Thought 119: About Likes and Dislikes (Continued)

You are born with certain likes and dislikes. You are not only born with some likes and dislikes - but you also pick up some more likes and dislikes in every life, unknowingly, of course. These likes and dislikes are buried in every person’s subconscious mind and this “sub” will surface at the right time. These buried likes and dislikes are called Samskaaras.

Our ears, skin, eyes, tongue (palate) and nose are called the sense organs – which are five in number. They sense sound, touch, form and color, taste and smell respectively – which are, therefore, called the objects of the senses or sense objects. Every sense object is either liked or disliked.

Every person is attracted by what appears agreeable to his mind and repulsed by what appears disagreeable to his mind. Agreeability and disagreeability do not, of course, inhere in the objects; they are only in the mind of the person viewing the objects. The buried likes and dislikes, which are the Samskaaras, decide what is agreeable and what is disagreeable.

Likes and dislikes are also called Raagas and Dveshas (in Sanskrit). Every person expresses his nature in terms of his Raagas and Dveshas, over which, he seldom has any control. The senses themselves do not have these likes and dislikes. Senses merely report about their (sense) objects and the person develops the likes and dislikes - develops Raaga and Dvesha to those sense objects, based on his Samskaaras.

When you analyze carefully, your activities are not caused by your “Raaga-Dveshas” - but by your identification with them. Although every person is endowed with a “free will”, this “free will” cannot determine what thoughts you should have and what thoughts you should not; they are only decided by your identification with your Raaga-Dveshas. But the “free-will” can determine how far you should go with each thought as it arises in your mind. By refusing not to dwell on certain thoughts, you can get out of the spell of your “Raaga-Dveshas”.

Avoid coming under the spell of your Raaga-Dveshas, because, they are your enemies. Actually, Raaga-Dveshas by themselves are not the enemies - but when you come under their spell, they turn into your enemies. When you deliver yourself into their hands, you do precisely what they want you to do - and you do not do what you should be doing in your own interest.

The next thought is “About your mind and self talk”

Thought 119: About Likes and Dislikes

Every one has likes and dislikes. You too have them. Likes and dislikes are the contact lenses through which everyone looks at the world. When you look at the world through your likes and dislikes, you create a private world of your own. This is a subjective world – which you superimpose over the objective world created by God. Your interaction with the world, then onwards, is always on the basis of this superimposed, subjective, private world of your own creation.

This is how a belief system is built up in each individual. Beliefs could be many and varied. For instance, you may believe that “X” is a bad person and “Y” is a good person. Once this kind of belief is formed, you refuse to see facts that do not support your belief. You refuse to see the good aspects of “X”, as also, the bad aspects of “Y”. Any information, which opposes your belief is not allowed to enter – the shutter closes against such information, as in a camera.

Because of these preconceived notions, you believe what you want to believe – and therefore, you are never objective. Those, who are subjective, are always at a disadvantage, than those who are objective. These preconceived notions (formed as a result of your likes and dislikes) do not allow you to take proper decisions – because your decision is only as good as the information that you have.

Consider, for instance, that you are assessing the suitability of a person for a professional job. His professional skills alone should decide your opinion of his performance and value to the organization – not his looks, sex or race, language, culture, caste, community, etc. In practice, you find that professional skill and capability will never be the sole criterion. There will always be extraneous considerations, which are going to ultimately decide his suitability or otherwise.

The next thought is about Likes and dislikes (Continued)

Thought 118: The Natural “You” and the Unnatural “You”

Hunger, thirst, sleep etc just happen – they are not the result of your thinking. Anger, hatred, sadness, depression etc, on the other hand, involve thinking; your mind produces them.

In the thinking, which brings anger, hatred, sadness, depression etc, your mind does not seek your permission; it does these things ignoring your upbringing, culture, education etc. The “natural you”, of course, is quite different from the person, who becomes angry, hateful, sad and depressed.

Mind can bring senses, body, reason, culture and everything else under its control. For instance, no one wants to be unhappy - but one is unhappy frequently, all the same. No one enjoys being angry, but one becomes angry frequently, all the same - uncontrollably angry, at times. Anger, hatred, sadness, depression etc are all conditions of mind, indicating some kind of internal conflict, over which, persons seldom seem to have much control. Any kind of conflict causes unhappiness.

Anger, hatred, sadness, depression, etc are not your real nature. If they are your nature, then, you would be happy when you are angry, when you hate, when you are sad, when you are depressed, etc. Our experience shows that no one is happy when angry, when hating, when sad, when depressed, etc. Anger, hatred, sadness, depression, etc are unstable states – they make a person unstable. It is easy to disturb an unstable state. Disturb the unstable states of your mind - and become happy.

Happiness is natural to a person. Happiness is a stable state. We do not want to disturb this state. When we disturb this state, we become unhappy.

Thus, in every individual, there exist two persons - a “natural person” who is happy, cheerful, enthusiastic and an “unnatural person”, who is afflicted by anger, hatred, sadness, depression etc. Occupying the same mind, this “unnatural person” seems to take charge, as long as the moods, such as anger, hatred, sadness, depression, etc, last.

Your goal should be – to be the “natural you” more time in a day than the “unnatural you”. This reduces conflict in your mind – which makes you more happy. Dr Seuss says “Be who you are and say what you feel - because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”.

The next thought is “About likes and dislikes”

Thought 117: Insecurity generates fear

Every one of us have some measure of insecurity in us; some may have more while others have less. The feeling of insecurity generates fear. Most people are plagued by a vague fear. They will not be able to clearly define what it is which is bothering them; they experience a kind of foreboding subliminally as if a time bomb is sitting out there, which is going to explode at anytime in their face. They are always looking for bomb shelters.

The insecure persons think that by giving away things or money and generally pleasing people, they are ensuring their bomb shelters. Little do they know that those who want to take things or money freely from others, are only out there to grab anything that they can get freely. They are interested in providing shelters for themselves - and not for their benefactors. That is why they say that a fool and his money are soon parted.

The persons who help without expecting anything in return, are the ones, who have values and live by those values. These are called good Samaritans (called “Suhrids” in Sanskrit). These persons loathe to accept anything freely from others – sometimes not even in return for some good they did earlier. These are the rare persons – who are not easily seen these days in this world. When you find one, thank your good fortune, cultivate him. Such noble persons are your real bomb shelters.

By far, the best bomb shelter is faith in god. If you really have faith in the lord and surrender to him, he takes care of your well-being.
“Today I have what I need - but what about tomorrow?” This fear is typically caused by sense of insecurity and every person has this fear. In fact this is a great fear for every person – next in intensity only to the fear of death. Bhagavad Gita gives a good solution for this fear.

Bhagavaan Krishna says that the devotees who have boundless faith in the God, need not worry about their Yoga-Kshema (daily bread and security), because it is His responsibility to take care of the Yoga-Kshema of such devotees. "Ananya Chintayantomaam Yejanah Paryupasate, Tesham Nityabhi Yuktaanaam Yoga Kshemam Vavahmyam = "For those who are always one with me (devoted to me intensely), I take care of their Yoga-Kshema” (Bhagavad Gita, 9.22)

The next thought is about “The Natural “You” and the Unnatural “You”

Thought 116: All fear is also in the mind only

Every person experiences some fears - such as the fear of heights, fear of closed spaces, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of noise, fear of darkness, fear of appearing ridiculous, fear of mountains, fear of forests, fear of snakes, fear of Yoga-Kshema, fear of death etc. They say that a coward dies thousand times every day – because of these fears. A brave person dies only once – ultimately when it is time for him to depart from this planet, which is inevitable in the space-time dimension.

Fear is a thought in your mind and you are afraid of your own thoughts. Fear is man's greatest enemy. Fear is behind failure, sickness and poor human relations. [Dr Joseph Murphy]

Man is born only with two fears - the fear of falling and the fear of noise. These are normal fears and they are good. You set them up for self-preservation. All other fears are acquired fears. [Dr Joseph Murphy]

Fear of failure, fear of appearing ridiculous, fear of exposing the ego to hurt and fear of being rejected are fears that have a profound effect on one's self confidence.[Dr Robert Anthony]

Fear of death is another great fear for every person. Every one knows that he has to go one day or the other. And yet, we fear this inevitable death. We are prepared to do anything to postpone death even for a few minutes - and we are willing to spend any amount of money for this. I know one relative of my wife, who showed us the way to die gracefully. One astrologer told this wonderful old gentleman that he would die on a particular date and at a particular time on that day. As that particular day arrived, he got up early in the morning, bathed himself as usual, offered his usual daily prayers, lay himself on a mat with Darbhas (Darbhas are sacred grass) spread over it and was awaiting for Yama (the god of death) to come and take his life away! Of course the astrologer was wrong and this person lived a few more years. Is it not amazing the way this wonderful person dealt with death – which is feared by every human being.

The next thought is about “Insecurity generates fear”

Thought 115: All knowledge is in the mind

The term mind is used here to indicate both mind and Buddhi. Mind is an inanimate thing. Mind is “Prakriti” - and “Prakriti” becomes vivified by the mere presence of “Purusha” in it. Consciousness is “Purusha”. Consciousness is centered in the mind.

There is a three-fold division of the Electromagnetic spectrum into - Ultraviolet, Visible and Infrared. There is a three-fold division of Audio spectrum also into – Ultra-sound (sub-sonic), sonic and supersonic. In the same way, there is a three-fold division of conscious also – sub-conscious, conscious and super-conscious.

In a superconductor, there is virtually no resistance. Therefore, the electric current keeps on flowing – without any obstruction, for ever. There is no more wastage of electricity through heat – because there is no resistance in it, which opposes it, causing heat. Similarly, in a super-conscious state, knowledge keeps on flowing without obstruction – because there are no likes and dislikes and other impurities such as arrogance, jealousy, hatred, greed, selfishness, etc in the mind opposing the flow of knowledge. Thus, when a person gets rid of his likes and dislikes and other impurities, he becomes a super-conductor – gaining the super-conscious state.

All knowledge takes place only in the mind – and no where else. Therefore, the less the impurities in the mind, the better is the flow of the knowledge in it; and such a mind is deemed to have attained the super conscious state. Einstein had very little prejudices, preconceived notions and impurities in his mind – and therefore, he is deemed to have gained a super conscious state. Thus, what distinguishes an Einstein from an ordinary individual is the purity of mind - leading to free flow of knowledge.

When you are able to get rid of your likes and dislikes and other impurities from your mind, you also gain equanimity. Equanimity makes you objective, reflective and non-reactive. Thus, in the super-conscious state, you not only have super-knowledge, but you also gain peace – because you are objective, reflective and non-reactive. And this peace is synonymous with happiness. Vedaanta shows the way to gain this kind of peace and happiness through various Yogas.

The next thought is about “All fear is also in the mind only”

Thought 114: Vedaanta is a science

In science, we proceed from the known to understand what is unknown hitherto to us. So it is in Vedaanta too. The world is known to you. Study and understand it well. From there, proceed to explore the unknown. This is science. Vedaanta is a science – the science of spirituality.
We experience sorrow most of the time in life – and this is our major problem. All other problems that we experience in every day life are minor problems; actually, these minor problems are only corollaries of this major problem in the sense that the latter always culminate in anxiety and misery or grief.

We commonly think that spirituality has nothing to do with the normal day to day living; it cannot resolve any of our day to day living problems – especially the problem of our sorrow, which is our major problem. Vedaanta tells you that it is not true; it asks you to follow certain spiritual principles of Vedaantic philosophy and apply them in your daily life to find out for yourself if those principles are valid and whether they actually solve your problems of sorrow or not. If Vedaanta paves the way to solve your problem of sorrow in life, we conclude that Vedaanta is not just an intellectual exercise; rather, it is a vibrant experience in life.

Vedaanta says that everything in this universe can be reduced to three entities, which are - god, the universe and you. The entire Vedaanta is a serious and practical exposition on these three entities - and their interrelationships. Vedaanta gives you knowledge to come out of your ignorance. This is higher knowledge – which shows the path to the knowledge of the self. This knowledge would be given only to some one who is not only qualified for receiving it – but also is interested in having it.

Vedaanta teaches you to know the truth about yourself. Did the seed come from the tree or the tree from the seed. Did the hen come from the egg or the egg from the hen. Which is the cause and which is the effect. Does cause comes first or the effect.

Of course the cause comes first. If you pursue this logic, there must have been a causeless cause – the very first entity that appeared without a cause – and which caused the Srishti (the Creation). Religions call this causeless cause as God. It does not stop by saying that there is a god ruling over the destinies of mortals. Vedaanta unravels this mystery “X” called the god. Vedaanta leads to the knowledge of the god or the self.

Water, heat, pressure flow from high to low. So does knowledge too. Thus, knowledge flows from the known to the unknown. This is the law – which has no exceptions.
You cannot capture god with words, feelings or thoughts. Finite efforts cannot gain the infinity for you. But this Vedaaantic knowledge takes you to the point when you understand what your real nature is – and then you experience the truth.

The next thought is about “All knowledge is in the mind”

Thought 113: Count your blessings and be happy

All of us want a little more happiness than what we have at present. Therefore, we do Karma (action to get our desires satisfied) in the hope that the result of this Karma gives us more happiness. But our Karma rarely gives us what we want. We are limited beings – because of our limitations, we always want “more” of everything to compensate for these assumed limitations.

Man’s “wants” begin the very instant he comes into this world – when he wants milk and starts yelling for it. Beginning thus, his “wants” drive him all through his life. This “I want” is a fundamental “want”. All of us are constantly driven by this engine called, “I want”.

Man always “wants” – something or the other. In general, man always wants things that he does not already possess; things that he already has, have no more attraction for him. But there are exceptions to this rule. Some wealthy persons, especially, those who have become rich newly, for instance, are never satisfied with what they have; they always want more of the same, no matter how wealthy they already may be. When they get more, they want some more. There is never any end to their wanting.

This “I want” is a big problem in every life; in fact, it is the biggest problem; it is what is responsible for all Man’s misery. He feels miserable most of the time because he cannot get his “wants” satisfied most of the time. This is the reality of living – and Vedaanta, which is discussed in the Upanishads, deals with the reality of living.

Vedaanta teaches you how to gain the freedom from this “I want”; it teaches you not to lament over what you do not have; it teaches you to count your blessings and be happy.

The next thought is about “Vedaanta is a science”