Last few discussions were held for class 9th. There are 3 sections in class 9, A, B, C. I take 2 sessions daily of 1.5 hours each consecutively for two different sections.
In last a few discussions I discussed the issues which I mentioned in my last post and some more issues which I will mention here. Following were some questions and topics which I raised.
I started with their introduction first. I asked them to introduce themselves with their interests. They all did that. After completion of introduction I asked them,
How do you feel when you are asked to give such kind of introduction in public?
Anxious, Shy, Nervous, Afraid, Suspicious, Embarrassed, Cold and Shivering etc.
Suppose you are asked to speak something in a closed room without any other person being there, then would you mind speaking? Would you have these feelings/fears?
No.
Then I asked, why you feel those feelings while speaking in public? I took each of the above feelings one by one.
Several answers came:-
1. We feel that others will laugh at us.
2. We feel that others will crack jokes at us.
3. We feel, “what if we make any mistake while speaking”.
4. We feel how others will think of us.
Suppose you have assurance that others will not laugh at you or will not think bad about you and rather will encourage you then would you have those fears?
No.
Who is creating this environment of fear within you?
We ourselves.
Right. When you speak you feel how others will think about me and when other person speaks he feels that how you are going to think about him. Right?
Right.
So we all are afraid of each other.
So what should be done about it?
We should have self confidence that we are right.
Right, and?
We should have assurance within each other that we will encourage each other than laughing.
Right, and?
We should practice of speaking right in public.
Ok, this is also right.
So, we should have Self-Confidence that what we are speaking is right and also we should understand what is meaningful and what is superficial. Like you are afraid of what will happen if you make any grammatical mistake or use some wrong word, right? So here you should understand that making other person understand your feeling is more important than grammer and words. If you are related to other person he will not mind that. So important things are,
Self Confidence, Relationships with others and Practice.
Do you agree with this?
Yes.
Now would you laugh at each other if somebody tries to speak something?
No, we will encourage.
Great.
This school is on the main road at shaikpet. Sounds of various vehicles come inside the class. During the session I asked,
Do you hear the sound of vehicles outside?
They said, Yes.
Were you able to hear the sound 10 minutes back?
No
Why?
We were paying attention to what you were teaching us.
Do you feel those sounds were coming inside even 10 minutes before?
Yes
Then how come you did not hear them?
Because we were not concentrating on it. We were not paying attention to it.
Do you see something here ?
Some sounds without any answer.
Do we hear whatever comes to our ears?
Yes, No both the answers came.
Then how come you were not able to hear the sound which was coming from outside 10 minutes before?
We were not paying attention to it.
Exactly! So we hear what we pay attention to or we hear whatever comes to our ears?
What we pay attention to.
So who is hearing? You or your ear?
We.
Ear or “I”?
“I”.
OK, now all of you close your eyes for 5 minutes.
When they closed their eyes I drew few figures on blackboard like Triangle, Square, Tree, Man, Spiral, Circle etc.
Now when I tell you, you open your eyes just for a fraction of seconds and then close them again.
OK Open. After 1-2 Seconds. Close.
Do you remember what you saw on the blackboard?
Yes
OK Now you can open your eyes.
Then I asked each one of them what they saw. Somebody saw Tree, somebody saw circle, somebody triangle, man, spiral, somebody saw more than 1 figure etc.
Did you notice that all your saw different things?
Yes.
So how did this happen?
We paid attention to different things.
Right.
Do you think this entire scene was there in front of your eyes?
Yes.
But still you saw what you paid attention to, right?
Yes.
So who is seeing? You or your eyes?
We.
Eye or “I”?
“I”.
Exactly.
Has it ever happened with you that a person passed in front of your eyes and you did not even notice him?
Yes.
How did this happen?
We were thinking something else. We did not pay attention to him.
Right. It happens with me also a lot.
OK, can you feel your cloths? I mean can you feel the touch sensation of your cloths to your body?
Yes.
Were you able to feel it 10 minutes before?
No.
So how did this happen? Were you not wearing cloths 10 minutes before?
(Laughs) We were wearing, but we did not pay attention.
Exactly.
Has it ever happened with you that while playing something you get injured and you do not even realize it?
Yes.
How does it happen?
We are so much engrossed in playing that we do not even realize that we have been injured.
Right.
So who is feeling the pain or sensation from the body through the sense of touch? You or your skin?
We.
Skin or “I”?
“I”.
Right.
Has it ever happened with you that you are watching a movie and eating popcorn and you do not realize the taste of popcorn?
Yes, a few of them said.
Has it even happened with you that when you are having lunch or dinner with somebody and you are completely engrossed in talk then you do not realize the taste of food you are eating?
Yes, a few of them said.
So how is it happening?
We are not paying attention to it.
Exactly.
So who is feeling the taste? You or your tongue?
We are feeling through our toungue, when we pay attention to it.
Right.
Similar is the case with the sense of smell.
How many senses we have? and which are they.
5. Touch, vision, hearing, taste, smell.
Then we also identified where these senses are location in our body.
Can you tell me any such thing which you can observe or you already know but you can not see it through eyes, you can not smell it through nose, you can not taste it through tongue, you can not touch it, you can not hear it?
Some sounds with wrong answers. Somebody then said, “Our thought”.
Exactly!, I said.
Anything more?
Gravity, magnetism, electricity etc.
Right.
Then I also added, you expect your friends to Trust you and Rightly Evaluate you. You have this expectation to live with Happiness all the time. You expect to be in relationship. You can not perceive these expectations through senses but you still know them. Right?
Right.
So who is perceiving all these expectations?
“I”.
Exactly.
