Life

 We would all have experienced a strange phenomenon. Sometimes we go to a place that is full of foul smell of some open drain or garbage, a dead animal or industrial pollution. We become uncomfortable initially. However, if we stay there for some time, we get used to the smell and become engaged with the work we went there for. Our brain is very smart. It has limited attention, and that's why it prioritises what to be conscious of and what to push to the unconscious.  Trillions of cells work in the human body in perfect coordination without any conscious intervention of the brain. The human brain acts very smartly. While all these cells of the body are busy carrying out their functions, the human brain interacts with the senses . It keeps receiving inputs from the senses and analysing them, based on the memory stored in our body. Every brain has a unique memory based on life experiences and interpretations thereof. For example, if somebody experienced deception in relationshi...

Most people want a quick fix for their problems. Quick fix for the issues related to health by taking antibiotics and pills. Quick fix to their problem of inner hollowness: blessings from some baba. A quick fix to their problem of "guilt of accumulation" by doing some social service. Quick fix to their problem with "hollow relationships" in the form of some romanticism, falsity, and pretensions. Why? Probably, we do not want to work hard. The fundamental restructuring of our lives is so difficult. That requires effort. We just want some patchwork. It's beyond our capacity to reconstruct the entire building, and that's why we just want to make it work with a few repairs here and there. We consider ourselves to be very smart. In that illusion of smartness, we carry out our biggest stupidities. The sum total of the time and money we will spend getting the house repaired will far exceed the time and money to rebuild the house. For all those years, we will spend ...

Continuing with the previous post, " Root cause of fear "   https://observationwithawareness.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-root-cause-of-fear.html It's very difficult to see our mental stories as stories. They look very real. The self-image looks very real to us. Any dent in social prestige hurts as badly or even more than a physical hurt. If somebody considers us irresponsible or selfish, leave aside making any allegation; it becomes unbearable that somebody carries this image of ours in their head. We somehow want to quickly repair that dent and maintain an impeccable self-image of being good, responsible, and large-hearted.  Goenka ji states a very beautiful story during the 10-day Vipassana camp . A mindfulness teacher was walking mindlessly and stumbled after hitting a stone. He would be more sad if there were people around, and especially if his son were around. It is because his physical pain gets multiplied by the psychological pain of a dent in his image of being ...

 All of us have our own share of fears. Fear of falling ill, fear of failure , fear of losing relationships , fear of being insulted , fear of losing property , fear of accident , fear of death , fear of being called a bad man or woman , and so on. Basically, all the fears are about the apprehension of losing something. Losing good health, relationships, property, or social image. The more tightly we hold on to the thing we like and the greater will be the fear.  We can see with experience that it does not matter how many of these things we have. What matters is how tightly we hold on to the same. For example, a relatively healthy person may be far more afraid of falling ill as compared to a relatively unhealthy person. A person having great respect in society may be more afraid to lose the same as compared to a person who does not have that much respect. Somebody may argue that if somebody does not have something in the first instance, how will they have the fear of losing th...

आज रात मैंने एक सपना देखा, और मैं अचानक सपने से जाग गया। कुछ दोस्त और परिवार वाले एक किले में घूमने गए थे, और शाम को हम ज़िंदगी के मकसद के बारे में बात कर रहे थे। हर तरह की बहस हो रही थी। कुछ लोग कहते हैं कि ज़िंदगी का मकसद किसी धर्म को मानना ​​है। कुछ कहते हैं कि खुश रहना है। कुछ कहते हैं कि ज़िंदगी का मज़ा लेना है। फिर हम बात करते हैं कि अगर मकसद अपने विश्वास के हिसाब से ज़िंदगी जीना है, तो यह किसी न किसी तरह से "जानी-पहचानी खुशियों" को पाने जैसा है। फिर, रात में, आस-पास कोई नहीं होता, और मैं खुशी से तैरने लगता हूँ, और सीढ़ियाँ हैं जो काफी डरावनी लग रही हैं। मुझे ऊपर जाने में काफी डर लग रहा है। फिर भी, मैं ऊपर जाने का फैसला करता हूँ, और जब मैं छत पर पहुँचता हूँ, तो चारों ओर एक अजीब सी रोशनी होती है, और मुझे एक्सप्लोर करने का मज़ा महसूस होता है, और फिर मैं उठ जाता हूँ। उठने के बाद, जब मैं शांति से सपने के बारे में सोच रहा था, तो मेरे दिमाग में कुछ आया। हमारे एक दिन में चार स्टेज होते हैं। "सुबह" का समय वह होता है जब सूरज उगता है, और हम सूरज को पूरब में उगते हुए बहु...

 This night I had a dream, and I suddenly woke up from the dream. Some friends and family members are on a trip to a fort, and in the evening, we are discussing about the purpose of life. There were all types of arguments. Some people say that the purpose of life is to follow a religion. Some say that it is to be happy. Some say it is to enjoy life. Then we discuss that if the purpose is to live a life as per our belief systems, then that's like pursuing "known pleasures" in one way or the other. Then, in the night, there is no one around, and I start floating with a sense of joy, and there are stairs that appear to be quite scary. I feel quite afraid of going up. Yet, I decide to go up, and when I reach the roof, there is a strange light around, and I realise the fun of exploration, and then I get up. After getting up, while I was sitting calmly contemplating the dream, something struck my mind. We have four stages during a day. The "morning" phase is when the ...

 Somebody gifted a plant sometime back. When I look at the plant on the Table, it appears to me as if the plant had the potential to grow into a big tree, but we confined the little plant within the limits of the pot, and it has grown strangely. It has a thick stem but has small leaves and branches. We have designed the plants to look the way we like. What "I" want is more important than what the "plant" is. The plant will grow the way "I" like it to grow. And then, "I" would also claim that "I" love the plant.  Yesterday, I went to a coaching institute to get some test series for a competitive exam for my daughter. The guide there spoke for around 40-45 minutes on the risks and chances of getting selected in different competitive examinations. So much competition. Fear is instilled into the minds of the students from the very beginning. Everything is around fear. If they are not able to get enrolment in a professional course , they wi...

Man is an emotional being. We have quite diverse emotions , such as like, dislike, fear, insecurity, jealousy, high, low, inferiority complex, superiority complex, greed, pride and so on. We keep navigating in this infinite loop of emotions . The "I" within us wants to experience certain emotions, and we keep making efforts for that.  As if life is like the journey of a train. We travel with our family and friends, and as the train moves along the path, we keep looking out of the window. We too decide what we want to do in life. We take a ticket and get inside the train. The train will take us to the destination by passing through the fixed route. We are not aware of what's happening inside the other trains. However, we are fully aware of what's happening inside. Similarly, when we choose a particular way of living, we lose awareness of the lives of those who have taken another train. Our worldview gets confined to the views of the fellow passengers. We are surrounde...

 चारों तरफ अफरा-तफरी है, सांस लेने में भारी हवा और चारों ओर धूल और गंदगी है, सड़कों पर लोग गाड़ी चला रहे हैं, ऑर्गनाइज़ेशन में साज़िशें हैं, अपने फ़ायदे के लिए लोग पागल हो रहे हैं, और लोगों की मतलबी मांगों की वजह से रिश्ते खराब हो रहे हैं। पूरी दुनिया ऐसे रथों जैसी लग रही है जो पागलों की तरह घूम रहे हैं और एक-दूसरे से टकरा रहे हैं जैसे कोई सारथी ही न हो। हमारे रथों पर सारथी क्यों नहीं हैं? हमारी बुद्धि इतनी सुस्त क्यों हो गई है? अगर हमारा शरीर रथ जैसा है, तो उसे हमारा अनकॉन्शियस मन चलाता है, जैसे घोड़े रथ को ले जाते हैं। घोड़े एक ज़रूरी रोल निभाते हैं। सारथी घोड़ों की जगह नहीं ले सकते। आखिर में, हमें रथ चलाने के लिए हॉर्सपावर चाहिए, जो सारथी नहीं दे सकता। लेकिन, घोड़े भी सारथी की जगह नहीं ले सकते। सारथी चाबुक का इस्तेमाल करके रथ को दिशा बताते हैं। अगर रथ को घोड़ों पर छोड़ दिया जाए, तो वह दिशा नहीं ढूंढ पाएगा। अगर ऐसे कई रथ सड़क पर होंगे, तो सड़कों पर अफरा-तफरी मच जाएगी, और आज की तारीख में समाज में यही हो रहा है। रथ का मालिक, कॉन्शस मन की तरह, सारथी को बताता है कि कहाँ जाना है। सारथ...

It's chaos all around, with the air heavy to breathe and dust and dirt all around, people driving on the roads, conspiracies across the organisations, self-interest driving people mad, and relationships being strained due to the selfish demands of people. The whole of the world seems like chariots madly moving around and crashing into each other as if there is no charioteer. Why don't we have the Saarathi on the chariots? Why has our intellect become so dull?  If our body is like a chariot, it is moved by our unconscious mind, like the horses carrying a chariot. Horses play a crucial role. The Saarathi can't replace the horses. Ultimately, we need horsepower to run the chariot, which can't be provided by the Saarathi. However, horses also can't replace the Saarathi. Saarathi gives directions to the chariot by using the whips. If a chariot is left to the horses, it will not be able to find the direction. If many such chariots are on the road, there will be chaos on ...

On the one hand, Duryodhana wanted to imprison Krishna when Krishna went to Hastinapur as a messenger of the Pandavas and on the other hand, Arjuna not only listened to Him, but also trusted Him, while his entire being was revolting to fight the battle against his elders and teachers. Why did Ravana not listen to the wise words of Vibhishana ? Why did Dhritrastra not listen to the wise words of Vidura and Bhishma ? We, too, refuse to listen to the wise words of the scriptures. We see the character of Hanumana and pray to Him almost every day, but still have so many desires and ambitions. If anybody tries to show us the right path, we will argue, debate, and quite often fight, and in due course, he becomes our greatest enemy. Why? It is because of a simple reason that all our responses are reactions are reflections of the inner world . If a person is disconnected from his true self , he will be fearful. An infant does not want to get away from his mother and cries when his moth...

The previous post, " Sudarshana " https://observationwithawareness.blogspot.com/2025/11/sudarshana.html , has got a comment from someone as follows: "But what about the timing of Right Vision . Duryodhana has enjoyed his life, while the Pandavas have suffered throughout theirs. Likewise, Ravan enjoyed his life fully." That's quite interesting. It's a strange phenomenon that we define pleasure and pain in the context of a limited framework and then sit in the seat of a judge and start judging life. We feel that money, fame, and power are rewards, and if somebody follows Krishna , he should get all these things. Pandavas gained the rulership of Hastinaur , but why did Duryodhana enjoy throughout his life, while Pandavas suffered? Why did Ravana enjoy throughout his life, while Rama suffered? There are two basic presumptions. First, money and power give pleasure. Second, somebody who follows a spiritual path should get more of these things. Coming to the fi...

  Krishna has a unique weapon. The Sudarshana Chakra . Sudarshana means the right vision. Sudarshana is so strong that it can win any battle. Why do we lose a battle? Because we do not have the right vision. We failed in an examination because we lacked a clear understanding of the subject matter. We make so many wrong decisions in our lives because we do not have the right vision. We suffer in relationships because we do not have the vision to see life as a whole, and we look at life from a narrow perspective and suffer. We suffer in business because we do not have the right vision of demand, supply, and factors of production.  When Arjuna is hitting arrows at Bhishma hiding behind Shi khandi, when Yudhistira is giving the news of Ashwathama being killed to Acharya Drona , when Arjuna is hitting arrows at Karna when his chariot is broken, and when Bhima is hitting at the thigh of Duryodhana , which is against the rules, there is no fairness. None of these actions is fai...

 It's almost impossible to explore the domain of the unknown while retaining the security in the domain of the known . That's why we become quite uncomfortable when we make decisions such as changing a job or breaking free of relationships and challenging the social conventions and belief systems . That old job, relationship, or belief gives us security. The "I" within us feels secure. It feels certain about life. "I" will go to the same office and have the same powers and functions to perform. "I" will have the same relationships to bank upon in the moments of crisis. "I" will go to heaven when "I" die, if "I" follow the rituals. "I" will get the result of my " good karmas " back. It's difficult to leave what we have without being sure of what we are going to have. That's why exploration is quite difficult. "I" is too insecure. It craves instant reward. Instant pleasure by earni...

Love is not like a bottle of Bisleri that comes for a price. Love is like a river that flows to quench the thirst of anybody who is thirsty. The purest of emotions, such as love, compassion, truth , freedom , and awareness , can't have any boundaries. It can't be like I love you and hate somebody. If that is the case, I feel that love also shares the source of its genesis with hate. It's the same "I" that loves and hates. What is this "I"? Just a bundle of memories based on our experiences since childhood. A Chinese person will have altogether different things to love and hate as compared to an Indian . A Hindu may have very different things to love and hate as compared to a Christian. All these things we hate or love are a result of our conditioning. Is that conditioned "I" capable of loving? Is that "I" just trying to sell the packaged water for a price? Pack water into attractive bottles and sell them at a market price, claiming ...