Assume Responsibility

There was this wise old man who had answers to all life-related questions. He was an enlightened person. A boy, in his adolescent years, wanted to test the wise old man. So, he caught hold of a little bird. Holding it in the palm of his hands and his hands hidden inside his coat, he asked the wise old man, “I have a bird with me. Is it alive or dead?” The old man smiled and said, “If I tell you the bird is alive, you will crush the bird and show me a dead one. If I tell you the bird is dead, you will release the bird and show me it’s alive.”

Embarrassed, the boy dropped his head and began to walk away. He would have hardly walked a few steps. He heard the voice of the old man, “Mind you my son, in fact, this is the philosophy of life – your life and your death are in your hands.”

In spite of the canvas, despite the paints and the brushes involved, the quality is the responsibility of a painter. Similarly, the quality of a sculpture is the responsibility of a sculptor. If so, then the quality of your life is your responsibility and yours alone. Your life and your death are in your own hands. No blame is allowed. By blaming, you give up the power to change. By taking responsibility you gain the power to change and thus you take charge of your life. The first step to adulthood is to assume complete responsibility for your life. Epictetus profoundly put it: “God has entrusted me with myself.”

This happened in one of the fastest growing companies, which prided on innovative ways to motivate their employees. One day, when the employees turned up for work, they saw a poster on the entry gate with the words, “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.” Though in the beginning there was a spell of gloom as they read the notification, gently their curiosity got the better of them. “Who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself?”

One by one when they got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside, they became speechless. They stood near the coffin, shocked in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin; everyone who looked inside it could see himself. On the mirror was another poster that read, “There is only one person who is capable of stopping you permanently, and it is YOU. And, there is only one person who is capable of revolutionizing your life, and that’s again YOU. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change. No one can take responsibility for your life, like YOU can.”

Man not only has the power to take responsibility for his own life, but has within him the capacity to take responsibility for the life of others too. Wherever opportunities present themselves, be the first one to put your hand up. Followers accept responsibilities. Leaders assume responsibilities. You take the initiative. You volunteer. You step forward. Announce your presence. Be counted, and make yourself count.

When you assume responsibility, always take it unconditionally. What is not unconditional will never be done. There is no point in keeping the ‘exit’ door open all the time. Burn the bridges. Conditions are required only to pass on the blame, in case, there is a failure. Don’t even consider failure as an option. Where conditions succeed, responsibilities fail. Where responsibilities succeed, conditions are redundant. Just take it and do it.

The Lord may have borne the cross of your sins, but even He will not bear the cross of your growth. The cross of your growth is your responsibility, and yours alone. You alone must carry it. Only when you feel responsible for your life, you can respond with ability. Else it will be responding with disability. Put your hands up and be counted. There is no better way for a man to create himself than to assume responsibilities.

Of all the creations, man alone, by the way he lives his life, can make this world a little better than it was when he was born. Every man has the capacity to be an architect of a new world. Even if a concept of rebirth exists, you will not be born again as you – not in this form and this name. This is the only chance you have got to be you. Don’t miss yourself and let the world not miss you. Make the most of this birth, this lifetime. Bring forth every human faculty and live a complete human life.

Responsibility is in ensuring you never let a moment pass by you, without you making your presence felt. Add value to every moment. Add value to every relationship. Transform every transaction by adding value to it. Let nothing pass by you without you adding value to it. Be an alchemist. Let everything transform in your presence. In turn, you will be transformed. In helping others to find themselves, you will find yourself. Be a reformer. Be the change agent.

Every revolution in the world happened when one man assumed responsibility of gigantic proportions. In Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ambedkar and Mother Teresa a social revolution was triggered, when they could no more be a passive witness to the predicament of the then society. They waited for no one to lead them. They needed no body to ask them to take the responsibility. They took the lead. They took the initiative. They assumed the responsibility. They put their hand up. They decided to make their life count. They decided to reform the prevailing social conscience and thus caused a re-formed society.

“Something must be done,” that’s the attitude of a spectator in life. Talks about everything; does nothing. A classic follower! If somebody does something, I am willing to enjoy the benefit of it. I, from my side, will not seat, won’t toil, and forget about the blood or tears.

“I will do something about it,” is what leaders are made off. They volunteer to bear the cross. Their life is never a ‘Came and Went’ statistical life. Their life is a legacy of ‘Came and made it Count’.

In Veda Vyas, Adi Sankara, Budha, Mahavira, Jesus, Mohammad, Guru Nanak…. Came the embodied souls, who took it upon themselves to provide a spiritual path to the then ‘lost our ways’ humanity. The Latin word religare, from which ‘religion’ is derived, simply means, ‘to bind back’. Thus, the purpose of religion in the truest sense of the word is to bind us back to the original source from which we came. Each one of these messiahs assumed the responsibility to lead us back to the source from which we came, and through them new paths were born, new religious paths unfolded.

Whether it is your own individual transformation, or the re-formation of humanity at large – it all begins with one embodied human soul stepping forward to assume that responsibility

A promotion in your career isn’t a new status but it is a new responsibility. Man and woman becoming husband and wife isn’t a new status but a new responsibility. Husband and wife becoming father and mother isn’t a new status but a new responsibility. Being born a a human being, in itself, isn’t a status but a responsibility, for you can impact this world in ways you alone can.

If I ask you to carry a 12 Kg single granite stone and walk a kilometer, you will struggle with it. Now, I ask you to carry your child who is 14 Kg for the same one kilometer and you will happily do it. Anything in life that is perceived as Kashtam Kashtam (difficult, difficult) will only appear to be even more difficult. Do the same thing, perceiving it as Ishtam Ishtam , the most complex of tasks can be done with effortless ease. Stop viewing responsibilities as a burden and start seeing them as opportunities. Stop saying Kashtam Kashtam (difficult, difficult) to responsibilities and step forward to take responsibilities by saying Ishtam Ishtam.

Source: FT May 2011 issue.

Failure is not an end, Never give up.

Soichiro Honda

In 1938, when Soichiro Honda took his first working sample of piston ring to Toyota, they rejected stating the samples were not upto their standards. Rather than focusing on the failure, he continued to work on his goal. After two years of redesigning, he finally won a contract with Toyota. He built a factory to commence production, which was bombed and destroyed due to World War. He rebuilt a new factory which was brought down into rubbles by earthquake. Honda was not a man who would accept failure as a possibility. Recession and depression caused by the war had created extreme gasoline shortage in Japan. So people resorted to walking and cycling. Honda designed a tiny engine and attached it to his bicycle. His neighbours too wanted one of those motorized cycles from him. He was unable to meet the demand. So he built a plant and manufactured his motorcycle ‘The Super Cub’ which earned him the Emperor’s award. Today, Honda Corporation employs over 100,000 people. Why Honda never considered failure as the end.

Swamy Chinmayananda

Great people became great people because of the way they dealt with failures and setbacks in life. At every fall they refused to remain fallen. They refused to quit. They refused to give up. They refused to accept a ‘No’ from life. “Their greatest glory,” in the words of Swamy Chinmayananda, “was not in never falling, but in rising every time they fell.”

The newspaper editor fired him because he had no good ideas. A pastor employed him to draw canvassing material for the church. He was allowed to stay in the backward of a mouse-infested church garage. One of those mice inspired the man so much that Mickey Mouse was born, and Walt Disney was revealed to the world. Walt Disney epitomized what Churchill preached, “Never, never, never, never, never, never give up.”

Chester Carlson’s 

Chester Carlson’s idea was rejected by over 20 corporations and after seven long years of rejections that idea unfolded to the world as Xerox Corporation.

Colonel Harland D Sanders 

Colonel Harland D Sanders heard 1009 ‘No’s to his proposal of a good chicken recipe before he heard the first ‘Yes’, and the multimillion-dollar KFC corporation was born.

Sylvestor Stallone

The Rambo we know, Sylvestor Stallone was rejected by over 1000 Holywood agents before he had his first breakthrough. One of the greatest inventors of all times who went on to receive 1,093 patents, more than anyone in the history of the world, is Thomas Alva Edison. Even he had to fail 9,999 times before he perfected the light bulb.  Einstein’s parents thought he was mentally retarded.

Thomas Alva Edison

Steven Spielberg

 Steven Spielberg was placed in special class for learning disabled. 

Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.

Beethoven

Beethoven’s music teacher told him, ‘you are hopeless’.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan was dropped from his high school basketball team. Winston Churchill failed in his 6th grade. Edison’s teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything.

Abraham Lincon

Abraham Lincoln failed in business at the age of 21 and again at 24. He was defeated in a legislative race at the age of 22, and twice in the congress race at the age of 34 and again at the age of 36. He then lost a senatorial race at the age of 45 and again at the age of 49. He failed to become the vice-president at the age of 47. Yet, after all these failures, Abraham Lincoln went on to become the historic President of United States at the age of 52. Lincoln showed to all of us that if one wants rainbow in life, you got to be willing to put up with the rain.

Failure is a parenthesis inside which success hides. There is no sunrise without sunset. There is no life without death. There cannot be only-success and no-failures. Champions understand that it is better to face outstanding failures than mediocre success. Only those who are willing to persist inspire of temporary setbacks, only those who would not succumb to defeats, only those who persisted in spite of midway failures went on to write success stories.

Nothing wrong ever turned to be right in the long run. The very fact that so many failures have finally turned into success implies that failures are not wrong. Learn from your failures and move on. Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.” Just don’t give up. Keep on keeping on.

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To sum up briefly, failures are not an end itself. Never, never, never give-up. Learn from your failures and move on. Keep on keeping on.

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HOW TO EXCEL IN EVERY FIELD?

All human beings have three distinct and different personalities: bhokta, karta and jnata meaning experience, doer (or performer) and knower (or learner).

Bhokta: Right from birth we experience a world around us through our sense organs and mind. This experience, called bhokta, goes through varieties of experiences, both pleasant and painful.

Karta: Initially, as a baby one does not do deliberate actions but as the organs of action (called karmendriyas) and intellect (budhi) develop, a human being is able to plan and execute deliberate actions. This doer or performer is called Karta.

Jnata: Every human being is provided with a set of instruments of knowledge (jnanendriyas) by which he can learn. A knower, called jnata or pramata, is one who is capable of learning or knowing from the world.

Each personality as a vast field to operate in. If we want to be a learner, we will soon discover that one lifetime is not sufficient. Similarly if we want to be a doer or experience we will realize that there are infinite actions we can perform and innumerable experiences we can go through. Thus jnanam (knowledge) is endless for the jnata, karma (action) is countless for the karta bhogas (experiences) are limitless for the bhokta.

Unfortunately life is short. And so we have to prioritise the three personalities. Which should be given prominence and which merits only secondary importance? Sastra or scriptures come to our rescue. And sastra poses a question – Which do you consider most important – experiencing, doing or knowing? In other words are you a bhokthr-pradhana person where experiencing is dominant? Or a karthr-pradhana person where doing is prominent? Or a jnathr-pradhana person where learning is predominant? If we go by our nature or instinct, we will choose only the bhokta-personality as most important. Our education system caters to a bhokta-personality even through education itself is a means of knowledge. We strive for a good education (a degree in a preferred discipline from a reputed college) only because it enables us to get good jobs. Better the job, higher the salary. And higher the salary, the more comforts of life that we can enjoy. A successful person is considered to be one who has the best ‘infrastructure’ at his command – big house, premier brand of car, ornaments, clothes, etc., Thus a successful human being is considered to be a successful bhokta.

Sastra calls this materialism – a system in which bhokta is worshipped as the most important personality; karta and jnata rank next in importance. According to sastra, bhokta should not be at the top. A human being is a human being only when he is karthr-pradhana or jnathr-pradhana.

Why does sastra say so? The scriptures ask us to observe animals. How many personalities do they have? Only one – bhokta. Animals can neither be doers nor learners. Here we must note that doing means performing a deliberate action. No doubt animals perform actions but they are governed by instinct. Animals have no free will. They are born with only one purpose – to experience.

Since human beings share only the bhokta-personality with animals, the experience in us is the animal in us. No doubt this is a harsh word to use but if we think about it, we will accept it as appropriate. If we keep bhokta as the prominent personality, our life is like an animal’s. Sastra says that to live up to the status of a human being we must make the bhokta in us less dominant and bring karta and jnata to the fore. It is what we do and what we know that makes us successful and superior. In the Bhagavadgita Lord Krishna strongly criticizes bhokta-predominant people – ‘There is no fixity of mind for them who cling to pleasure and power and whose discrimination is tolent away’. (2.44) They are as good as non-human beings.

Once we decide to become a successful kart and successful jnata, sastra is only too willing to lend us a helping hand in our pursuit. Let us consider the karta personality.

How can we excel as a karta (experience)?

Taitriya upanisad gives us certain tips – ‘Shraddha surely in his head; ritam is his right wing; satyam is his left wing; yoga is his trunk; and mahah is his support and foundation. (2.4). The mantra lists five principles or factors for excellence in the field of karthrthvam or doership.

1.Shradha (Love):

Shradha means reverential love for the action that a karta undertakes. We must never dislike any action we do. Neither must we do any action reluctantly or half-heartedly. Actions can be those that we choose to do or those that we have to do. In the next stage we must learn to love any action we do and this includes actions thrust upon. It is a question of developing the right attitude. There are many actions that we dislike, but others like, e.g. mountain climbing (liked by mountaineers) or looking after sick people (nurses). If we learn to like the karma or action, the karma itself gives ananda or joy. The karma phalam (result of the action) may not necessarily be to our liking or expectation. Unlike karma-phala-ananda (which may or may not fructify in this birth), karma-ananda is instantaneous. Thus we can derive joy from karma (action).

The word ‘shradha’ is used here to indicate the dedication of action to someone we love and respect including the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says – ‘Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you gift away, whatever austerity you practice, O Kaunteya (Arjuna) do it as an offering to me’. (9.27). A man found it very difficult to look after his invalid mother. He had to bathe her, clothe her, feed her etc., He changed his approach and considered his mother as divinity itself. He looked upon bathing his mother as performing abhishekam to the Lord and even chanted Rudram while doing so. The same tasks no longer seemed difficult. In fact, he enjoyed doing them.

2.Ritam (Kknowledge):

Ritam means proper knowledge of the action – what to do, how to do, how much to do, when to do, where to do. We must learn about the action thoroughly and not be ignorant of what we have to do. It is for this reason that scriptural study is very important for a religious person.

Every role we play in life is a karma. A man enters wedlock. He must thoroughly understands the role of a husband. If not, he will become miserable and further he will make his wife miserable. Parents must know what is parenting. If not, they will let loose terrible children into the society. When a husband ill-treat his wife, his children get a message. When we play a family role, it affects three generations. Ritam is knowledge about every role we play.

3.Satyam (Implementation):

Whatever we have learnt about karma is not just for learning but meant to be put into practice. We should implement what we know. Studies of major accidents show that often they were caused, not by natural causes, but by the concerned people not doing what they should do. They knew, but they did not do it due to indifference, callousness or sheer laziness. This is emphemistically referred to as ‘human error’. Satyam means there is no knower-doer split.

4.Yoga (Focus):

Yoga must be understood as focus. When a karta does karma with focus, the very karma becomes meditation. In the Bhgavad-gita, Lord Krisna glorifies action by glorifying the grhastha (householder) – ‘He who discharges his duty without seeking its fruit, he is the sanyasin, he is the yogi, not he who is without sacred fire and without rites’. (6.1). It is the grahastha who by his actions (and thereby earnings) supports the other three asramas, viz., brahmacharya (student life), vanaprastha (retired life) and sanyasa (renunciate). A grhastha may not get time for meditation but he can convert every action into meditation by applying himself totally to the task at hand. The biggest advantage of yoga or focus is that every action becomes deliberate. There is no mechanical action. Deliberate actions save time and energy.

5.Mah (Expansion):

Mahah literally means Hiranyagarba, the total karta (the sum total of all kartas). The individual karta must learn to identify with the total karta. Expansion means broadening our outlook. Consequently our actions will benefit s many people as possible. Rather than ask the question ‘what will I get by doing this action?’ we ask ‘How many will benefit by this action?’ This is called paropakara.

If we follow these five principles, i.e., if we love, learn, implement, focus and expand, the excellence in action itself will give us joy. We will not yearn to become a bhokta. If we learn to excel as a karta, later, we will also learn to excel as jnata. This will help us gain spiritual knowledge and this in turn will enable our spiritual growth.

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Source: From the Talks given on 01.01.2004 by Swamy Parmarthananda.

COMPETITION Con Petire

Con Petire

The Native Americans more popularly known as ‘Red Indians’ have a wonderful diverse culture compared to the current inhabitants of the ‘new’ America. We can also call the Native Americans’ culture as ‘American Indian’ culture.

In today’s business world, corporate policies are so often dictated by the concern of “Stock Market” response. Also of concern are the quarterly reports and how the media is going to respond to the same. Competition is often perceived as ‘pain’. When the going gets tough in the market place because of strategic or policies of the competition, the phrase used to describe the scenario is ‘cut-throat’ competition – as if competition denotes ‘destroyer’. The reality more often than not is that there is a limitation in our understanding or in our response to the changing scenarios in the market place. The competition has understood or responded better than us. They could grab or create opportunities better than us. Period!!!

The Native Americans dealt with the unfavourable circumstances, let it be natural calamities or an onslaught by an adventurous tribesman or an attack from outside, with different thinking. The warrior culture of the tribe Lokota Sioux believed to ‘respect and honour’ opponents for they are always helping you to become better. They are guiding you to bring the best out of you. God has given you few precious jewels hidden inside. They (competition) help you dig these jewels out. They believed if we get ego involved with our competitors, we become weak, lose focus and alertness. We also lose out on happiness. They were told to enjoy the fights because in the fight they are not defeat their competition, but their own weaknesses to emerge stronger.

On researching the origin of the word ‘competition’ I stumbled upon something that made me smile. The English word competition links to the Latin origin of the word competition – Con Petire, which means ‘to search together’.

It is obvious that the world of competition was never to cut each other’s throat, but to intensely search for excellence. The objective is to stop complacence and arrogance; to grow together in honour, respect and gratitude towards consistent never-ending improvement. If only we succeed in understanding the true meaning of the word ‘competition’, the word will become a safer, progressive, successful and a happier place to live in.

To sum up, when I am willing to put the required intelligent efforts, competition=GAIN. When I want to escape putting the required intelligence and efforts, competition=PAIN.

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Source: An Article from “Frozen Thoughts” magazine.
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Value Systems for Positive Living

1.      FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF LIFE

The world today presents two distinct classes of people.  One class is active, energetic, productive, prosperous.  The vast majority of the Western World seems to fall under this category.  With all their activity and achievement people of this class admit lack of inner peace and happiness.  They succumb to mental pressures and complain of stress and strain all through life.  The other class of persons is inactive, lethargic, unproductive and poor.  The east, particularly India, may fit into this category.  Though they be so their lives are relatively peaceful and happy.  It seems a strange paradox.  Prosperous countries with advanced education suffering the several ills of life like bitterness and battle, disharmony and divorce, suicide and homicide.  Whereas countries rift with illiteracy and penury enjoy relative contentment and peace.  The reason for such a paradox is loss of human values.  People are unaware of the fundamental values that mould human life.  Consequently, they live their lives without following these values.  They go by the bare animal instincts of acquisition, aggrandisement and enjoyment.  The present generation needs to revive, rehabilitate and re-establish its value systems.  Analyse and study the following basic values and graft them into the pattern of your life.

            The first and foremost human value focuses on action.  Action is the insignia of life.  None can live without performing action.  You are drawn into the world to act helplessly according to your vasans, inner temperament.  Yet if you choose to remain idle you lead yourself to putrefy and perish in the struggle for existence. 

            Action is your own creation.  You impose duties and responsibilities upon yourself.  Let them not lord over you.  You are your lord, ultimate master.  Not realising this, people turn pale at the thought of duty.  Become a mere machine of duty.  Get into a fever of doing.  Hurrying and worrying all the time.  Impassioned by your self-imposed duties and responsibilities in life you turn them into a frankenstein, threatening and harassing you.  You must take to work as a prince takes to sport. The most laborious work the turns into play.  Intense work undertaken thus is no work at all.  That should be your attitude to work, towards action.  You must learn to work dynamically, incessantly in this world while your mind remains calm and composed.  The great Swami Rama Tirtha made a classic statement as a guideline for mankind to follow -

-  Intense work is rest.

            Having launched action your next obligation is to give it a direction.  A direction based on higher values.  Analyse the nature of your work.  The reason and purpose of the activity you are engaged in.  The higher and nobler the ideal you set for your work the greater will be your achievement in life.  An ideal relates to some common cause, high goal above your ego centric desires in life.  Your ideal may be to serve society or humanity or all fellow beings.  Fix an ideal as high as you can but be realistic in your choice.  Let all your actions follow that ideal.  The ideal gives a positive direction to action.

            Work undertaken ina spirit of dedication to a high ideal is satisfying, entertaining, rewarding.  Without an ideal, your work turns ego centric and selfish.  It then becomes monotonous, fatiguing, retarding.  You become tired and weary of work.  You need a break.  You look forward for weekend and vacation.  You wait for Friday evenings and dread the thought of Monday mornings.  Human dignity revolves around a noble ideal in life. 

            Following an ideal set for yourself you live a life of Satyam.  Satyam means truth, you then lead a truthful, meaningful, purposeful life.  William Shakespeare highlights this quality in the last few lines of Polonius' advice to his son Leartus in the play 'Hamlet'.

OBJECTIVITY

            Positive living calls for not only action and direction in life but objectivity as well.  Objectivity means maintaining a spirit of detachment, an impersonal attitude towards the every ideal that you have set for yourself, towards your work as such.  Your motto in life should be to strive, to struggle not to succeed.  Work well accomplished is joy in itself.  Success or failure is immaterial.  Learn to adopt action to obligation.  Your business should confine to action alone.  Do not yearn for reward or merit accruing from it.  Not get entangled in the fruit of your action.

            Your duty lies in just being in the struggle.  Work on for work's sake.  Turn indifferent towards pleasure or pain, joy or sorrow, honour or dishonour that may accrue out of action.  Your life stays enriched by accomplishment of right action rather than outward success or progress.  Take up your work without an axe to grind.  Let your action merely fulfil your life's obligation.  Go about it in a spirit of detachment.  Follow the pattern of nature.  Like a river flows, tree yields fruit, cow gives milk.  Work then becomes a pleasure.  Pleasure or happiness lies in the garb of work.

            Action emanate either from your mind or intellect or a combination of both.  Mind consists of feelings and emotions.  Intellect reasons, discriminates, judges.  An action propelled by mere emotion without intellect's guidance is impulsive.  While an action arises out of reason and judgement, even an emotion supports it, is said to be 'objective'.   Objectivity, therefore, is determined by ones intellectual supervision over the minds likes and dislikes, desires and attachments.  A constant, concerted, conscious monitoring of life.  Thus when your intellect follows a set objective, goal or ideal beyond your selfish desire your action becomes objective.

            The world comprises three distinct categories of living creatures -- plant, animal and human.  Plant has no mind, feeling, emotion.  Animal has only a mind, feeling and emotion but no intellect.  It acts on impulse, feeling.  A human being possesses both mind and intellect.  He has feeling and emotion but reason and judgement as well.  His intellect reason and judges.  Overrides his impulse and feeling if they prove detrimental to his being.  Guides action towards the right direction in his life.  Plants merely exist.  Animals live impulsively.  Humans alone can conduct themselves with reason, understanding and judgement.  Work for an ideal above their self-centered interest in life.

SELF CONTROL

            The sense organs of perception, comprise eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin.  Eye reaches for colour and form, ear for sound, nose for smell, tongue for taste and skin for touch.  These senses constantly gravitate to their respective sense objects.  Also, the objects tend to draw the senses towards them.  The human being is therefore, always subject to the pressure of sensual demand and worldly attraction.  His senses crave their enjoyment while the sense objects powerfully entice them. 

            Man never understands the tremendous power that senses wield.  The scriptures caution mankind of their devastating power.  How they topple even learned persons who are committed to the path of spirituality.  The problem arises when you ignore their power and indulge in the senses indiscriminately.  Later in life when the senses develop an addiction to the particular sense object, you find it impossible to withdraw.  You become victimised by your own senses. 

            The pleasures that the senses derive from the sense objects are ephemeral, fleeting, temporary.  All sensual enjoyments have a diminishing value.  Your pleasures in the senses decrease as they repeat their contact with objects.  And through overindulgence, you lose the pleasure completely.  You become neutralised to the particular enjoyment.  You derive no pleasure from it thereafter.  But you still continue to indulge because abstinence from it gives you displeasure.  You now contact that sense object not for any pleasure but to avoid displeasure.  Understand neutralisation by comparing your own experiences.  You are neutralised to the pleasure of breathing oxygen.  So are you neutralized to using your eyes and limbs.  And so on.  You gain no pleasure with them.  But without them you will be miserable.  Just as you will give anything away for a whiff of oxygen.  Yet, breathing continuously you claim no enjoyment out of it.  Thus are you neutralised to oxygen.  Similarly, to the use of your senses and limbs.  Now, to pick up sense objects from the external world and get neutralised to them as well tantamounts to madness.

            As a human being, you must live as a master, not a slave to the senses.  The vast majority of people in the world have enslaved themselves to the power of senses.  They dance to the tune of their senses. Sensual demands reduce them to mere puppets.  A fundamental value that every human must learn and live is to maintain suzerainty over his senses.  People round the world fall under two categories in their relation with senses.  One class of person only indulges indiscriminately in them.  They lose the pleasure of the senses as well as their objective in life. The second class, a small minority, keep away from the senses fearing them.  They remain frustrated, which impairs success and progress in their lives.  The right value is to deal with your senses from a position of authority.  Maintain a mastery over the senses at all times.  You then enjoy them as well as gain your objective in this world.

DUTIES, NOT RIGHTS

            Every human being's fundamental duty and responsibility is to realise the supreme Self in his lifetime.  He takes birth in this world for that purpose alone.  To find his identity with the real Self within.  The greatest ideal in life is your own Self, Atman, God.  Let your mind be attuned to the Self, while your body is engaged in work.  Your ego disappears.  The ideas of "I" and 'mine', vanish.  You become the greatest worker in the world when you consider yourself no worker.  Your duty and responsibility in this world is to work in the spirit of renunciation.  You generate peace, love, harmony in yourself and society.

            In the world today people either become attached and entangled in their work or escape from their obligatory duty and responsibility.  You ought not to run away from your obligation.  Action is inevitable.  You must perform your duty without ego centric desire or anxiety for fruit of action. Your intellect, must fix your clear obligation to yourself, your family, society, country, humanity and fellow beings.  Then carry them out to the best of your ability.

            Two broad principles governing human action are based on the attitudes of 'giving' and 'taking'.  Let the attitudes of taking prevail in a society.  Then that society becomes infested with selfish demand and desire, strain and stress, sorrow and suffering.  Whereas, a society with its members bent on giving rather than taking generates peace and happiness.  Victor Hugo in his classic novel 'Les Miserables' highlights this quality:  "Life is to give, not to take."  No man has the right to desire, demand from society.  He has only an obligation to give, to serve.  To cater to the welfare of one and all.  You serve the world, the world serves you.  Objects and beings stand in obeisance before you.  You become a master, no servant.

            Learn the art of giving.  You then gain peace and prosperity.  Observe a child that has the heart to give.  It keeps liberally offering its prized possessions to others.  Watch it carefully.  As it gives, its face beams with a smile.  Joy springs from its heart.  On the contrary a selfish, possessive child, never willing to part with anything, frets and frowns at everything.  So do you gain peace and happiness when you serve, give share with others.  The attitude of giving provides not only inner peace but material prosperity as well.  The more you give, the more you gain.  Those who aggrandise, accumulate, amass wealth lose their peace and eventually their prosperity.  It is a law of life.

            In physics, you notice a particular colour in an object when it gives that colour away.  Light consists of seven vigbyoric colours.  An object appears red when it absorbs, takes in, all other colours except red.  The object actually gives away red colour.  And it appears red.  What it concedes, it accedes.  The great sage Rama Tirtha says, "The way to gain anything is to lose it."  If you crave for anything, develop a clinging attachment for anything you do not get it, you lose it.  But when you learn to treat it dispassionately, relate to it with a spirit of detachment you attain it, you retain it.  In this world what you cling on to you lose, what you leave alone you gain.

            Gratitude stands out among the foremost human values.  A human being is so human being without gratitude.  William Shakespeare denounces ingratitude as man's worst evil.  In his play 'Julius Caesar', he condemns Brutus as a traitor because of his ingratitude towards his own benefactor, Caesar.  In 'King Lear', the king raves about this deadly trait of ingratitude in his daughters throughout the play.  A human being without gratitude is a rose within fragrance, a nightingale without song, a lake without water.

          The moment you are born, you are indebted for all that this world provides you.  You have a perfect supply of air and light, food and drink, temperature and pressure, respiratory and ailmentary systems -- all forces of nature seem to attend on your well - being.  Recognise these endless blessings showered upon you.  Be constantly aware of these provisions.  Be eternally grateful to Providence.  The lease you could do in return is to render your service to one and all. 

            Your sense of gratitude does not confine to nature's blessings alone.  It must reach out to every facet of your life in this world.  Life then becomes liveable and loveable.  Management must learn to be grateful to labour. So must labour be grateful to management.  Husband must be grateful to wife.  So must wife be grateful to husband.  Doctor to patient.  Patient to doctor.  Gratitude is the sap that sustains life.

II.GOALS TO ACHIEVE

            Unlike any other being, a human needs to set goals to achieve in a lifetime.  Other creatures are destined to live through a determined pattern of life. They have no choice of action.  Humans alone can choose their course of life.  They are privileged to set high ideals for themselves.  Then practise the fundamental values to attain them.  This portion sets out the highest human goals and ways to achieve them.

INDEPENDENCE

            Living creatures comprise plant, animal and human.  Of the three, plant is most dependent on the world.  A plant will perish if it does not have nourishment at its roots.  Its nourishment may be available some yards away but it cannot help itself to it.  A plant is wholly dependent upon its environment.  Unlike a plant, an animal is not totally victimised by the rigours of the external world.  It can adapt itself to an extent to different environs and living conditions.  An animal moves to conducive places for food and dwelling.  Birds are known to fly thousands of miles for that purpose.  Yet all these creatures enjoy a limited capacity to adopt themselves to the changing world.  A human alone commands greatest freedom.  He is least dependent upon the stern laws governing the world.  He harnesses nature by artificial means.  Conquers space and time by jet speed.  Overcomes diseases by medicine.  Complements natural food with synthetic products.  Does a host of other things.

            So you are blessed with great powers.  And yet you allow yourself to the persecuted by the changing world.  You suffer in the world because of your identification with body, mind and intellect.  Your interest and attention rests constantly upon your equipments.  You pursue their petty pleasures rather than the bliss of your real Self.  You are attached to your body, mind and intellect.  The law of attachment is:  As you think, so you become.  The world can affect your material equipments alone.  Not your Self.  Physical environment and condition affect your body.  Emotions sway your mind.  Ideologies play with your intellect.  But none of them can disturb the Self.  Self is supreme.  But your Self seems affected due to your unintelligent attachment to these material equipments.  Nothing can affect the Self.  Affect you.  Therefore, identify with your Self.  Realise your Self.  A Self-realised person remains ever-free, liberated, independent of this world.  Revels in absolute bliss of the Self within.

            Independence is a distinct sign of spiritual maturity.  As you advance spiritually you become more independent of the world around you.  To the extent you lack spiritual growth you become relatively dependent -- upon your body and perceptions, mind and emotions, intellect and thoughts -- for your peace and happiness.  All other creatures barring humans are denied spiritual edification.  Thus, they remain wholly dependent upon the world.  Independence is a human prerogative.  Aim and aspire to attain the goal of independence, self-sufficiency, liberation in life.

            A coconut provides a striking example of human liberation.  When a coconut is raw the kernel is attached to the shell.  Kernel and shell are together.  Break the shell kernel also breaks.  When the coconut is fully dry, the kernel dries up.  Kernel separates from the shell.  It sets itself free.  Clear from the shell.  Kernel then shakes within the shell like a rattle.  Now break the shell, the kernel does not break. It remains intact.  Unaffected, unimpaired, immaculate.  So it is with your true Self.  As long as you attach yourself with your body-mind-intellect, you will be affected by the ever changing world.  But when you detach yourself from your body-mind-intellect, stop identifying with them you remain unaffected, peaceful and happy.  You enjoy freedom, liberation, total independence.

HAPPINESS

            The ultimate goal of human existence is realisation of one's Self.  A state of ultimate satisfaction, fulfillment, reveling in absolute peace and bliss.  No physical pleasure, emotional joy or intellectual rapture can add to that supreme state.  Nothing in the world can enhance that infinite bliss.  A happiness that lies within your own Self.  Not anywhere else.  Arthur Schopenhauer rightly states, "It is difficult to find happiness in oneself but it is impossible to find it anywhere else."  Yet every one seeks it anywhere else.

            People pursue happiness in the external world.  Everywhere except the Self within.  A cripple in a wheel-chair believes that happiness lies in a pair of legs.  The one with legs craves for a vehicle to transport him around.  A vehicle owner yearns for a partner in life.  Thus he goes on………..to a home, wealth, status, power.  Everyone chases the shadow of happiness ceaselessly.  The vain pursuers suffer mental agitation all through their unfulfilled desires.  The richest man in the world craves for more riches.  The most powerful seeks more power. The most knowledgeable longs for more knowledge.  None understands that true happiness lies within oneself.  As the famous English poet John Milton endorses:

The Mind can make a heaven out of hell and hell out of heaven. 

            Imagine  a dark spot appearing in a beautiful picture projected on a screen.  Try to remove the spot.  Wipe the screen.  Scrub it.  Wash it.  The spot will not go.  The spot happens to be on the lens of the projector.  Wipe the lens here, the spot is gone there!  The picture is clear.  Learn this simple lesson.  Remove desires within, your life is happy.

            The goal that every human must aspire for is knowledge of Self.  Humanity has lost its identity.  Knows not the real Self.  Spiritually ignorant people grope in darkness in this world.  Imagine a person moving around in the darkens of a room.  He will strike against corners ad corners, obstacles and obstructions and hurt himself.  As long as the room remains dark he will suffer from the breakable and damage.  Light is what the needs.  The moment there is light his suffering and sorrow end.  His life runs smooth and easy.

             Knowledge and ignorance related to this world differ only in degree, not in kind.  Like light and darkness.  Light and darkness also differ only in degree.  An electric light is bright with respect to the dull candle-light.  But the same electric light appears dull in the brilliance of sunlight.  In the ladder of knowledge the lower rung is considered ignorance, the higher rung knowledge.  Every bit of knowledge in the world is ignorance viewed from a higher plane of knowledge.  Therefore, all knowledge acquired in this world reduces itself to ignorance before the absolute knowledge of Self.  Knowledge of Self alone can remove all human suffering and sorrow in this world.

            The knowledge imparted in educational institutions is mere secular information stuffed into the minds of students.  The student becomes well-informed in the particular subject taught.  He turns intelligent in that subject.  But does no original thinking or enquiry.  His intellect still lacks development.  Herbert Spencer was an intellectual but no graduate from a university.  When asked if he was a voracious reader, he shot back, "No sir, if I were as big a reader as others, I would have been as big an ignoramus as others."  Real education lies in drawing the Self out of yourself.  Use your intellect to study, reflect, enquire and discover your own Self.

            Examine your own life.  Your Self pervades all your experiences.  In the entire span of your life you refer to self as "I".  I see, hear; I am happy, unhappy, I know, do not know etc. The same "I" pervades your waking, dream and deep-sleep states of consciousness.  When you are awake you declare, 'I am Gupta'.  In your dream, you assume a different personality.  You declare then, 'I am Thomas'.  In deep-sleep, 'I am nothing.'  Again, in various stages of your life you say, 'I am a child', 'I am a boy' …. A youth, man, old man.  These are all different and distinct from one another.  Each stays awhile and passes away.  They are all impermanent, transient, changing.  Yet you link them all with the constant, permanent, unchanging I'.  The I' never leaves you.  That is your real Self.  The supreme Reality.

            Your problem is that you do not remain with Self alone.  You qualify, modify, condition the Self every moment, Colour, stain, pollute the Self.  You say:  I am tall, short, I am happy, unhappy; I am bright, dull, never do you clinch the 'I' alone.  Never experience it in its pristine glory.  And yet, the stark truth is that you are the Self.  The Self alone.  You must realise this truth.  Drop all conditioning.  Gain knowledge of real Self.

LOVE

            Love provides the melody of life.  Love means realising your oneness with the universe.  Identifying with your fellow beings.  Feeling united with one and all.  That is love.  With this sense of oneness you fall in harmony with nature, with the world.  But when you lack love, when you do not feel that oneness, consider yourself separate and distinct from the rest of the world, you fall out of harmony with everything, everybody, everywhere.

            True love is universal.  The modern concept of love is distorted.  Reduced to personal preferential attachment.  Reduced to personal preferential attachment.  In his famous novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield' Oliver Goldsmith speaks of love.

          "To thine own self be true,

          And it must follow, as the night the day

          Thou canst not then be false to any man."