Life is full of miracles and possibilities. From the little atoms to the cosmos, there is so much happening in each moment. Our knowledge about the universe may not even be compared to the drop in the ocean. Yet, we feel so sure of our lives, our desires, ambitions, and motivations. We keep running after them with a lot of certainty. The problem is not being ignorant, rather the problem is the arrogance of the ignorance. We are trapped inside the well and rather than making efforts to come out of the same, we stay happy inside the well. A pigeon chased by a cat closes its eyes rather than making efforts to escape. Similarly, we have surrendered to our laziness and ignorance rather than making efforts to come out of the well of ignorance.
A. Testing the waters of the well
Probably the first step is to examine human behavior. We live in a society and keep meeting people of different types. It is like a laboratory to us and if we are a little aware, we can examine different dimensions of human behaviour. Such examination helps us understand humans better and appreciate that human emotions are quite common. Almost all of us undergo the same emotions at different points in our lives. It also helps us understand the unconscious dimensions of human emotions. Broadly human emotions can be divided into the following categories:
1. Fear/Insecurities
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The well is full of fears. As we start testing the waters, we realize that we have a choice to make all the time, between fear and hope and our choice decides what we make out of our lives. The following post discusses about the choice between fear and hope with a few examples from our scriptures.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/choice-fear-vs-hope.html
Human beings live in society and therefore they have a very strong instinct to get the approval of their society. However, there is a very strong inner desire to be free as well. There is a constant struggle between "social approval" and "individual freedom" taking place inside us. The following post discusses this conflict.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/is-individual-free-to-move-along.html
2. Desires
We have so many conflicting desires. Such conflicts often result in a loss of energy. The following post discusses the reasons for such conflicts and a possible way out.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/conflicts-why-we-are-short-of-energy.html
3. Ambitions
4. Security
5. Relationships
6. Dominance/Exploitation
7. Knowledge
8. Morality
B. Knowing the boundaries of the well
The next step in the process is to know the boundaries of the well. While being on the Earth, we feel as if we know everything. However, when we explore the science of the day, we realize how little is known about science. Quantum Physics has no idea as to how the fundamental forces of nature operate and what are the fundamental particles of nature. Neurology of the day has no idea about the concept of self. Astronomy has no idea about the beginning and end of the universe. Indian sages gave an altogether different way of understanding reality by studying the planets. Different planets represent the forces of nature. Thus, we may try to understand and appreciate the depth and width of our well by knowing about that through the following:
1. Cosmology
2. Neurology
3. Quantum Physics
4. Astrology
The following post discusses whether Astrology is scientific or not. It may help the readers to examine the truth behind Astrology dispassionately.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2018/05/astrology-is-it-scientific.html
Different planets in Astrology represent different forces of nature. There is a lot of confusion about the nature of Rahu. The following post discusses the nature of Rahu
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2018/06/nature-of-rahu.html
In fact, we may help the nature of different planets by reading our scriptures. Different characters in our scriptures represent different forces of nature and we can get deeper insights into the nature of astrological planets by reading about these characters. The following post tries to explain the nature of different planets with the help of the characters of Ramayana. Such understanding helps us further move along the spiritual path.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/practicing-awareness-with-understanding.html
C. Intellectual understanding of the world outside the well
Once we know the limitations of the well. the first step is trying to understand it intellectually. Our intelligence is miraculous. A number of philosophers have tried to make sense of the reality. We can understand and appreciate their perspectives by using our own intelligence. We can try to make sense of the reality through the following means:
1. The life and sayings of the spiritual masters
2. Understanding the philosophy given by the spiritual masters
3. Philosophy of life
The following post tries to draw a parallel between human life and computers and tries to compare awareness with the internet connection. As computers have a very limited use without the internet, human life is also very limited inside the well.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2010/04/nature-has-devised-brain-in-such.html
We get so attached to our bodies and minds because we never try to take a break from such obsession and look at the world from a fresh perspective. The following post discusses the obsession of human beings with the body and the mind.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/who-dies-with-death.html
D. Taking steps to move out of the well
All this exercise is worth nothing unless we make efforts to come out of the well. we have to make efforts on multiple fronts:
1. Widening of the intellect
We live in this world primarily with the help of our intellect. We make decisions almost every moment using our intellect. As we read the manual of a machine before using the same so that we may use that effectively, should we not read the manual of our mind as well? The following post discusses the evolution of human intellect over the period of human evolution.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2018/06/spiritual-mindset.html
It's strange to see even the most intelligent people behave in a quite narrow manner. Unless we continue to remain aware, somehow the intellect tends to become narrow. The following post discusses the narrowness of the human intellect and how awareness can help it widen its perspective.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/right-approach-to-observation.html
We keep making different mental stories that make our intellect dull. The following post discusses the process of the formation of these mental stories and how we can get rid of the mental stories.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/06/why-to-waste-life-with-mental-stories.html
2. Gaining awareness of our unconscious mind
Our unconscious mind is a storehouse of memories. It keeps influencing our decisions from the background. That is the reason why awareness of the unconscious mind is the first step in the process of awareness. However, it is not easy to work on the unconscious mind. We make a lot of mental stories about the world and many of these meanings enter into our unconscious mind. These mental stories keep influencing crucial decisions in our lives through our unconscious mind. The following post discusses the process of mental-story making and discusses how we can come out of the trap by staying aware.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/freedom-form-memories-choice-in-each.html
The latest research on the unconscious mind has given us good insights into its functioning. The research on trauma has demonstrated that these feelings get stored deep inside our bodies. When we encounter any incident that triggers past memories, we feel similar sensations again in our body and feel uncomfortable. The following post discusses the same with some insights into the technique of Vipassana. Vipassana is a technique of meditation that guides us to observe different sensations in our bodies rather than reacting to the same. That act of observation helps us gain better awareness of our unconscious mind.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/working-on-body-that-keeps-score.html
3. Working on emotions
4. Daily living
Our lives are generally driven by different goals. This is because the goals in turn are decided by our desires to get something or the other. However, fixation on the outcomes takes the fun out of our lives. This post discusses how life becomes meaningful as we get over the fixations to outcomes.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/purpose-of-life.html
The following post further discusses different fixations in our daily lives and how we can come out of the same.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/06/living-spiritually-in-difficult-world.html
Unfortunately, most people feel that Vairagya is a post-retirement concept. Probably there is a gross misunderstanding of the word Vairagya. Vairagya means just indifference to the results. This is what Krishna clarifies in Bhagwad Geeta. It just means shifting the attention from the outcome to the process. The following post discusses the role of Vairagya in our day-to-day lives.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/06/vairagya-strict-no-no-to-fulcrum-of-life.html
5. Meditation
E. The Spiritual Path
1. Education
There is a lot of confusion about the spiritual path. Many people consider that it is something to be done post-retirement and ironically, the more we approach near retirement, the more we become insecure. Many people feel that the spiritual path is contradictory to the family life. While actually, we see so many contradictions, confusions, and so much of exploitation in present-day society. Most of these issues are due to the lack of understanding of life. We commence the journey of life with a gamut of fears and the fears keep increasing as we grow since we never take a pause to look at the real meaning of life. The following post discusses this aspect.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/rare-to-be-aware-steps-to-awareness.html
Education plays a very important role in the process. The following post discusses the meaning and the role of true education in our lives.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/real-education.html
2. Parenting
Parents play a very critical role in the lives of the kids. Their role is not limited to getting them educated in formal schools so that they can become financially independent. Rather it is much wider. They need to help the kids build their framework of life. A framework that is based on truth and not the propaganda of the society. The following post discusses the role of the parents.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/fear-to-faith-first-step-in-direction.html
3. Scriptures
Our scriptures provide guidance in all aspects of human life. They help us understand and appreciate a wide variety of human emotions. They help us connect to the truth and thereby build the framework of our own lives around truth. Mahabharata is one such scripture and different characters in Mahabharata help us understand a deeper meaning of life. The following post discusses the lessons from the different characters of Mahabharata.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/lessons-for-daily-life-from-mahabharata.html
4. Framework
As we move along the spiritual path, our framework of life gets refined. It gets more aligned with the truth. Initially, the center of our lives is fear, and as we move along the path of life, life gets more centered around ambitions. However, as we move along the spiritual path, truth starts guiding our lives. The following post discusses the spiritual framework of life with the help of an example of a play on the stage.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/05/who-am-i.html
We keep living life like a king who gets into the trap of clever ministers and loses his grip over the kingdom. The following post discusses our life with the help of an example of such a king and discusses the essential steps that the king may take to regain control over the kingdom.
https://vipulagarwalca.blogspot.com/2023/06/turning-monkey-mind-in-to-meditative.html
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