birth-Right
Plato narrated a story in ‘Allegory of the cave.’ Three men were chained from birth inside a cave facing the wall. The cave entrance was behind them. They were chained in sucha way that they could only see straight ahead. When the sn rose, they saw light on the wall. At night, the wall was dark. Occasionally, they saw shadows pass across the wall but they did not know. Why? One day. One of the three men broke his chain and walked outside the cave. He saw wonderful amazing things like plants, animals and birds. He rushed back and told the other two, that the world outside was wonderful. He liberated them and wanted them to accompany him outside the cave. They refused to follow him due to mere fear of seeing something different.” This is our story; afraid to see the wonderful world but satisfied with shadows on the wall. We don’t wish to break the chains and see the real world.
A person once served his wife, her dinner to eat. She was surprised as it never happened before. She asked him “What is the matter today? You have changed a lot”. The husband replied “I have changed after hearing that discourse the other day. Man and wife are one; they share joy and sorrow equally. When one is ‘hospitalised physically, the other is hospitalized mentally. Imagine one dying and leaving one’s spouse lonely, neglected by children and the community. Serving you is not a burden but a pleasure”.
Dr. John A. Schindler in his best selling book “How to live 365 days a year” wrote: “Most of the emotionally induced illness does not come as a result of one large terrific emotion, nor even from any series of catastrophes. Most cases of emotionally induced illnesses are because of monotonous dip in the mind, of seemingly unimportant and unpleasant emotions, the everyday anxieties, fears, discouragement’s and longings. Clinically this is true. When we have a physical illness, the chances are that our illness is emotionally induced”.
Probably, five factors are involved for emotional upsets. They are money, love, ego, food and health. All these are intermisxed and closely related and if the balance of these factors is upset, then health is affected. We see everyday, people struggling to make money or starved for sex and some chasing fame and self-importance, ultimately sinking and rushed to the ICU. We are in life’s business and a good balance of the five factors shall keep us happy.
All of us see life differently. If you are the child of a President or King you see the world one way. If you are born to poor parents, you see life differently. It is because of the benefits and denials. Understanding why people behave the way they do, will give us an edge. Most human behaviours could be traced back to the beginning of the human race.
Some great teachers throughout history have taught us that the generations who went before us have exercised a tremendous influence on the way we behave. For eg. some of us are great hunters, fishermen, athletes, warriors, heroes, zeroes and so on. Some of us have lot of charisma, because we inherited the quality from some of them who are no more.
It is true that negative aspects are also passed on, from generations to generation. Many families are unhappy because of negative behaviours of inlaws, relatives and near ones. It is no secret that suicides often become a family trait. The only way or remedy is to realise and change. People who make these changes alter history. Winners understand why other people are different? Thus they help losers and make them win.
Watch the kids from the slums. They are bolder, willing to take risk, willing to experiment, because they have nothing at stake. Many of the slums breed brave people who are not afraid to face danger, because they are already in a dangerous environment.
Their life is nomadic and there is no guarantee about their future. They have to create the future. When they know that they have to fight for everything, they risk their lives. Success is like a spiral staircase for them, because it has turns, bends, curves and no protective rallings.
All human beings, all their lives struggle to reach the top of the ladder. Finally, they discover that the ladder is resting against the wrong wall. Someone asked Swami Vivekananda “What is raising your standard of living?” He replied: “It is needing less and enjoying more”. Look at meals and festivals. It is the poor who enjoy more, sitting in the merry-go-round or watching others doing acrobatics like walking on a rope without a safety net. A child from a slum showed his school report to his father and described F as ‘Fantastic’.
A person once served his wife, her dinner to eat. She was surprised as it never happened before. She asked him “What is the matter today? You have changed a lot”. The husband replied “I have changed after hearing that discourse the other day. Man and wife are one; they share joy and sorrow equally. When one is ‘hospitalised physically, the other is hospitalized mentally. Imagine one dying and leaving one’s spouse lonely, neglected by children and the community. Serving you is not a burden but a pleasure”.
Dr. John A. Schindler in his best selling book “How to live 365 days a year” wrote: “Most of the emotionally induced illness does not come as a result of one large terrific emotion, nor even from any series of catastrophes. Most cases of emotionally induced illnesses are because of monotonous dip in the mind, of seemingly unimportant and unpleasant emotions, the everyday anxieties, fears, discouragement’s and longings. Clinically this is true. When we have a physical illness, the chances are that our illness is emotionally induced”.
Probably, five factors are involved for emotional upsets. They are money, love, ego, food and health. All these are intermisxed and closely related and if the balance of these factors is upset, then health is affected. We see everyday, people struggling to make money or starved for sex and some chasing fame and self-importance, ultimately sinking and rushed to the ICU. We are in life’s business and a good balance of the five factors shall keep us happy.
All of us see life differently. If you are the child of a President or King you see the world one way. If you are born to poor parents, you see life differently. It is because of the benefits and denials. Understanding why people behave the way they do, will give us an edge. Most human behaviours could be traced back to the beginning of the human race.
Some great teachers throughout history have taught us that the generations who went before us have exercised a tremendous influence on the way we behave. For eg. some of us are great hunters, fishermen, athletes, warriors, heroes, zeroes and so on. Some of us have lot of charisma, because we inherited the quality from some of them who are no more.
It is true that negative aspects are also passed on, from generations to generation. Many families are unhappy because of negative behaviours of inlaws, relatives and near ones. It is no secret that suicides often become a family trait. The only way or remedy is to realise and change. People who make these changes alter history. Winners understand why other people are different? Thus they help losers and make them win.
Watch the kids from the slums. They are bolder, willing to take risk, willing to experiment, because they have nothing at stake. Many of the slums breed brave people who are not afraid to face danger, because they are already in a dangerous environment.
Their life is nomadic and there is no guarantee about their future. They have to create the future. When they know that they have to fight for everything, they risk their lives. Success is like a spiral staircase for them, because it has turns, bends, curves and no protective rallings.
All human beings, all their lives struggle to reach the top of the ladder. Finally, they discover that the ladder is resting against the wrong wall. Someone asked Swami Vivekananda “What is raising your standard of living?” He replied: “It is needing less and enjoying more”. Look at meals and festivals. It is the poor who enjoy more, sitting in the merry-go-round or watching others doing acrobatics like walking on a rope without a safety net. A child from a slum showed his school report to his father and described F as ‘Fantastic’.
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