In order to lead a happy and purposeful life, some thoughts full of wisdom and based on experience, are listed as follows :
1. The biggest wonder in the world is that a human being who normally spends 80 – 100 years on the planet earth,
(i) does not ever think that he / she is not the body and his real self is the Atma or Spirit within, and
(ii) he never deliberates upon the purpose of the life on this planet earth.
In other words, the questions, who really he is and why he is here, never strike him. Thus, a human being spends his whole life on the planet earth, without ever either knowing his real self or deliberating upon the purpose of life. It may, thus, be said that a human being generally spends his whole life like an animal and in the process, the golden opportunity of being born as a human being, is totally wasted.
2. Though all human beings, particularly those who are born in India, believe in the law of Karma, yet they are not aware of, or awake, to their Karmas, in the form of thought, speech and deed.
In this context, one has to understand that whatever energy one gives out to the Cosmos, it acts as a seed and accordingly, he reaps the harvest. In other words, whatever happens to us in our lives, is totally dependent upon our Karmas in the form of thought, speech and deed.
In this regard, it is also significant to always remember that we are the creator of our own destiny and no external force decides the course of events taking place in our life. Therefore, we should be totally aware of the fact that the energy which we give out into the Cosmos, by way of thought, speech and deed, should always be positive and constructive and if it is so, then we will attract and receive all good things and incidents in our life.
Thus, we should be aware of the fact that we have to be alert and attentive about what kind of energy we are giving out into the Cosmos, by way of thought, speech and deed, instead of worrying about what kind of incidents are getting attracted into our lives, as a result of our Karmas. In other words, we should focus on what we are giving out into the Cosmos and not what we are receiving from the Cosmos, because what we give out into the Cosmos will determine what we receive from the Cosmos.
3. It is also very important to understand that law of Karma does not mean any kind of reward / punishment meted out to us by some Super Power, Cosmic Intelligence or God.
In this regard, the correct understanding is that all the incidents which come into our life come to teach us some lesson and if we learn the lesson, then the incident will pass away and it will not come back into our life. However, if we do not learn the right lesson from the incident, then the incident will keep on coming into our life again and again, till we learn the right lesson which the incident seeks to teach us.
In view of the aforesaid reasons, one should not get worried or afraid about the so-called good / bad incident. Truly speaking, there are no good or bad incidents. It all depends upon the way we look at them. Therefore, we should accept each incident which comes into our life with gratitude towards God and try to understand the lesson which the incident seeks to teach us. Once the lesson is learnt by us, the incident will move away from our life.
It may, thus, be seen that the whole life of a human being is just like a school, where one has to learn a number of lessons. The only difference is that in the school, one first learns the lesson and then gives the test, whereas in life one first gives the test and then learns the lesson.
In view of the aforesaid reasons, it is further advised that in the life of a wise person, there is no room for complaint. Such a person never complains about anything. On the other hand, he feels grateful to the Cosmic Intelligence or God for sending the right incidents into his life, for his evolution towards higher level of consciousness.
4. It has also to be clearly understood and realized that with vast technological advancement in the world today, the quality of life has not improved. On the other hand, the quality of life has gone down.
The reasons for the aforesaid state of affairs is that along with the technological advancement in the external world, there is no corresponding advancement or evolution in the inner world of man. Unfortunately, most of the people equate money with happiness. This is a massive illusion. Studies clearly show that once the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter [‘Roti’, ‘Kapda’ and ‘Makan’] are met, additional wealth adds very little to happiness. On the other hand, it becomes a burden.
5. The real wisdom lies in understanding our real wealth. For this purpose, one should always visualize the point of time when one has to leave this world or one has to depart from this world or in other words, when the physical body dies.
When a person dies, all his wealth, the so-called position, power, reputation, are left behind. Nothing travels with him.
What travels with a person after his death is his inner wealth, which is nothing but growth in the level of his consciousness, which in other words, may also be described as movement towards God.
6. Let us live in the present, for it is the only moment we have. We should focus our attention on what is here and now. Look for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to us totally and completely, so that we can appreciate it, learn from it and then let it go.
7. We should take time to be silent, to meditate, to quieten the internal dialogue. In moments of silence, we should realize that we are re-contacting our source of pure awareness. We should pay attention to our inner life so that we can be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of what is or what is not good for us.
8. We should relinquish our need for external approval or approval of our conduct by others. We alone are the judge of our worth, and our goal is to discover infinite worth and potential in ourselves, no matter what anyone else may think. There is great freedom in this realization.
9. We should not judge others, because when we stop judging others, we feel much lighter. Judgement imposes right and wrong in the situations that just are. Everything can be understood and forgiven, but when we judge, we cut off understanding and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others, we reflect our lack of self-acceptance. In other words, we develop a tendency to judge and criticize others only when we do not accept ourselves or we do not respect ourselves.
10. We should not contaminate our body and mind with toxins, either through food, drink or toxic thoughts and emotions. Our body is more than a life-support system. It is the vehicle, which will carry us on the journey of our evolution. The health of every cell directly contributes to our state of well-being, because every cell is a point of awareness within the field of awareness which we are.
11. We should understand that the physical world is just a small manifestation of the Higher Intelligence or Cosmic Intelligence. We should understand that Cosmic Intelligence is the invisible Organizer of all matter and energy and since a portion of this Intelligence resides in us, we share in the organizing power of the Cosmos. Because we are inseparably linked to everything, we cannot afford to foul the air and water of the planet earth. On a deeper level, we cannot afford to live with toxic mind, because every thought makes an impression on the whole field of Intelligence around us.
Author Details-
Mr. S. K. TYAGI, M.Sc., LL.B., Advocate, Ex-Indian Revenue Service and Income-Tax Advisor
Office Address– Flat No.2, (First Floor), Gurudatta Avenue, Popular Heights Road, Koregaon Park, PUNE – 411 001, Phone Office: 0212-633012, Residence Phone -0212-682032, 0212-682444
