Ego - The Friend and the Foe!
I like this story about creation of this world and all its beings by God, because he was bored and needed some recreation.
Thus human being is a creation of God. God put all the human ingredients in him - from intellect to desires and emotions and the story goes that if there has to be some drama on this beautiful earth for God's recreation, there had to be something which made it possible, therefore God decided give him "free will" - otherwise life on earth would have been dull and boring!
So, every aspect of a human being is the creation of God. It was up to the human being to exercise his free will that would determine who he turned up to be in his life!
If human being is the creation of God, then 'Ego' is also is the gift of God to a human being. If that be so, why this poor thing "ego" has been bashed and battered almost to the point of making it a curse!?
Most of the writings -spiritual or scientific - say that 'ego' is the 'I' or 'self' ..... So things connected with I or self are manifestations of ego - such as self-esteem, self-pride, self-respect and self worth.
If these are the manifestations of ego' then why the poor 'ego' has been treated in a negative sense?
I venture to think that, ego per se.. is not bad at all. I further venture to think that the size of the ego is what makes it either desirable or undesirable! The smaller it is.. we have a reasonable self- esteem, self- respect etc.. then the ego is a nice friend (!)......but when it grows out of proportion and becomes huge... then the very same ego turns into a foe or fiend!
Self esteem, self confidence are pea nut size but once it blows up into a huge balloon, the same thing turns into vanity or arrogance.!!
Choice is ours. It is up to us how we use 'ego' by exercise of our 'free will' given by god. God is after all smart... He has given everything..but has put that free will in us... It is entirely up to us whether we exercise our free will to keep the ego a'pea nut' or an 'over inflated balloon'.
Caution: just a pin prick will burst the inflated balloon!
Choice is ours!!
Saturday 30 June 2012
Simple technique to express gratitude.
Simple technique to express gratitude.
I learnt this simple technique of expressing gratitude from a primary school teacher from Australia, which is fun and relaxing and at the same time it helps one to come out of emotions stuck inside, which are craving to be released.
This technique requires a group of people and would be real fun and effective.
We can have a group of 5 people or more sitting or standing in a circle. It would be nice if there is spot where one can see the sun or the moon rise or set. Or on the bank of a river or a sea shore or could be in a garden or some place which opens up to the sky and gives a feeling of vastness. It can also be done indoors and would still be fun and relaxing.
The group chooses a subject to express thanks. Let's take the example of thanking this universe - the mother of our existence.
Thanking the universe: every one will open up their arams as though to give a big hug to some one. Then one by one will say something thanking the universe:
May the first one in the group will say : O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me this earth.
The second one .... O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me with a beautiful nature.
The next one : O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me a nice home.
And so on and so forth. The subject being thanked can be anything from the nature to people or friends, parents, a pet anything that comes to mind at that time when one says loudly thank you for......
I feel this technique can be used for expressing different emotions .. Either positive or negetive emotions...... . love, anger, happiness, joy, jealousy, hatred, liking, pain, hurt, apathy, sympathy, empathy and host of emotions. It can be used for even expressing some simple things that you like to express.
Try this you will enjoy and feel good and lighter at the end of the session... And most times you will be laughing saying something!
Try.. There is no harm!
I learnt this simple technique of expressing gratitude from a primary school teacher from Australia, which is fun and relaxing and at the same time it helps one to come out of emotions stuck inside, which are craving to be released.
This technique requires a group of people and would be real fun and effective.
We can have a group of 5 people or more sitting or standing in a circle. It would be nice if there is spot where one can see the sun or the moon rise or set. Or on the bank of a river or a sea shore or could be in a garden or some place which opens up to the sky and gives a feeling of vastness. It can also be done indoors and would still be fun and relaxing.
The group chooses a subject to express thanks. Let's take the example of thanking this universe - the mother of our existence.
Thanking the universe: every one will open up their arams as though to give a big hug to some one. Then one by one will say something thanking the universe:
May the first one in the group will say : O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me this earth.
The second one .... O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me with a beautiful nature.
The next one : O universe... Thank you for.... Providing me a nice home.
And so on and so forth. The subject being thanked can be anything from the nature to people or friends, parents, a pet anything that comes to mind at that time when one says loudly thank you for......
I feel this technique can be used for expressing different emotions .. Either positive or negetive emotions...... . love, anger, happiness, joy, jealousy, hatred, liking, pain, hurt, apathy, sympathy, empathy and host of emotions. It can be used for even expressing some simple things that you like to express.
Try this you will enjoy and feel good and lighter at the end of the session... And most times you will be laughing saying something!
Try.. There is no harm!
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Why relationships tend to be fragile?
Why relationships tend to be fragile?
'Man is not an island' and 'man is a social animal' are the oft quoted cliches.
This characteristic of man perhaps may be the key to his seeking relationships through out his life.
An inevitable relationship begins with the mother - simply because of our total inability as infants to take care of ourselves. Therefore, the first relationship that a human being enters into, though as an inevitable necessity, is with his mother.
In the next stage we seem to become somewhat independent in many ways - of taking care of our basic needs. Yet to satisfy those needs we have to seek and interact with many people.
As we grow up relationships come into existence as a natural consequence of our needs: To play - we need people. When we go to school - we are part of a class with many other students. The place we live has many people with whom we interact. When go into outer world we meet people. Thus, every aspect of us brings many people into our lives and relationships occur naturally.
Over the centuries, we have given labels to diferent relationships:
Parents - children.
Siblings.
Relatives.
Husband &wife
Teacher - student
Causal aquintences.
Acquitences.
Friends
Employer - employee
Business partners.
Sellers - buyers.
As i said many more relationships come into existance on the basis of many aspects of us.
If we closely look at these relationships, we will discover that some need of a human being is met in each of these relationships. So, would it be safe to say that our many needs create many relationships?
Some needs are temporary and some needs are permanent. Perhaps, this very nature of needs gives rise to temporary and long term relationships.
Temporary relationships come into existence to meet temporary needs and when the need is met the relationships disappear as naturally as they occurred.
Our long terms needs require long term relationships.
If relationships are so fundamental to human existence, then why do relationships tend to be so fragile and break at the drop of a hat?
I think the following quote gives insight into why relationships tend to be fragile:
"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end." -Immanuel Kant
Therefore, if we make our needs as ends for which we use people to achieve them, then when the needs are met we no longer need those people and we will readily abandon them.
But if we make people as the end, then we nurture them as true human beings and our needs are met as a consequence of nurturing people. This elevates us as well as people whom we nurture, thus making the relationship satisfying.
Therefore, I would pray God to grant me the serenity to treat people as the end and not as means to achieve my needs and the sensibility to recognize this difference.
Sunday 3 June 2012
DVG's wisdom- you are the master of your own destiny!
Do not waste your life on the assumption that some one else is taking care of this world,
Respect yourself and your life
Respect the life sustaining spirit in you,
Use it to strive to enrich your life
That is the only way you can attain success in life o' Manku thimma.
Respect yourself and your life
Respect the life sustaining spirit in you,
Use it to strive to enrich your life
That is the only way you can attain success in life o' Manku thimma.
DVG's wisdom - this world won't change, accept it!
This earth has been traversed by Lord Rama,
The air on this earth has been breathed by Bhima,
The Ganges has been brought to earth by the efforts of Bhageeratha,
This earth has in its cradle oceans as ancient of the ancient,
Is there anything left for me to write anything new, o' Manku Thimma?
When Rama was there... there was Ravana too,
When there was Bhima ....there was Dushyashana too..
Do not perennially complain that this millennium - kaliyug - is filled with injustice,
Instead be the devotee of Rama- Hanuman - the symbol of single minded devotion to his master o' Manku Thimma.
The air on this earth has been breathed by Bhima,
The Ganges has been brought to earth by the efforts of Bhageeratha,
This earth has in its cradle oceans as ancient of the ancient,
Is there anything left for me to write anything new, o' Manku Thimma?
When Rama was there... there was Ravana too,
When there was Bhima ....there was Dushyashana too..
Do not perennially complain that this millennium - kaliyug - is filled with injustice,
Instead be the devotee of Rama- Hanuman - the symbol of single minded devotion to his master o' Manku Thimma.
DVG's wisdom- achievement & Grace
Your stories about your life's adventures and conquests
Without remembering it as the grace of God
Is as futile as your fighting to conquer the air
Which will leave you exhausted with no satisfaction of achievement o' Manku Thmma.
Without remembering it as the grace of God
Is as futile as your fighting to conquer the air
Which will leave you exhausted with no satisfaction of achievement o' Manku Thmma.
DVG's wisdom - dilemma
The father(hiranya kashapa - beleived to be a demon in Hindu philosophy) never believed in God,
The son(prhalada) had immense faith in God
We sit on the horns of a dilemma - we neither totally believe nor totally disbelieve in God.
For the non-believer father- the demon, the God appeared in the form of a destroyer and for the son the believer in God appeared as the God the Angel.
But we being neither believers or non-believers are like a fly stuck in the mucus - ( the fly can neither be satisfied eating the mucus nor can it come out of it)
The son(prhalada) had immense faith in God
We sit on the horns of a dilemma - we neither totally believe nor totally disbelieve in God.
For the non-believer father- the demon, the God appeared in the form of a destroyer and for the son the believer in God appeared as the God the Angel.
But we being neither believers or non-believers are like a fly stuck in the mucus - ( the fly can neither be satisfied eating the mucus nor can it come out of it)
DVG's wisdom- bookish Vs. true knowledge
The bookish knowledge has only ornamental value like a golden pendent
The knowledge gained from self contemplation is natural as a flower bloomed on a tree
Enlightenment is possible only from the inner soul and not from becoming an accomplished pundit o' Manku Thimma
The knowledge gained from self contemplation is natural as a flower bloomed on a tree
Enlightenment is possible only from the inner soul and not from becoming an accomplished pundit o' Manku Thimma
DVG's wisdom - winng is not everything
If a wrestler fails to win a contest
Does that mean - the lessons he learnt in the wrestling school is
a waste
and therefore should he abandon his practices and the school?
Touch his body to feel the strength of iron it possesses
That is the gift of the wrestling school o' Manku thimma.
Does that mean - the lessons he learnt in the wrestling school is
a waste
and therefore should he abandon his practices and the school?
Touch his body to feel the strength of iron it possesses
That is the gift of the wrestling school o' Manku thimma.
DVG's wisdom- don't give up
When the roads are dirty
Doesn't the rains repeatedly wash that away?
When the paddy is cut from the field
Doesn't it sprout smilingly again?
Why do you look defeated when you fail
Like the rains and the sprouts there is inner spirit in you, use it.. get up and get going again!... O Manku thimma.
Doesn't the rains repeatedly wash that away?
When the paddy is cut from the field
Doesn't it sprout smilingly again?
Why do you look defeated when you fail
Like the rains and the sprouts there is inner spirit in you, use it.. get up and get going again!... O Manku thimma.
DVG's wisdom- true knowledge
The bookish knowledge has only ornamental value like a golden pendent
The knowledge gained from self contemplation is natural as a flower bloomed on a tree
Enlightenment is possible only from the inner soul and not from becoming an accomplished pundit o' Manku Thimma
The knowledge gained from self contemplation is natural as a flower bloomed on a tree
Enlightenment is possible only from the inner soul and not from becoming an accomplished pundit o' Manku Thimma
DVG's wisdom - who is God
There is a mysterious force, that which we experince to know,
which with its own power
Exists as earth and in the form of all living beings,
If that that is the truth,
Then just surrender to that mysterious force as the Divine o' Manku Thimma.
which with its own power
Exists as earth and in the form of all living beings,
If that that is the truth,
Then just surrender to that mysterious force as the Divine o' Manku Thimma.
DVG's wisdom- which is the most sacred place?
Do not doubt the divinity of any place where thousands have prayed,
For, can there be a fixed place for the divinity to exist?
The place where your heart is - is the place of Divinity for you! o' Manku Thimma
For, can there be a fixed place for the divinity to exist?
The place where your heart is - is the place of Divinity for you! o' Manku Thimma
DVG's wisdom - on perspectives
A flower bloomed in a tree is a treat to the connoisseur of nature,
A flower adorned by a wife is a delight to her husband,
The flower adorned in the temple is sacred to a devotee,
A flower for the woman who sells flowers is a few coins of money..
A simple flower has so many perspectives o' Manqué thimma.
A flower adorned by a wife is a delight to her husband,
The flower adorned in the temple is sacred to a devotee,
A flower for the woman who sells flowers is a few coins of money..
A simple flower has so many perspectives o' Manqué thimma.
DVG's wisdom- what to seek in life
Its natural to laugh,
To make someone laugh is a higher quality,
Joining some one laughing and laughing along is very superior.
Therefore, seek from God the blessing of laughing,
Making someone laugh and a happy life full of laughter o' Manku Thimma.
To make someone laugh is a higher quality,
Joining some one laughing and laughing along is very superior.
Therefore, seek from God the blessing of laughing,
Making someone laugh and a happy life full of laughter o' Manku Thimma.
DVG's wisdom- be useful
Be the grass at the bottom of the mountain, so that you can be useful to the cattle;
Be a jasmine at home, so that your are pleasant as fragrance at home
Be rock solid when the torrential difficulties pour on you
Be the support to the poor and needy
Be one among every one o' Manku Thimma.
Be a jasmine at home, so that your are pleasant as fragrance at home
Be rock solid when the torrential difficulties pour on you
Be the support to the poor and needy
Be one among every one o' Manku Thimma.
DVG's wisdom on seeking fame
Who first discovered the rice in paddy?
Who is the fist inventor of alphabet?
This world has not kept count of those ancient discoverers and inventors..
It is futile for you to work for name and fame o' Manku Thimma.
When a seed sprouts into a sapling..
Dose it come with announcing its arrival with the sounds of bugle?
When a fruit ripens in a tree ..
Does it announce its arrival with the sound of drums?
The life sustaining Sun and Moon rise and set in silence.
Why do you brag about your achievements, just stitch your lips o' Manku Thimma.
DVG cautions about the consequence of seeking fame:
The desire for money and wealth is sharper than the
Desire for food.
The attraction between a male and a female is sharper than the desire for money and wealth.
Of all the desires, the desire for fame is the sharpest
Which will ultimately destroy your soul o' Manku Thimma
Who is the fist inventor of alphabet?
This world has not kept count of those ancient discoverers and inventors..
It is futile for you to work for name and fame o' Manku Thimma.
When a seed sprouts into a sapling..
Dose it come with announcing its arrival with the sounds of bugle?
When a fruit ripens in a tree ..
Does it announce its arrival with the sound of drums?
The life sustaining Sun and Moon rise and set in silence.
Why do you brag about your achievements, just stitch your lips o' Manku Thimma.
DVG cautions about the consequence of seeking fame:
The desire for money and wealth is sharper than the
Desire for food.
The attraction between a male and a female is sharper than the desire for money and wealth.
Of all the desires, the desire for fame is the sharpest
Which will ultimately destroy your soul o' Manku Thimma
DVG's Wisdom - introduction
DVG' s "Manku thimmana Kagga" is written in Kannada, the languge spoken in Karnataka, India.
D.V.G's Wisdom is encapsulated in the form of verse of just four lines and each of the verses are independent of the other. In order to understand DVG's Manku Thimma, it is not necessary to read the compendium of the whole verse. Each of the quartet contain wisdom about various aspects of life, independently - the marvel is that DVG could express a pearl of wisdom in just four simple lines which rhymed so well, especially the second letter of each line having the variation of the same alphabet.
This is a novice attempt to translate a few quartet and the wisdom contained in DVG's epic- containing 945 verses titled "Manku thimmana Kagga". It is indeed difficult to give the format of a quartet and the rhyme used by DVG in his Epic, in this translation. The attempt is to bring the essence of the wisdom contained in the quartet
DVG uses Manku Thimma as a person to whom wisdom is parted and Manku thimma in a sense menas an Ignorant Thimma - 'Thimma' is similar to a common name Johnny)-.
D.V.G's Wisdom is encapsulated in the form of verse of just four lines and each of the verses are independent of the other. In order to understand DVG's Manku Thimma, it is not necessary to read the compendium of the whole verse. Each of the quartet contain wisdom about various aspects of life, independently - the marvel is that DVG could express a pearl of wisdom in just four simple lines which rhymed so well, especially the second letter of each line having the variation of the same alphabet.
This is a novice attempt to translate a few quartet and the wisdom contained in DVG's epic- containing 945 verses titled "Manku thimmana Kagga". It is indeed difficult to give the format of a quartet and the rhyme used by DVG in his Epic, in this translation. The attempt is to bring the essence of the wisdom contained in the quartet
DVG uses Manku Thimma as a person to whom wisdom is parted and Manku thimma in a sense menas an Ignorant Thimma - 'Thimma' is similar to a common name Johnny)-.
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