Life of a Security Guard

Almost all of the security guards at IIIT-H are my friends. I planned to talk to one of them today. His name is Kumar Swami. I asked him (In Hindi), “Can I talk to you bhaiyya for some time if you are free?”.

Oh Yes Sure, he said.

I will ask you a few questions, would you like to answer them for me?

Yes please ask.

Why do you want to ask me questions bhaiyya, he asked.

I want to know about you that how you live and I will let others also know about it, I said.

OK bhaiyya ask me whatever you want, he said with a pleasant smile on his face.

What is your name?

Kumar Swami

Which place do you belong to?

Warangal (Parakkal)

Are you married?

Yes, I have two children.

Where in Hyderabad you live?

Masid Banda.

How does IIIT-H give you (salary)?

7500 Rs per month.

How much is your house rent?

1500 Rs.

What are your work timings?

It is 12 hours a day. Sometimes day shift and sometimes night shift. 8 to 8.

How many days a week you work?

7 days a week.

I was amazed! I was thinking he will say 6 days, but 7 days a week, 12 hours a day duty is too much!

In which class your kids study?

One is in 1st class and other is in 2nd.

Which school they are in?

Shri Rama Public School.

What is their school fees?

2000 Rs per month for both.

Your wife also works?

Yes, she does stitching.

How much she is able to earn?

1000 Rs per month.

What your parents do?

They are in agriculture.

How much land you do they have in warangal?

A big piece of land.

Why did you migrate to Hyderabad?

No job available in Warangal.

How do you manage your family with money you and your wife earn?

In total we earn: 7500 + 1000 = 8500 Rs.

Out of which (per month expenditure), 1500 for rent, 2000 for school fees of kids, 2000 food expenditure, 500 Rs for travelling in public transport, others and around 1000 to 2000 Rs I save in bank.

Are you happy doing this job?

Not really. In this job I have very less time to sleep, very less time to take care of my health, my eating habits and timings have gone bad, I eat at 6 in the morning and come here and sometimes I have lunch in the afternoon otherwise directly dinner, I am left with no time for my family and other things even if I want to do them.

How are you relationships with your family members at home?

They are good.

Do you smoke or drink?

No

What did you want to become in your life?

After I completed my studies I wanted to settle in life, wanted to do a job or businness.

What would you like to become in your next birth?

A big officer.

How students, staff, faculty etc. treat you here?

They treat me well. Students call me bhaiyya and staff and faculty are also good. Faculty and staff call me “Security”.

Do they give you respect?

Yes.

What do you think about people? How do you find students and faculty here?

Everybody is good.

Here I stopped asking anymore questions. I said, “I am very happy to talk to bhaiyya. You are  an inspiration for us in many ways “.

He was sitting on his chair, I requested him to get up and then I gave him a “Jadoo ki Jhappi”.

He was quite happy, my eyes were also slightly moist.

This is where we finished our conversation.

I will not write my personal views or interpretation on this conversation. It is left on the reader to read and interpret their ways.

दुनिया बहुत बड़ा पागलखाना है

सरल सहज जीवन है भैय्या,
इसे मत उलझाओ रे ..
जीना बहुत सरल है उसको
समझो और समझाओ रे …

देखो सरल अस्तित्व यहाँ ..
सरल सहज सहयोगी ..
मानव को छोड़ यहाँ, हैं सब निरोगी ..
संबंध भी कोई वस्तु है इसको
समझो और समझाओ रे …

सरल सहज जीवन है भैय्या,
इसे मत उलझाओ रे ..

सदा सुखी जीवन जीना ही
हर मानव की  प्यास है ..
बिना समझ के व्यवहार कार्य से ..
सभी यहाँ उदास हैं|
पहचानों अपने आप को रे भैय्या ..
और सुखी हो जाओ रे ..

सरल सहज जीवन है भैय्या,
इसे मत उलझाओ रे ..

मिटटी पानी पेड़ पशु ..
सभी हैं तेरे सहयोगी ..
इन सबका है आचरण निश्चित,
हैं ये सब सच्चे योगी …
समझदार हो मानव धरा तो ..
स्वर्ग पाओ रे …

सरल सहज जीवन है भैय्या,
इसे मत उलझाओ रे ..

सब संबंधी सभी सगे हैं ..
है यहाँ नहीं कोई ढोंगी ..
संबंध में ही होता है मानव सुखी …
बस मान्यता से ही है रोगी ..
मान्यता से मुक्त हो कर रे भैय्या,
संबंध के सुख को पाओ रे …

सरल सहज जीवन है भैय्या,
इसे मत उलझाओ रे ..
जीना बहुत सरल है उसको
समझो और समझाओ रे …

Teachers’ Day: A note of Thanks

Dear All,

Kindly allow me to express my sincere gratitude towards you for all the things I learned, received from you directly as well as indirectly. I can never forget your kindness, generosity, patience and love which I received in past. It helped me in growing in all the aspects of life and is in fact still helping. I find myself a fortunate person that I this got opportunity of being around all of you in last few years.

All the things I received from you, have made an indelible mark on my heart. I am in your debt.

I seek your forgiveness, for all those mistakes I made knowingly or unknowingly in past. I can assure you about my intention but I must confess I lack the competence.

Thanks a lot.

Devansh

How Money changes our Value System?

Money as a standard for giving value should match with how human beings subjectively give value. If there is a mis-match, it may lead to those things being valued, which human beings actually do not value.

This is an interesting point in the sense, it addresses three questions that

1. How human beings give value to various things when money system is not there or in general?

2. How that valuation changes when money comes in between?

3. What changes have come to system when money is introduced?

I will address first question first.

For a human being giving a particular value to a particular thing depends on several factors like, availability of basic resources to him, his earning, his dependents, his sources of resources, his relationships with others around him, his own understanding, his mood at a time, culture he lives in, place he lives in, his preferences and several more. The value given by an individual varies with space, time and may differ for each individual.

We can see many examples:-

1. In general a human being first seeks happiness in material, which doesn’t give him continuity of it, then he starts seeking the same in relationships, where he starts seeing the possibility of continuity but due to lack of knowledge he is not able to ensure its continuity and ultimately he starts moving towards knowledge which can ensure its continuity. Intensity of happiness in respect to time in continuous with Knowledge, Long lasting in Relationships and Temporary in Material. When a human being is unresolved within, he searches for happiness in Relationships and when he is not able to find it even there then he searches it in Material.

2. Poor person may give more value to basic amenities, but a rich person may not.

3. When I am in good mood then I do not feel that need for material pleasures much. When I am in bad mood I resort on to material pleasures like movies, music, tasty food, roaming in market etc.

4. When I am alone the value of my friends increases for me.

5. When my relationships with others are going well then my dependency on material pleasures and external recognition and respect decreases. When relationships are not going well then my dependency on material pleasures increases.

6. Value of material pleasures for me also depends on my understanding. If my understanding is more then I give more value to relationships than material. I am more contended within.

7. The place, society and culture I belong to also contribute to the things I give value.

8. My ambitions, goals, things I consider important definitely contribute to what things I will give value in my life.

9. What things are considered to be important in society, by me and by others around me also alter my value system towards things.

10. I may give more value to a particular thing today but may not give it the same value tomorrow. Value of things changes for me with respect to time.

11. My valuation also changes with respect to space. A thing which is valued more in a particular place might lose its value at some other. Like if I am living in a very hot place then the value of cooler might increase for me than if I am living in a cooler place.

12. Such valuation measures are also different for different individuals. There is a variation on the basis of individuals too.

13. Same thing may have different value for me at different times. Like if I am feeling resolved within then I may value pizza less than when I am feeling contradictions within.

14. I may value Jalebi more when my stomach is empty than my stomach is full.

There can be several more. All these things give an idea of what all things a human being give value to, on the basis of different factors.

Coming to Second question:-

Money introduces a common valuation/price tag of commodities for all kind of people. Like for a poor person 100 Rs may be sustenance for 2-3 days but for a rich person it is probably nothing more than a cigar.

When money is introduced in the system then this valuation varies a lot. The basic problem which comes with money is that people start assuming that

Money = Resource, Money = Security

This is the basic misconception which gets associated with money. Money is a symbol and not the resource itself. If say after 50 years from now our lands become infertile, production decreases, global warming creates many more problems, pollution increases then what one can do with money. Money is nothing more than a piece of paper if resource is not available. Resources on earth are limited. Money as a symbol may be available in infinity but not the resource. When one starts assuming money as resource then he wants to accumulate more and more money so that he is assured of getting continuity of resource in his house. In this process he does not do any production work. His main intention is to accumulate more and more money than to produce anything. In this process he wants to indulge into production of those things which can fetch him more money. If we see in current society, the things which should not be valued much are being valued more. Like, diamond has no value as far as the living of an individual is concerned, but it is being valued more than potato, tomato and other basic things which are the basic requirements of a human being. Now people who are involved in production, distribution of diamonds and its jeweleries are earning a lot. So, more and more people now want to indulge into production of diamonds, because it will fetch them more and more money. There are two problems here, over-evaluation of a thing like diamond, which is happening actually due to lack of understanding of an individual and misconception in an individual that Money = Resource, which is also nothing but lack of understanding. Ultimately it boils down to the lack of understanding of an individual only.

Here one can see that the things which are not really valuable to an individual become more valuable to him when money is introduced in the system and standard of valuation becomes money.

One more misconception which comes along is

Money = Happiness, Money = Respect, Money = Relationships

These misconceptions also make an individual to accumulate more and more money. The more money he has the more he feels that he has respect, security in relationships. The problem which comes here is, when it is assumed that Money can ensure Respect and Relationships then an individual needs infinite money.

Money = Power to exploit.

Money being a non-perishable resource can be used as and when required and also gives an opportunity and flexibility to owners of it to exploit a person who is involved in production of resources. Resources are perishable, but money is not. A person who is involved in production of say grains has his source of income from selling grains only. Grains are perishable, so after some time he may be ready to sell them for lower costs. A person who has money which is not perishable is more secure in terms of availability of resources.

Money = Variability in cost of living.

If we take an example of Hyderabad, here the cost of living has increased a lot in past some time. This is because a few set of people specially software engineers in Hyderabad earn more than many. They are ready to pay more. Due to which prices/rents of various things in Hyderabad have increased a lot in past few years. This causes problems to those who are not in software fields, like government employees. It is really difficult for them to survive in a place like Hyderabad now, so they start indulging into various bad practices like bribery. A person who has more money is ready to pay more because he has more paying capability, because of this prices of things shoot up. This brings variability in the cost of living in a particular place and others might not be able to sustain that. This is one more problem which comes up.

Money = Invention of many useless jobs just for money accumulation.

When a “symbolic resource” like money comes into picture then it gives rise to several such jobs which are totally useless and non-productive. Basic purpose of such jobs is just to accumulate more and more money without doing anything. One of such jobs is, Real estate business. They buy and sell lands, houses and other properties and make profit out of them. Share markets are one more example of it.

Money = Reduction of production.

More and more people now want to indulge into production of things which can fetch them more and more money. Most of such high paying jobs are useless and non-productive. When more and more people are getting involved into such kind of jobs so people who are involved in production of resources of basic needs are very less. This leads to lack of production in state/country which creates further more problem like interdependence, lack of self sufficiency, wars for resource accumulation.

Money = Overconsumption of resources, lack of sensitivity towards environment and nature. Leading to consumerism.

With money one begins to forget the real value of things, what all is required in order to produce things, who all are involved in production of those things which are in use, where the raw material of things I am using coming from, what production methodologies are being used and whether this product which I am using is maintaining balance in nature or not. This kind of system just increases consumerism. What it has produced is just a set of insensitive consumers.

Money = Promotes a life style which is not good for health

Nature has its own natural ways of production. When a man works in alignment with those ways it is good for his health also. Production in natural ways involves a lot of physical labor also which is required for the body. When this is not available in right amounts it creates several health problems which we already see. In current jobs there is no bodily exercise involved.

Money = Gives surface to centralization for power and monopoly. Gives rise to exploitation of people, long working hours and repetitive non-creative works.

This symbolic resource as money also gives opportunity to system to centralize the power and authority, which leads to several problems like slavery and exploitation. Mis evaluation of things is already there, like diamond being evaluated as more than grains. Over this when symbolic resource like money is also available then those who are involved in production of diamonds and owners of the production factory or mill get the power to exploit poor by giving them poor wages, selling products on higher costs, thus exploiting consumer also. Their major objective is to increase their profits. In such conditions they can make you work whatever they want, however they want and for as much time as they want. This leads to exploitation of people and long working hours. As a mater of fact those who are involved in production of say diamonds are only able to buy them.

One more example which can be given here is the example of software industry. They make you work for long hours, make you to do non-creative works and people do not have other options also.

Money = A lot of insecurity in system

When a system on monopoly/centralized power is created there comes a lots of insecurity. Owner can fire anybody anytime. Other jobs do not allow one to sustain. One becomes more and more bound to join big factories and become dependent on system.

Money = Migration

Most of the villagers migrate to cities to secure their living. It is not the only reason though for their migration, but yes definitely a major contributing reason. When cost of various things keep increasing villagers find it difficult to sustain their life in villages, they come under debts too and are bound to migrate to cities and join factories and mills. It leads to a lot of migration, further decrease in production of basic resources, over population in cities and increase in the number of consumers which further worsens the situation.

Money = Exploitation of nature.

More and more money accumulation requires factory owners, mill owners, farmers and many others to adopt non-cyclic ways of production in order to increase their production multi-folds. The means which they use to increase production of resources cause land, water, soil, air pollution.

Money = Dissatisfaction in Individual and Poor Relationships in Family

All above things start from misconceptions within. They lead to a complex lifestyle. It causes problems at the level of individual and also in family.

At the level of Individual:-

The basic assumption for adopting a complex lifestyle at the level of individual is that it will bring him more happiness, prosperity, respect and relationships. In reality it doesn’t happen. In this lifestyle a person is more indulged in material pleasures and measures happiness, respect, relationships in terms of material, which is not fulfilling to him himself and also not to others around him. A human being wants Happiness, Trust, Respect, Mutual Fulfillment in relationships all the time. This thing can not be ensured with material. There is no continuity of happiness in material. Respect due to material is always relative but a human being wants certainty, consistency and continuity of respect. Feeling in relationships on the basis of material is not consistent but a human being desires for continuity of feeling of being relatedness. In this way a complex, materialistic lifestyle doesn’t lead to satisfaction within.

On the other hand since complex lifestyle demands more and more material facilities, so it brings a lot of maintenance work also along with it to maintain those equipments and facilities. It requires more work and less free time is available to develop other higher faculties in man. Ultimately it leads to a vicious circle, in which a man stucks.

At the level of family:-

At the level of family complex lifestyle leads to poor relationships. One is more and more indulged into increasing and maintaining the lifestyle he is leading and thus lesser time is available with family members. Husband and wife both are working and they keep babysitters to take care of their children. They keep their children in boarding schools. They consider their children as a burden. Husband and wife, they themselves lack time to interact with each other. They go to office early in the morning and come late night. Since they do not spend much time at home so they eat outside which affects their heath also. They work for long hours since maintaining and increasing a complex lifestyle requires work for long hours. Ultimately it leads to disharmony at the level of family.

Ultimately we see that those who are involved in production of diamonds are earning in lacks and those who are involved I production of grains are suiciding. Those who are involved in production of diamonds are able to living luxuriously. Now they even indulge in agriculture. They buy lands and keep farmers as labors. Their main intention is to increase profit only. In course of this madness of increasing profits they adopt methods of production which are not good for land, water and air. They use several fertilizers, which pollute lands, kills insects and earthworms which help in increasing fertility of soil and loosening it. In long run soil keeps becoming more and more infertile. Ultimately if we see then we find that entire market and system is being captured by big companies, multinational companies, factories and many more and not even governments are not able to control them, rather are succumbing to them.

In the end one can say that with the introduction of money as a symbolic resource system has given surface to the madness of human being to increase pleasure, profit and comfort and it has ultimately lead to Pleasure Centric Psychology, Profit Centric Economy and Comfort Centric Sociology.

Ultimately the thing reduces to lack of understanding in an individual only. Only with Right Understanding in individual can the system change.

घटना और नियम

घटनाओं को देख कर नियम समझ नहीं आता, परन्तु नियम समझ में आने पर घटनाएं स्वतः ही आपस में उस नियम की अनुरूपता में जुडी हुई नज़र आती हैं|

अधिकतर हम घटनाओं को देख कर नियम को समझने का प्रयास करते हैं| जैसे, एक पत्थर का जमीन पर गिरना एक घटना है| वह पत्थर जमीन पर क्यों गिर रहा है इसकी समझ नियम की समझ है| घटनाओं को देख कर नियम समझ नहीं आता| घटनाओं के आधार पर हम केवल किसी नियम के होने का अनुमान लगा सकते हैं, नियम के उस अनुमान के प्रति आश्वस्त नहीं हो सकते| जैसे एक पत्थर के जमीन पर गिरने के कई सारे कारण बताये जा सकते हैं जैसे, हर दो इकाइयां एक दूसरे को आकर्षित करती हैं, ठोस वस्तु ठोस वस्तु के साथ रहना चाहती है, पदार्थ पदार्थ के साथ रहना चाहता है, हर इकाई दूसरी इकाई से एक निश्चित दूरी पर रहना चाहती है और भी कई सारे अनुमान हम नियम के प्रति लगा सकते हैं| घटना क्रम को देख कर नियम के अनुमान को अक्सर हम वास्तविक नियम मान लेते हैं| नियम के प्रति बनी यह मान्यता तब तक बनी रहती है जब तक कोई ऐसा घटना क्रम उपलब्ध ना हो जो उस नियम की अनुरूपता में कार्यरत ना हो| जैसे ही ऐसा कोई घटना क्रम उपलब्ध होता है जो उस नियम की अनुरूपता में कार्य नहीं कर रहा हो या फिर जिसको उस नियम के आधार पर नहीं समझाया जा सकता हो, तो उस नियम को रद्द कर दिया जाता है या फिर उस नियम में फेर बदल कर के एक नए नियम का अनुमान लगाया जाता है जो पहले हो चुके घटना क्रमों तथा अभी नए उपलब्ध घटना क्रमों को समझ पाने में मदद करे| यह कार्य प्रणाली है प्रचलित विज्ञानं की, घटनाओं को देख कर नियम को समझने का प्रयास करना| प्रचलित विज्ञानं में ऐसा माना जाता है कि नियम के इस अनुमान में फेर बदल तब तक होती रहेगी जब तक अस्तित्व में होने वाली सारी घटनाएं उस नियम के आधार पर समझाई न जा सकें| उस नियम को समझ पाने को तथा उस नियम को वे लोग “युनिवर्सल थ्योरी ऑफ़ एवेरिथिंग” कहते हैं|

अगर हम मानव तथा मानवीय व्यवहार की बात करें तो उसमें भी हम घटनाओं को देख कर ही कई सारे नियमों का अनुमान लगाते हैं| जैसे बचपन से अगर मैंने ऐसा देखा है कि लोगों के ऊपर चिल्लाओ तो वो नाराज़ हो जाते हैं तो मैं यह नियम की तरह अपने आप में स्वीकार लेता हूँ कि किसी भी मनुष्य के ऊपर चिल्लाया जाना उसे अच्छा नहीं लगता| फिर मैं यह भी देखता हूँ कई बार लोग नाराज़ नहीं होते अगर उनके ऊपर मजाक में चिल्लाया जाए, या फिर अगर दूसरा व्यक्ति यह बात समझ रहा है कि उसके ऊपर क्यों चिल्लाया जा रहा है तो भी कई बार वह नाराज़ नहीं होता, फिर कई साधुओं के बारे में सुनने में आता है कि वे नाराज़ ही नहीं होते| यहाँ पर यह समझ में आता है कि मैंने सबसे पहले जो नियम बनाया था “किसी को भी उसके ऊपर चिल्लाया जाना अच्छा नहीं लगता” उसमें बदलाव करने की आवश्यकता महसूस होती है, क्योंकि अब मेरा ध्यान कुछ ऐसी घटनाओं पर गया है जो कि मेरे बनाये हुए नियम के आधार पर समझाई नहीं जा सकती| अब मैं एक नया नियम बना लेता हूँ “किसी व्यक्ति के ऊपर चिल्लाये जाने पर वह नाराज़ होगा या नहीं यह उस व्यक्ति की मनोस्थिति और समझदारी पर निर्भर करता है”| अगर हम ध्यान से देखें तो हर व्यक्ति अपने आस पास में होने वाली घटनाओं चाहे वे मनुष्य से सम्बंधित घटनाएं हों या प्रकृति से सम्बंधित हों, उनके प्रति किसी न किसी नियम के होने का अनुमान लगाता ही है और उस नियम को तब तक सही माने रहता है जब तक कोई ऐसा घटनाक्रम उपलब्ध ना हो जो उनके द्वारा बनाये गए नियम के द्वारा समझाया न जा सके| अगर हम ध्यान से देखें तो विज्ञानं के काम करने का ढंग किसी भी अन्य मनुष्य के काम करने के ढंग से बहुत अलग नहीं है|

यहाँ पर एक अंतर जो एक सामान्य आदमी और एक वैज्ञानिक में नज़र आता है, वह है कि एक वैज्ञानिक कई कई सारे घटनाक्रमों से अवगत रहता है तथा पहले हुए अन्य वैज्ञानिकों के द्वारा अनुमान लगाये गए नियमों से भी वह अवगत रहा है| उसके पास कई सारे यन्त्र उपकरण भी रहते हैं जिनके द्वारा वह उन घटनाक्रमों का भी अवलोकन कर सकता है जिन्हें आँखों द्वारा सीधे सीधे नहीं देखा जा सकता| इन चीज़ों के कारण एक वैज्ञानिक के अवलोकन तथा विश्लेषण करने का दायरा बहुत ही बढ़ जाता है जो कि एक सामान्य आदमी के लिए संभव नहीं हो पाता| पर एक सामान्य आदमी और वैज्ञानिक दोनों की कार्य प्रणाली एक ही होती है “घटनाओं को देख कर नियम को समझने का प्रयास”|

यहाँ पर एक चीज़ और भी होती है वह है कि हर व्यक्ति समान घटनाओं को देख कर अलग अलग नियम के होने का अनुमान लगाता है और अपने द्वारा बनाये गए उस नियम को ही वास्तविक नियम मान लेता है| स्वयं के द्वारा बनाये गए इन नियमों के आधार पर ही वह दुनिया को देखता है| यही उसकी दुनिया के प्रति दृष्टि का आधार रहता है| क्योंकि अलग अलग लोगों ने समान घटनाओं के प्रति अलग अलग नियमों का अनुमान लगाया रहता है उसके कारण यह आंकलन कर पाना मुश्किल होता है कि किसके द्वारा बनाया गया नियम सही है या वास्तविक नियम है? या फिर कोई वास्तविक नियम है भी या नहीं? यह सब चीज़ें ही व्यक्तिनिष्ठता (subjectivity) को जन्म देती हैं कि यह आपका सच, वह मेरा सच और अंततः हम इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुचते हैं कि “सबका अपना अपना सच होता है”|

यहाँ पर कुछ जो मूल प्रश्न खड़े होते हैं वे हैं, क्या घटनाओं को देख कर नियम को समझा जा सकता है? हमें नियम समझ कैसे आता है? हमें वास्तविक नियम की समझ कैसे होगी? कोई वास्तविक नियम है भी या नहीं?

इस चीज़ को समझने के लिए हमें यह समझना होगा कि समझना क्या है? हम समझते कैसे हैं? हमारे समझने की प्रक्रिया क्या है? हमारे ज्ञान में वृद्धि कैसे होती है?

उपरोक्त प्रणाली में अगर हम देखें तो यह दीखता है कि समझने के क्रम में हम घटनाओं का अवलोकन करते हैं और फिर उनके पीछे के नियम का अनुमान लगाते हैं| अगर हम यहाँ पर ध्यान से देखें तो यह दीखता है कि नियम का अनुमान हम विचार के आधार पर लगाते हैं| विचार स्वयं ही जितना हम जानते हैं उसके ऊपर निर्भर करता है| विचार का स्वतंत्र अस्तित्व नहीं है| विचार स्मृति के आधार पर काम करता है| जितना हम जानते हैं उसके आधार पर जो हम नहीं जानते उसको नहीं जाना जा सकता| जो हम जानते हैं उसके आधार पर जो हम नहीं जानते वहां पर कुछ नियम के होने का अनुमान लगाते हैं जो की वास्तविक नियम को जानने के लिए पर्याप्त नहीं होता| यह है विचार की सीमा| यहाँ पर यह तो समझ में आ जाता है कि विचार के आधार पर नियम को नहीं समझा जा सकता और हमारा संपूर्ण नियम को समझने का प्रयास विचार के आधार पर ही है|

यहाँ पर यह प्रश्न खडा हो जाता है कि अगर विचार के आधार पर हमारे ज्ञान में वृद्धि नहीं होती, हमें नियम समझ नहीं आ सकता तो हमारे ज्ञान में वृद्धि होती कैसे है?

जितना हम जानते हैं उससे अधिक का जानना अवलोकन के आधार पर होता है| यही अंतर है विश्लेषण और अवलोकन में| अवलोकन में विचार नहीं है| अवलोकन का अर्थ है बिना किसी पूर्वाग्रह के, बिना किसी मूल्यांकन के घटनाक्रम का दर्शन करना| ऐसा करने पर एक व्यक्ति की जितनी नियम को समझने की पात्रता होती है उसके अनुसार वह कुछ आगे की वस्तु का दर्शन कर पाता है| यह आगे की वस्तु का दर्शन ही उसके ज्ञान में वृद्धि करता है| विश्लेषण विचार के आधार पर काम करता है| जितना जानते हैं उसके आधार पर ही विश्लेषण काम करता हैं| जो नहीं जानते उसके होने का अनुमान विश्लेषण के आधार पर लगा सकते हैं| यह अनुमान केवल एक संभावना की तरह बना रहता है, वास्तविकता नहीं रहता| वास्तविकता का दर्शन तो केवल अवलोकन के आधार पर ही होता है|

यहाँ पर एक प्रश्न यह तो खडा होता ही है कि किसी नियम को समझने की पात्रता विकसित होती कैसे है? पात्रता का विकास कैसे होता है? या कैसे हो सकता है? इस बारे में मैं बस इतना ही कहना चाहूँगा की धीरे धीरे सतत अवलोकन से पात्रता का विकास होता रहता है|

यहाँ पर एक उदाहरण लिया जा सकता है| “हर व्यक्ति संबंध को ही सहज रूप से स्वीकारता है ना कि विरोध को”, इस वाक्य का मूल्यांकन स्वयं में अवलोकन के द्वारा ही संभव है, विश्लेषण के द्वारा इस वाक्य के सही होने की संभावना नज़र आ सकती है पर इस तथ्य के प्रति विश्लेषण के द्वारा निर्विकल्प नहीं हुआ जा सकता| किसी तथ्य के प्रति निर्विकल्प हो जाना ही नियम की समझ है| यह केवल अवलोकन मात्र से ही संभव है| जब मुझे यह चीज़ अपने में नज़र आती है कि संबंध पूर्वक जीना ही मुझे सहज रूप से स्वीकार है तो मैं इसके अन्यथा और कुछ नहीं सोचता, संबंध को सुनिश्चित करने के लिए ही मेरे सारे प्रयास जारी रहते हैं|

यहाँ पर एक चीज़ और भी देखने में आती है कि इस तथ्य का मूल्यांकन कि “संबंध ही मुझे सहज रूप से स्वीकार है” यह मुझ में खुद में ही हो सकता है| कोई दूसरा व्यक्ति, कोई यन्त्र या कोई पुस्तक मुझे यह बात नहीं समझा सकती| दूसरा व्यक्ति, पुस्तक या यन्त्र केवल इस तथ्य की तरफ मेरा ध्यानाकर्षण मात्र कर सकते हैं पर मुझे समझा नहीं सकते| समझ में आने का काम तो खुद में ही होता है| बाहरी घटनाक्रम या आतंरिक घटनाक्रम के विश्लेषण से नियम `समझ नहीं आता| इनके अवलोकन से समझ में आने की संभावना उपलब्ध रहती है| जैसे आतंरिक घटनाक्रम का उदाहरण लें तो यह देखने में आता है कि जैसे ही विरोध का भावः हमारे मन में आता है तो हम परेशान हो जाते हैं यह एक घटना है इससे संबंध क्या है और संबंध में जीना ही सहज रूप से हर मनुष्य को स्वीकार होता है, यह नियम समझ नहीं आता| यह तो अवलोकन से ही समझ आता है| यहाँ पर यही देखने में आता है कि घटनाक्रम आतंरिक हो या बाहरी, घटनाक्रम को देख कर नियम समझ नहीं आता|

घटनाक्रम के आधार पर केवल गति पकडाई में आती है, स्थिति नहीं| जैसे सुख पूर्वक जीने कि चाहना, संबंध पूर्वक जीने कि चाहना, विश्वास तथा सम्मान पूर्वक जीने कि चाहना एक मनुष्य में नित्य ही बनी रहती है, यह नियम है, स्थिति है| जो चीज़ बनी रहती है, जो नियम है उसका प्रतिफल है घटनाक्रम, हर गति के मूल में कोई न कोई स्थिति है, नियम की अनुरूपता में होती हैं घटनाएं| घटनाओं को देख कर नियम समझ नहीं आता| लेकिन जब नियम समझ आता है तो उसकी अनुरूपता में घटनाएं स्वतः ही जुडी हुई नज़र आती हैं| जैसे जब मुझे यह समझ आता है कि हर व्यक्ति संबंध ही सहज रूप से स्वीकारता है तब मुझे यह चीज़ अपने आप ही समझ आ जाती है कि मनुष्य के सभी प्रयास संबंध को सुनिश्चित करने के लिए ही हो रहे हैं पर समझ कि कमी के कारण वह संबंध को सुनिश्चित कर नहीं पा रहा है| पर उसकी मूल चाहना संबंध को सुनिश्चित करने की ही है| साथ ही नियम जैसे संबंध पूर्वक जीने की चाहना, यह यन्त्र की पकडाई में नहीं आता| दूसरा व्यक्ति भी मुझे इसे नहीं समझा सकता जब तक मैं खुद इस पर ध्यान न दूं| नियम, स्थिति तो खुद में ही समझ में आता है|

यहाँ पर अगर हम वैज्ञानिकों तथा मनोवैज्ञानिकों के कार्य करने का तरीका देखें तो यही समझ में आता है कि वे केवल गति और उसमें भी मुख्यतः आवेशित गति का ही अध्ययन कर पाते हैं| जैसे एक इंसान अगर एक ही जगह पर शांति से बैठा हो हमारे मनोवैज्ञानिक कुछ निष्कर्ष पर नहीं पहुच सकते| मनोवैज्ञानिक मनुष्य के कार्य व्यवहार को ध्यान में रख कर वह ऐसा क्यों कर रहा है इसका आंकलन करते हैं| गति के आधार पर और उसमें भी आवेशित गति के आधार पर स्थिति को समझने का प्रयास करते हैं| वैज्ञानिक भी यही करते हैं गति के आधार पर स्थिति का आंकलन| उसमें भी मुख्यतः आवेशित गति| जैसे एक परमाणु में इलेक्ट्रोन न्यूक्लियस के चारों ओर घूम रहे हैं और उस परमाणु में बाहरी उर्जा देने पर उस परमाणु का कैसा आचरण होता है यह यन्त्र तथा प्रयोग विधि से देखने को मिलता है पर उस परमाणु में इलेक्ट्रोन न्यूक्लियस के चारों ओर क्यों घूम रहे हैं यह यन्त्र तथा प्रयोग विधि से समझ नहीं आता| आँखों या यंत्रों से तो आवेशित गति या गति ही दिखती है स्थिति तो न आँखों से और ना ही यंत्रों से दिखती है| स्थिति तो केवल मनुष्य ही देख सकता है| स्थिति कि समझ ही नियम कि समझ है|

अब प्रश्न यह खडा होता है कि नियम खुद में कैसे समझ आता है?

इसके उत्तर में मैं बस यही कहना चाहूँगा कि नियम या तो स्वयं में, से, के अनुसन्धान से समझ आ सकता है या फिर जिस व्यक्ति ने अनुसन्धान किया है उसके मार्गदर्शन में अध्ययन से|

इस बारे में तथा इससे जुड़े हुए विषयों पर आगे के कुछ लेखों में और चर्चा होगी|

Interaction with Students on Domination – Joy of Understanding: Part 5

This post is going to contain content of my remaining interactions.

For one of the sessions teachers in this school requested me to talk to students on teasing, taunting, domination etc. This session was conducted for 9th class students. They tease each other, taunt each other, make fun of each other, try to dominate each other.

We started the discussion. I asked them, “Do you tease each other?”

They said, “Yes”, with proud.

What it makes you feel when you tease each other?

They said many things like, Superiority, Fun, I am great, To push down other person, To pull the leg, To get noticed in people around, To make other person feel inferior, To feel good, To make other person feel that I am better than him etc.

OK, what is the motivation for you to do all this?

They probably did not understand the question rightly so I gave them one example “You want other person to look up at you”.

They said, “Yes”.

So, what other motivations are there for you to tease each other?

They said many things, Happiness, Respect, Recognition, Superiority, Craver to be looked up, Domination etc,

What it makes you feel when you are being teased?

If we feel other person is doing it out of fun then we also enjoy it, but if we feel that other person is doing it with the intention of looking down at us or hurt us then we feel angry, we feel uncomfortable etc.

Right.

OK, lets consider the second part of it when you feel that you are being looked upon down by other person, how do you feel?

We feel hurt.

What do you want to do then?

We want to take revenge and hurt other person.

Why?

To make him realize that I am not what he feels I am.

Right.

Suppose you make him realize that you are more than what he is considering you, then what?

I feel comfortable then.

And now if some other person looks down at you then you again start feeling uncomfortable, right?

Right.

So what is your basic desire in all this?

No concrete answer.

You want other person to Rightly Evaluate you.

When you feel that you are being under-evaluated like “You do not know anything” then how do you feel?

We feel uncomfortable.

When you feel that you are being over-evaluated like “You are absolute genius”, then how do you feel?

We feel good but we also know that this is not the case so we feel that other person is either making fun of us or he is considering me more than what I am.

You feel uncomfortable even in this, right?

Right.

So what is your basic desire?

To be rightly evaluated.

Exactly.

You want other person to rightly evaluate you. When you are being Rightly Evaluated then you feel happy, when you are not then you feel unhappy. This is what is respect.

When you feel that you are or will be looked upon down by other person then you want to dominate other person with the expectation that if I push him down then he will start looking up at me, but domination is not naturally acceptable to anybody.

How do you feel when you are being dominated?

We feel uncomfortable, angry, suffocated.

You look up at the person who is trying to dominate you or you feel bad about that person?

We feel bad about that person.

But you try to dominate with the expectation that other person will start looking up at you or you will feel superior, right?

Right.

So to seek acceptance of other person you try to dominate right?

Right.

Exactly. In fact if you notice then you want “Unconditional Acceptance” from other person. You want other person to Trust you and to Rightly Evaluate you all the time, independent of what you are doing, thinking, behaving. When other person is behaving as per your expectations and preferences then you feel good otherwise you feel bad, right?

Right.

You want other person to rightly evaluate you but are you able to evaluate other person rightly always?

No.

You want acceptance without any condition, independent of what you are doing thinking, behaving etc. but do you accept other person unconditionally or conditionally?

Conditionally.

What all are those conditions?

They did not understand the question rightly so I gave them an example, “Whom would you able to accept easily and comfortably, a white colored person or a black colored person”?

White colored person.

Right. This is what a condition.

We accept others on the basis of several conditions but want to be accepted unconditionally.

So can you tell me what other things/conditions are there in your acceptance towards other person?

They said things like, Gender, Physique, Intelligence, Way of thinking, Rank, Charm, Ada, Feeling towards us etc.

Right.

So try to identify your basic desire. Your basic desire is for Unconditional Acceptance. You want other person to Trust you and Rightly Evaluate you Unconditionally. Do not assume this thing to be true just because I am saying this, verify it on your own right.

once you start recognizing this expectation of Unconditional Acceptance then we can talk about how to fulfill this after that.

We discussed on several more topics in between the classes like,

1. Value and Price: Value of a thing is fixed in nature but price is created by a man and it keeps changing with time, space and individual. Like wheat, value of wheat is to nurture human body. It remains like this. It never changes with time, space and individual. But price of wheat keeps changing with time, space and individual like price of wheat in India is different and America is different. Price of wheat 10 years before was something else than what it is now.

2. Rich, poor and prosperous: Content of this can be seen on below link.

http://devanshmittal.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/rich-poor-and-prosperous/

I did not discuss the content of this entirely, but some part of it.

3. Difference between, Material, Plants, Animals and Humans.

Interaction with Students on Infatuation – Joy of Understanding: Part 4

For this session teachers in this school requested me to talk to students regarding Infatuation, attraction between boys and girls. This is a major problem in their school in higher sections. This session on infatuation was conducted for 10th class all sections A,B,C combined. There were around 40 girls and 50 boys. A few teachers were also there.

We started the discussion. I wrote down on the board, “Understanding Infatuation”. Not many of them knew this word “Infatuation”. 1-2 boys and 6-7 girls knew. I asked each one of them what do they understand by this word, probably they were shy to be frank so they said “it is liking for other person”.

I asked, is it used in a specific reference?

They were quite. Then I ultimately decided to be frank with them from my side.

I asked all the boys, “Do you feel attracted towards the girls?”

All of them started laughing. Boys were doing “Hawwwwww” by covering their mouths and girls were laughing.

Then I asked girls, “Do you feel attracted towards the boys?”

To my surprise I noticed, many of them frankly said “Yes”. I was remembering my time when I was in 10th. I used to be very shy and girls used to be more shy than boys. Now the scene was different. I do not generalize anything here, it is just an observation in this session.

I said, “Girls are being more honest. Boys, are you feeling shy in talking about it? Be frank”.

Then some of them said, “Yes, we feel the same.”

Fine. To make them comfortable with me I said, “I have been attracted towards many girls.”

They started laughing.

So, what do you get attracted at? Lets make a list of all those things which you notice in a girl or a boy and you get attracted at?

They said many things like,

Looks, Charm, Ada, Nature, Frankness, Style, Money, Wealth, Popularity of person, Way of thinking, Behavior, Care, Affection, Face, Features, Trust, Understanding, Feelings towards us etc.

OK, can we divide all these things towards which you get attracted in two categories, “Bodily Aspects” and “Nature of person/Feeling related aspects”?

Yes.

Lets categorize all the thing which you said in these two categories then.

We then categorized the complete list which we made into these two categories “Bodily aspects” and “Feeling related aspects/Nature of the person”.

In “Bodily Related” aspects there were just two things and that also very vague i.e. “Looks”, “Face”.

I asked, what do you look at in the body of other person?

Face.

Is that all? Do you notice color of skin?

Yes.

Height?

Yes

Build?

Yes.

Shape of body?

Yes.

And?

They started laughing.

What is the feeling inside when you notice that a particular boy or girl has bodily aspects as per your preferences or liking?

We feel good. It makes us feel good.

And what is your expectation from that person?

We want to talk to him/her.

Is that all? To this they said nothing.

Ok, second aspect is “Nature of person/Feeling related aspects in you”, so how do you feel when you see a beautiful girl or a handsome boy and you get attracted to him/her but after some time you find that his/her way of thinking is not as per your preferences? or he/she doesn’t think good about you?

It makes us feel uncomfortable. It makes us sad.

You start seeing a beast in the beauty, right?

Yes. We do not like them anymore.

Exactly.

And suppose there is a person who is not good as per your preferences of bodily aspects, but you feel comfortable with that person, that person trusts you, that person rightly evaluates you, that person feels good about you, then how do you feel?

We feel good.

Do you still care about bodily aspects?

Not really.

So, do you notice something here in this discussion?

No answer.

Which factor is dominating for attraction in us towards other person, “Body” or “Feeling related aspects/Nature of person”?

Nature of person and feeling related aspects.

OK. Right.

What it makes you feel when a handsome boy or a beautiful girl starts paying attention at you?

We feel good.

Right, you feel elevated. You feel like on 7th heaven, hurray etc. Right?

Right.

What it makes you feel when a boy gets attention from another boy and a girl gets attention from another girl?

It is not much difference.

So how come attention of a girl on a boy or attention of a boy on a girl is making a difference?

Because it is uncommon.

Right. And also when you find that the boy or a girl who has bodily aspects and nature as per your preferences, starts paying attention at you then it makes you feel really good, it makes you feel that you are good, you are important, you have something in you which is being admired and appreciated and that also from a girl or a boy, this feeling makes you feel elevated, right?

Right.

Do you all play video games?

Yes.

Did you always have video games with you?

No.

When you did not have video game with you, you used to feel that if I get it then it will change my life, right?

Right.

What about now?

Now it is not a much difference.

Right.

When you get attention of a handsome boy or a beautiful girl then it makes you feel elevated right? Even after having spent some days with him/her you feel the same feeling of elevation or it becomes normal after some time?

It becomes normal after sometime.

Then you want attention of some other handsome guy or a beautiful girl, right?

One of girls said loudly, “Right”. All of them started laughing.

So you see the pleasure of getting attention from a handsome guy or a beautiful girl which you get in the beginning doesn’t last for long. In fact if you notice this is what happening in current love marriages. Before marriage they find beauty in each other and after marriage they start seeing a beast.

They all laughed.

How do you feel when a handsome guy or a beautiful girl, who paid attention at you for a long time, stops paying attention at you suddenly?

We feel angry. We feel hurt. We want their attention back. A few of them said this. Not many had experienced this.

How do you feel when a handsome guy or a beautiful girl who paid attention at you for a long time, starts paying attention at somebody else?

“We feel jealous. We feel like killing that person”, again a few of them said.

Exactly. In fact this is what happening in all these acid attacks which we see in papers almost daily.

OK then lets come back to the list again which we made. We made two categories, “Bodily Aspects” and “Feeling related aspects”.

We saw that “Feeling related aspects” are dominating. When your feeling component is not satisfied with other person then his/her bodily aspects become secondary or meaningless.

Now in feeling aspects we have, Trust, Understanding, Right Evaluation, Care, Affection, Love etc.

By seeing this what you feel what is your basic desire?

No concrete answer.

Your basic desire from other person is “Unconditional Acceptance”. You expect other person to Trust you and to Rightly Evaluate you Unconditionally. You want them to Trust you and keep Trusting you, you want them to Rightly Evaluate you and keep Rightly Evaluating you. When you notice that a handsome guy or a beautiful girl is not trusting you or feeling bad about you, then you start seeing a beast in the beauty, right?

Right.

In this case even good bodily aspects become meaningless, right?

Right.

So ultimately you want “Acceptance + Feeling of Relationship + Continuity of these 2″, right?

Right.

But in case of this attraction are you able to ensure this continuity? You may feel elevated for some time or good for some time, but are you able to ensure continuity?

No.

But you want Trust and Right Evaluation continuously or temporarily?

Continuously.

Exactly.

Attraction makes you feel elevated for some time or good for some time, but it does not give you continuity of feeling of goodness. You expect Trust and Respect continuously. When you feel you are getting it, you feel good, but you also notice that you want it continuously. The way we are trying to ensure these things currently do not give us continuity and hence is the problem.

To solve this problem we need to understand, Relationships. Feeling of relationship is something which is your basic desire. It is there continuously in you. Think about it.

There is a lot more to discuss in this topic, but due to time constraints we will finish it here.

You can find some more about this topic here,

http://devanshmittal.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/beauty-and-the-beast/

Interaction with Students – Joy of Understanding: Part 3

In this section we discussed about what they understand by Man Made material. Generally kids (even I when I was kid used to) feel that man made materials are available in infinite quantity. They can be consumed as much as we want and they are available in infinity. We started discussing various man made material which we see around. They listed out many. Then we discussed what various man made materials are made up of. Like bench is made up of wood and iron, bag is made up of plastic and cloth etc. After this I asked them, which materials in your opinion are purely man made? They said, Plastic, Glass, Toothpaste, Toothbrush, Chocolates etc. Here we discussed that plastic is made of chemicals which come from Petroleum, Glass is made up of Silicon etc. and all these things are limited on earth. They are not available in infinite quantity.Ultimately we finished the discussion with the conclusion that there is nothing made by man, things which are available in nature are processed by man. Things which we call man made are also available in limited quantity. They are not infinitely available.

Here we also discussed what do they mean by renewable and non-renewable resources. They said resources which can be recycled are renewable. According to them plastic is also renewable. Here I added, plastic is not renewable. It can not be converted back to the raw material with which it is prepared from. Once plastic is created it can not be digested back by the nature, it is non-biodegradable and is a waste to the nature. We throw plastic bags on streets, ponds which causes land, water pollution and when animals eat them they die because their bodies can not digest them.

After this we also discussed that there are 4 orders in nature. Material Order, Plant Order, Animal Order and Human Order. Plant Order is dependent on Material Order, Animal Order is dependent on Plant and Material Order, Human Order is dependent on Animal, Plant and Material Orders. Material, Plant and Animal Orders in nature are already maintaining balance in nature. Material Order is maximum in quantity, then Plant Order, then Material Order and then Human Order. Material, Plant and Animal Orders also maintain balance, they contribute in the cycle which is already there in nature. They do not pollute environment, they do not produce things which can not be digested by nature back. They rather live in mutually fulfilling manner. Plants take nutrients from soil, Plants also increases nutrition value of soil. Animals eat plants, they also spread seeds of plants. Animal excreta gets converted into manure in just 20 days and plants leaves take 6 months to get converted into manure. Animals release CO2 and Plants release Oxygen. These 3 orders, Material, Plants and Animals live in mutually fulfilling manner. They do not disturb cycle in nature.

Now comes the Human Order. Humans have cut the trees, killed the animals, produced various goods in such a manner that we have polluted air, water and land. We trow waste in water, land and air. We have cause hole in ozone layer, we have caused global warming. We kill each other, we cause disharmoney in the system which we have created ourselves and in the system which was already existing. So what should be done about it? In response they said, kill humans and also suggested various methods of killing. In response I asked do you do all these things when you understand the whole nature, your relationships with others or when you do not understand? When we do not understand, they said. So understanding is needed for doing right and living happily in case of humans, right? I asked. To this they all agreed. Cows, Goats, Horses do not go to school to learn how to maintain balance in nature, but humans need this education. Ultimately the conclusion came that we need to understand in order to live happily, fullfill relationships with others and rest of the nature.

After this discussion we discussed the topic “Success and Happiness” and “Difference between and Animals and Humans”. Content related to these topics can be found here,

Success and Happiness.

http://devanshmittal.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/success-has-any-destination/

Difference between Animals and Humans.

http://devanshmittal.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/ham-jaanwar-hain-ya-insaan/

http://devanshmittal.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/animal-and-human/

Interaction with Students – Joy of Understanding: Part 2

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.

Interaction with Students – Joy of Understanding: Part 1

A few days back I conducted a few sessions with 10th class students in International School Shaikhpet, Hyderabad on Understanding Ourselves, Relationships, Surroundings and Subjects. It was a nice discussion with them as well as a learning experience for me too. Now it is going to be a regular course in their school with the name “Joy of Understanding”, which I will be conducting. A few days back  sessions related to Understanding Ourselves, Family, Society and Nature, were conducted for Teachers in their school. They were conducted by Vinish Jee and Dr. Pradeep Ramanchalra. Teachers there really liked them and they also want these things to inculcate in their teaching. I had mainly conducted sessions for students. These series of posts are going to contain the content of my interactions with students.

In total I had conducted 4 sessions with 10th class students of different sections. Content of these discussions was almost the same in each section.

First I introduced themselves as their friend and not as a teacher and asked them to be as frank with me as they can be. I added that in this interaction we are trying to ponder upon some of those things which we have never paid attention to. We started the discussion with their introduction and their interests. I kept writing their interests on board. It mainly contained, sports, music, movies, games, gossiping, irritating teachers, flirting, chatting, studies, watching TV, sleeping, doing nothing, to travel etc. In the end I also added my interest as understanding relationships. Then I started putting some questions in front of them.They are as follows:-

Why are we studying?

In response they said many things, to gain bright future, to get respect, to gain knowledge, to achieve good carrier, to become a responsible citizen, to get recognition, to achieve success, to avoid scoldings of our parents, to not to be called a bad boy, to fulfill our ambitions, to fulfill ambitions of our parents, to earn money, to be independent, to go abroad etc.

I kept listing them down on board.

Then I asked them, how many of these goals are being fulfilled right now and how many of these goals will be fulfilled in future?

“Most of these goals of our study will be fulfilled in future” they said, except one or two who like studying and are studying to get knowledge. Those who like to study I asked them if they like to study all subjects or some? They said only a few subjects we like.

When these goals will be fulfilled in future then do we really enjoy the journey to achieve these goals? Do we really enjoy the studying?

They said NO. They have to mug a lot. They do not enjoy studying.

I asked, suppose you are assured of getting money and recognition you want then would you like to study? They said No.

Suppose you are paid to study then, would you like to study?

We would like to be paid but not like studies but yes we will study to get paid.

There are I added, when our goals are something which will be fulfilled in future then we do not enjoy the journey in achieving the goals. Our attention remains always on the goal and in this process if we find shortcuts or even wrong means to achieve the goals then we are ready to use them.

Suppose you are said that if you go to school then you will be allowed to play video game after coming back for 2 hours then do you really enjoy the study or your attention is always on the things like “After going back I will play this game”, “Yesterday I crossed till this stage, today I will cross even this”, “Yesterday I did that mistake today I will not do that” etc.?

Yes, our attention is always on the game and we will come to school to pass the time.

Here I added, this is what is happening when we set goals of our study like money, recognition, going abroad etc.

Do you want fun, enjoyment, happiness all the time or only momentarily?

All the time.

When you are playing video game you are happy and when you are at school you are unhappy then what should we do to be happy all the time? Since we now know that happiness is something which we need continuously.

They had no answers. A few of them said we should be allowed to play video games all the time. They all laughed.

Can you play even video game all the time? No, they said.

OK, which subjects do you all like?

Physics was the one which most of them like. They also said, Maths, Chemistry etc.

Which are the subjects which you hate?

Computer Science was the most hated subject.

Why do you like Physics?

Because teacher teaches it very well.

If the same teacher teaches you Computer Science then would you start like it?

No.

Then is it only the teacher who is making the subject interesting?

We are also able to relate what we are studying in Physics with our environment. A few of them said.

Exactly!! I said. When we are able to relate something with our environment, ourselves or anything which we see around, when we are able to verify things on our own right then we enjoy the subject automatically. In this case when we are able to verify things on our own right then we need not to mug them also. We understand them and it becomes part of our being.

I took an example. I dropped the duster from a height and it fell down. “An object when released from a height falls down”, do you see this?

Yes.

Now do you need to verify this for every duster, or every stone, or  every object? Or you can generalize it for every object?

We can generalize it.

Do you need to mug it? Will you ever forget it?

No we need not to mug it and we will not forget it.

This is what is Understanding. Verification on our own right. When we understand the law then we can generalize it for everything. When we understand then we need not to mug. When we understand then we do not forget. It becomes part of our being. Mugged thing is like a load on ourselves. We need to carry it till the exams and after exams we again forget it. Isn’t it the case that we forget the things which we mug and we need to mug them again and again and it is a load on ourselves?

Yes it is. We forget things which we mug.

So what is easy understanding or mugging?

Understanding.

What we spend our most the time on, understanding or mugging?

Mugging.

And what do we enjoy, Understanding and Verification on our own right or Mugging?

Understanding.

So what should be done about it?

We should start understanding.

I added, believe me understanding ourselves, environment and things around is really a fun. You have not tasted the taste of it. Just taste it and you will start enjoying the journey and will not give primary importance to the destination.

So what is the conclusion of this?

Understanding is easier than Mugging.We should start understanding and verifying things in our surroundings.

Great!

One more topic I wanted to discuss with you. It is on Relationships.

With whom you share your secrets? Parents or Friends?

Friends.

Why so?

Because with friends we have assurance that they will not leak our secrets, they will not think bad about us, they are like us, we can trust our friends more in our secrets, we feel that they understand us more than our parents.

I added, you feel that if you share them with your parents then you will be scolded, you will be wrongly evaluated, you will loose your parent’s trust, they will think that you are going into a wrong direction. But in case of your friends you have assurance that they will not think bad about you, they will keep their trust on you, they will keep on rightly evaluating you, right?

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss.

So what is your basic desire in any relationship?

Other person should Trust us, other person should understand us, we should have good intimacy etc.

I added, you expect other person to be trustworthy, you expect other person to rightly evaluate you always, you expect other person to be understanding and should understand you and you also want assurance that other person should keep on trusting you and rightly evaluating you in future also. When you see that these expectations are being fulfilled with any person then you feel happy with that person, you feel liberated with that person, you feel that you can say anything, do anything, without any constraints, without thinking twice, without any suffocation. Right?

Yeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssss.

So you expect other person to Trust you and he should be Trustworthy and he should Rightly Evaluate you, right?

Yes.

Are you able to Trust others always? Are you able to Rightly Evaluate others always?

No.

But when other person mistrusts you or wrongly evaluates you, you get angry?

Yes.

So what is happening? What is the feeling inside?

Some sounds without any concrete answer.

Do you feel comfortable when you are being mistrusted or say wrongly evaluated by your friends?

No.

What is your expectation with other person when you are being mistrusted or wrongly evaluated?

To make other person understand that I am not wrong.

Exactly!!!

We want other person to understand us, trust us and rightly evaluate us but we ourselves lack the understanding, capability to trust and rightly evaluate, right?

Yes.

So what is our root expectation in any relationship?

Trust and Right Evaluation by other person.

You want Trust and Right Evaluation continuously or momentarily?

Continuously.

So what should be done to improve relationships with others?

We should talk to them, should try to resolve misconceptions and confusions in any come into relationships.

Exactly. Start communicating with your friends, parents and try to understand why you are not able to trust a few people are why are you able trust others. What is there in those whom you are able to trust and what is there in those whom you are not able to trust, what is your root expectation in any relationship and what do you want.

Try to pay attention to these things. What we discussed just now is not any guideline, dos and don’ts. They are just some pointers on which you can pay attention to. If you pay attention by yourself then you will understand. I am not a teacher, I am just a facilitator to draw your attention towards these things. I am your friend.

What do you think will happen to your relationships with your parents if you do not communicate with them?

They will not come to know about us and we will not come to know about them and distances in relationships will increase.

Right. So start communicating. If you have fears start with small things and then slowly move towards discussing your secrets. But start communicating.

When you are in relationship you feel happy or when you are in opposition?

Relationship.

Yes. Relationship is the basic desire of a human being. Think on them and try to identify what is your basic desire. When relationships are good we feel liberated, when they are not good we feel suffocated. Right?

Yes.

So start communicating and try to understand that other person is also like you then you will begin to see that your level of trust on other person is increasing. Your comfort level within yourself is increasing.

We also had a discussion on what is success? whether success has any destination? happiness is success or success is a means to  happiness?

In this mainly we discussed that we keep chasing success in our entire life. By the time we become successful our definitions of success are changed and we are still running. For happiness we want success, we are unhappy in the process of achieving it,  in our entire lifetime we keep chasing it and ultimately die unsuccessful.

These were some main things discussed. More will come in upcoming discussions.