Dealing with Negative thoughts

Negative thoughts can be damning. One negative thought leads to another and by the time you realize a castle of doom is built. The dreamer fuses life into it and carries this monster 24x7. Peace of mind is forsaken but plans of how to beat the imagined demon occupies the mind. Thoughts of shame, of danger lurking, of failures and many similar thoughts make life hell. 

The world out there seem to be so happy except you. It looks like it is mocking at your miseries. It appears that you have been hand picked for persecution. You have a tiny tinge of hope somewhere deep inside secretly wishing that your worries evaporate. Self pity and self deprecation becomes your favorite hobby.

Thoughts per se are neither negative nor positive. It is simply a manifestation that has occurred in your mind. Thoughts that are not to your liking are labeled as negative and those that make you feel good are seen as positive thoughts. What is positive thought to you could be a negative thought to someone else. You are a body of desires. Each desire seeks its fulfillment. You comprehend these emotions through thoughts. One part of you wants fulfillment of those desires and another part of it - your values, your constraints etc - stops it from happening. You are not sure what needs to be done to feel content. It seem to be never ending tussle.

Dropping desire is not possible because you didn't create the desire. It just happened to you. Suppressing desire is not going to be effective in the long run. It makes you desperate and vulnerable to irreversible mistakes. Working to fulfill won't end it either. You would want more of it - like more money, more recognition. So how do one be immune to negative thoughts?

A temporary solution is to wait for the change in tide that brings momentary uplifting thoughts. You can also attempt to force exciting thoughts that seem to bring results in the short term but know it would wear you out mentally in the long run. That's how positive thinking works. It is like an emergency medication not for daily usage. 

Filling your mind with happy events of the past and promising future would temporarily disengage from the rut. You might probably be doing the opposite of what you are doing now. You might have to step out to the world, do small things that uplifts, meet happier and sensible people. These can pave the way for permanent solution but be aware they are more like breathers. The problem is in the root. 

A permanent solution would be to understand yourself. Learn to look within to know why you desire certain things, why certain thoughts come to haunt you. The coming to know the reason behind them would point the right direction for the right set of actions. Work on the source than react to the situation on the surface. It takes commitment. If you are serious you would work for a permanent solution otherwise your want to be happy is only a wishful thinking.

The ugly side of Humility

Many like the idea of being humble. They take pride in their humility. They feel so good when someone compliments them as a humble person. They want more of it. These are the people who claim they have no ego. That's probably the biggest ego drive they have. To whom does that pride belong? To whom does that humility belong? Who in that person claims absence of ego? 

They know arrogance is no good. They don't want to be empty vessels that make more noise. So they reach to the other extreme of the scale, which is being humble. Although they are easy to move with and friendly these are the people who are fragile. They are the ones that get hurt easily. Anyone can ruffle their feelings. They treat others well and in turn expect the world to reciprocate. When that doesn't happen they are pained. They carry an expectation that humanity should appreciate their humility. It is a performance that needs recognition. In arrogance the ego is troubled and shaken. In humility the ego is caressed for later trouble.

Society and religion preaches you humility. It can be misleading. Instead of showing the balance, where an act is carried out independent of the prejudice, of arrogance and humility, it preaches one extreme over the other. It is because of this lop sided emphasis why we would find appeasement of wrong in the name of being good.

Humble people have dreams like any other. They don't flaunt their talents but secretly wish it is acknowledged. They want the limelight but expect to be prodded to take the stage. On the face it looks they are content with what they have but they are not. They don't realize that the very reason they try to be humble is to enhance their low self esteem. This humble behavior of theirs in the long run make them timid and shy. There is another set of people - celebrities, who are not shy of the limelight but would want to come across as humble. They like the tabloids to write about their humility in spite of their resounding success - another ego ride.

Both arrogance and humility are acts that stem from low self esteem. Humility can't be a cover up for arrogance. It is important that the reasons for ones low self esteem is addressed. Listen to your inner voice, your best friend, to know what action of yours would be a balanced act. A balanced act - free of arrogance and humility - could be a loud stern shout or a slap or a big grin or a simple glance or nothing. It is not the expression on the surface that matters but how complete one is within, from where that action sprung.

Godman - A boon or bane?

Hinduism has no prophets, no messengers and no sons of God. Why? Because there is no God in Hinduism. Everything and anything is the Brahman. When anything and everything is God there can't be a God separate, a godman separate and a group of followers separate. There is no creator separate from the created. It is Paramatman, meaning ever pervading existence. Then why do Hinduism have a horde of Godman? and million Gods?

To understand that one needs to first realize that everything is God. When one says everything it includes the ignorant and the enlightened, it includes the bad and the good, it includes the oceans and the mountains, it includes the animals and the birds, it includes the inanimate and the animate, it includes the atom and the nothing. In simple words it includes the un-manifested consciousness and the manifested consciousness. In a single word as consciousness. 

The one aspect that truly makes human stand out from the rest of the existence is his intellect - a faculty that is capable of knowing. It is this same intellect that differentiates one human from another. The awakening of this intellect - meaning the person has realized and is capable of seeing beyond the veils of illusion and he is in complete tune and harmony with existence, as One - is known as enlightenment. These are the enlightened beings that we call as God - Shiva, Krishna and many million other enlightened beings who were born just like you and I. Absolutely no difference.

The seekers of the divinity look upon the enlightened ones with reverence in the hope that they get to taste the nectar of bliss. In our constant search for contentment, some humans tend to start seeking for it internally, within oneself. This group may chance upon an enlightened master to unravel the mysteries of existence. Though, the seeker knows he is God himself and that his Guru is no separate from him, it only remains a mere knowledge, just a theory. In order to realize this knowing he would look up on his realized Guru as a separate entity and express reverence and treat him as God. The truly realized master takes no pride in this treatment nor is he going to be disappointed if he has no followers. The ever content master has no agenda or desire to fulfill. With reverence in place the seeker is more willing to set aside his limited knowledge and arrogance paving the path to acquire greater wisdom. This enlightened person could end up being called as Godman by the world. This existence had thousands before, few now and would have many to come.

Certain crooks who has half the knowledge but no realization misuse the system, claim as messengers of God or closer to God. They cause gullible men and women to follow them, abuse them and exploit them. We have seen many impostors and would see many more, but that doesn't affect the genuine seeker of truth from meeting a genuine master. The gullible usually seek material pleasure and would end up meeting an impostor while the true seeker of the truth doesn't seek a guru. To a genuine seeker of the truth the realized Guru happens and that guru can be a flamboyant guru like Krishna or a guru in recluse like Shiva, external appearance including his behavior doesn't matter but how settled and still he is inside matters. Since it could be very misleading one doesn't ever shop, The teacher arrives when the student is ready.

PS - The twisted movie makers and the ignorant ranters and admirers of movies like PK would do a lot good to themselves and in turn to the society if they understand the system they live in. Instead of painting the system ugly, by participating in the mockery, it would do good to clean up the system of impostors than lose the only chance to raise above towards Being-ness.

Hey PK, what's wrong with Idol worship?

The so called intellectuals call idol worship is wrong and say it is based on ignorance. Why? Because in their head they think that the man who bows to the idol is bowing to a stone - an inanimate object that can't listen and act. No doubt it is a stone, but if the academic elitist has risen above his limited thinking, he would understand it is an abstract way of connecting to the invisible divinity that is not within the ambit of human sensory perceptions. 

For the ever turbulent human mind to focus on something, it has to be within the ambit of sensory perceptions. Something to see, touch and feel helps him in gathering his aliveness to the moment. When one looks at the stone or the photo, the connectivity happens to one's own inner self. The more the senses that gets involved in the act of worship, the more aware you become of the moment you are in. That's why in temples you find idols to see, bells to hear, fire to feel, fragrances to smell and offerings to eat and corridors to contemplate. Idol worship focuses on bringing you to the moment, not promising goodies later in some imagined heaven.

In what way is a sculpted stone different from a photo, a cross, a tomb, a sacred place of worship, a holy book? Are they not inanimate objects too? Why is that cherry picked as good and the rest as bad? If God is omnipresent, how can one not show reverence to everything and anything? Either the so called intellects should say there is no God and therefore nothing to worship or realize that everything is omnipresent consciousness that can be worshiped. They just want to impose their mediocre understanding of life and consciousness on the masses?

When a lover looks at the photo of his beloved, it doesn't mean he is in love with the photo but it is his way of longing for the person who is not in his presence. When a mother looks at the photos of her child, it is to recollect memories. It is human nature to be emotional and it needs an expression. Movies abuse the freedom of expression to propagate their narrow minded motives under the pretext of awakening the society. Well if that's the case, in what way could the dumb movie be better than a stone? Why do they put posters with picture of the hero in it? Or why can't they make it an audio recording of the movie? When they want to bring about maximum expression, why can't the worshiper choose his way of expressing that devotion?

To the believer the stone kindles deep emotions. To the mother photos bring back fond memories. To the academicians certificates boost their ego. To the enlightened everything is an object of great reverence.

Of course the stone, the cross or the book can't listen, talk or consume the offerings, but to the person whose intellect has truly attained clarity, he would exhibit compassion to the evolving intellects and their modes of worships. So long the masses remain a spectator without deeper understanding as to why certain things are done, the ignorant misleading elitist league would thrive.

Why religious fanatics hate their God?

Every religious devout on this face of Earth believes that his / her God alone is true. They love their God and would go to any extent to prove their loyalty to that God. The stauncher his fanaticism the greater is his unflinching devotional practices. The books and prophets are revered as God. They kill and destroy in the name of absolute allegiance to that God. This planet has seen much bloodshed and would see lot more because man wants to write the ever merciful name in blood.

Ironically, it is the faithful who claim that God created the whole universe. They would vouch for God's creative prowess. They claim their God is all pervading and powerful, They declare their God is merciful and kind. 

Well the Greatness of God is indeed unlimited but they don't like that. He hates his God to create any other religion other than his own. He dislikes any other path to salvation. He hates his God to have a name other than the name that is known to him. It is man's dictum that God should adhere to? So it looks like. Man hates existence to explore with few experiments since it is beyond his understanding. It is man's inability to fathom the completeness that brings abiding books of rules. Any creation by the creator that is not to his liking belongs to the devil. The devout create an entity called devil which had been toying with the invincible and powerful almighty all these eons and he must rush to protect his God. God would wonder if his self declared army have really understood his invincibility. Is God so fragile that he should have a set of followers to keep praising his greatness and boost his ego? Did the compassionate God create a devil and expects his followers to die? No other creation of his can be this stupid than his creation that is capable of thinking.

Imagine a world where all colors are white, all flowers be rose, all animals lion, all trees as palms, all faces as yours, all humans of same race, height and weight, all weather winter, all shapes squares would you appreciate God's creativity. It would be a sickening world to be but that's exactly what the ultra religious expect their God to do. It has to be their religion and their way. They demean the very God they love. They belittle God thanks to their narrow mindedness. What gives them authority to judge the creativity of this creation, God only knows. Creativity is the nature of God and there will be no dearth of creativity in this existence. It is the diversity and the combination of diversity that creates further uniqueness. 

In the absence of the promised heaven and the so called goodies in after life would the devout still love their God? Do they think God really follows a stick and carrot corporate policy? Should there be a price for such a divine love? Should there be a tag for the merciful? How else can we make it cheaper and uglier in expressing our gratitude to this ever pervading divine love? 

P.S. The creation can't be complete without this fanatic absurdness anyway. It is just another creation in existence that would be destroyed like any other!

Why does one fail?

There could be any number of secondary factors but the primary factor that determines your success and failure is you.What your subconscious mind really wants decides the outcome and it overrides every hard slog and smart moves of yours.

One could consciously wish, pray and work for success but if you subconsciously carry a lingering doubt it would eventually play havoc. You could fall sick, run into unexpected situations, commit the unthinkable mistake or just about anything to make sure it is not favorable to you. The rules of destiny are simple. You always get what you want. Fortunately or unfortunately what you want subconsciously, that you had built over many many years from past actions and results, far outweighs what you want consciously ending in results that you may or not cherish.

The subconscious scar could be because of fear of failure, fear of success or strong desire for self deprecation and self pity or simple wishful thinking. Whatever the reason be it is enough to act as brakes to stop a success run. Though positive thinking may appear to alleviate self doubt in the short run, it only ends up colorfully clothing it. Self talks and loud expressions is not going to fool oneself for long. It would slowly begin to wither and drain you.

The simple solution is to take your legs of the brake instead of hard pressing the accelerator in the name of positive thinking. When you realize that you have created the brakes it would be lot easier to drop them. The momentum you would gain then would exceed your expectations and surpass many milestones.

Learning from Jealousy

Jealousy can be a sickening feeling. It is okay if it was just the reasons for jealousy without the disheartening feeling but it is like a double whammy where your friend has the cake and eats it too. All you can do is to gulp air down your throat seeing them eat it. Why does some of the successes and happiness of your friends cause jealousy while there are scores of successful celebrities faring much better than them don't? While successful celebrities can inspire why does the happiness of your friend cause heartburn? Jealousy is a peer group emotion. It is this group you use to evaluate yourself. You draw your strength, identity and most important your self-worth from this social setup. No one likes to look bad in their own eyes. 

Some feel jealous and crib. Some fight jealousy as a vice. Some suppress and party along. Just as much as one hides this jealousy the successful friend wants to flaunt it to be doubly assured that he indeed has done a worthy job. Many are disheartened if their social media posts don't get loads of likes. They want reassurance that they fit well. Both actions stem from the need to better their shaky self esteems. 

It is okay to be jealous. It is a natural human emotion that need not be seen as a negative energy to be slain. Shadow boxing would only tire you. It is important to understand what your heart is attempting to tell you. Listen to it as to why there is turbulence in the mind and what causes the low self esteem. Instead of feeling bad and fighting it you could use that to better understand yourself and work on your shortcomings. Befriending oneself is very essential. It holds the key to understand your real needs.

A content person who feels complete with oneself can never be jealous of another person. It is these doors of completeness that your heart wants to enter. Be complete and free yourself from clutches of jealousy.