We consume many foods that satisfy our taste buds. However, in the process, we develop a lot of diseases. Some people love eating sugar, and due to excessive intake of sugar, they develop diabetes. Some people love eating spices and due to that, they develop high blood pressure. Some people love drinking liquor, and due to that, they develop fatty liver. At the time of eating these food items, our attention is fully there on the sensations on the tongue, as the case may be, and we remain unaware of its consequences inside our body. Inside our bodies, the internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, etc, find the food toxic and difficult to digest, but we are so occupied with our taste buds that there is hardly any chance to look inward and find how our internal organs are getting affected. There comes a time when the internal organs are damaged beyond a limit, and we start getting warning signals in different forms. Then we become aware of that, but in most cases, by that time, the damage is done, and the diseases become quite difficult to reverse.
Similarly, our thoughts also have an impact on our inner being. We entertain many thoughts, which are quite harmful to our inner selves. But we remain unaware of the consequences of these thoughts on our inner selves. We can talk for hours discussing how bad this society is. Boss bashing is one of the favourite topics of most people in every organization. We keep discussing the unreasonableness of different people we interact with. The wrong done to us by others, analysis of characters, and the difficulties at home are all favourite topics of discussion. We entertain the thoughts of greed and ambition, and feel like grabbing more. We become sad when we are unable to achieve our targets. We keep entertaining all these thoughts without ever realizing the consequences of these thoughts on our inner being.
Our inner being is full of love and compassion, and the more we entertain thoughts of "self-pity," "greed," "aggression," and "self-aggrandizement," the more we become disconnected from our inner self. As we disconnect from our inner selves, we feel more insecure, which leads us to entertain these negative thoughts even more. Thus, we enter a vicious loop. If we remain trapped in this loop for an extended period, we become triggered by very insignificant events. We experience panic attacks from a small pain in our stomach, a delayed response to a phone call from our kids, a casual remark from our boss, a minor earthquake, or a news item about adulteration. We sit atop a volcano that may erupt at any moment, and the worst part is that, due to our lack of awareness of our inner selves, we keep moving further away from our source of joy.
The Almighty has made us complete and sent us to this Earth to explore. Kids are more aware of their inner completeness, which is why they are generally happy exploring the world. As we grow into adulthood, we become more focused on our own "mental stories of happiness" and lose touch with "happiness inside." These mental stories are constantly affirmed by almost everyone in our society, from parents to teachers to employers. This mass hypnotism is difficult to avoid. Due to the loss of awareness of our inner selves, it becomes challenging to recognize the harmful effects of self-obsessive thoughts. That's why most people suffer throughout their lives without realizing the cause of their suffering.
As parents, the best education we can give our kids is about self-awareness. While in the movie hall, we disconnect from the outside world due to the soundproof walls and the darkness inside. The screen is quite large and fills our field of vision, capturing our full attention, with our mobile phones silenced to cut off connections to the outside world. The sound is loud enough to completely absorb us in the film. However, exit signs do exist, and if someone wants to leave the movie hall while the film is playing, they have to use those signs. In this world, we too are disconnected from the vast inner landscape because we live in a society with soundproof walls built by shared belief systems, almost complete darkness with very few enlightened individuals, where a naked dance of ambition and greed plays out on a big screen that captivates our attention entirely, with hardly any opportunities to engage with aware people. The daily routine of almost everyone is so busy and noisy that it hardly leaves room for self-inquiry. This is why most people feel trapped inside the movie hall. Yet, there are "exit" signs in place. We just need to take our attention away from the screen and walk a few steps to escape the hall and recognize reality—just a few steps with awareness, following the exit signs.
Comments