Save The Daughter!

बेटी बचाओ

A translation to my cousin Ritin's Haryanvi poem.
Considering how severe the problem of female infanticide has become in my home state.

She's a daughter to someone, somebody's lover,

Someone's wife, somebody's sister

She protects everyone, her own sufferings not withstanding,

Save the Daughter you imbecile creature! 

Daughters are the real source of all earnings.

(i.e. She is the most invaluable treasure)

Original

कित बेटी, कित लुगाई होवे,

कित बीवी, कित भरजाई होवे,

सबने बचाये जित भी खायी होवे,

बेटी बचा रे बौले!

बेटी गैल्लां ई कमाई होवे.

PS: Ignore any 'lost in translation' effect. Bhavnaayon ko samjho!

A Balanced Lifestyle

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Feeling Content

Have you ever longed for a satisfying and peaceful life? What is it that’s required for feeling content? A person needs to be happy so as to lead a peaceful and content life. But what exactly is this Happiness? Nothing describes it better than the following quote:

Happiness is like a butterfly

The more you chase it, the more it will elude you.

But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

All that matters is your attitude towards life. The key in being happy is to feel content by embracing a positive attitude. Although it is not easy to take everything that comes your way in a positive sense but to achieve this feat, it is important not to be afraid of the doubts and queries that we face constantly. That is coz there’s always something that we may learn.

In this post, I have listed out 4 self realizations and 4 learning that were made through the study of Shri Yogavashitam. I strongly believe that these self-realizations combined with the learning from the sacred texts of Yogavashishtam can help in leading a satisfying and peaceful life.

The Self-Realizations:

1.       Remain close to nature. When we feel connected to the nature, when we become a part of nature, we feel immense contentment. It is important to appreciate the beauty of lush green hills, soaring mountain peaks, vast expanse of the sea, the chirping of birds and the fondness of animals. Personally, I have always been close to nature. Not only do I enjoy the company of birds and animals, but I can feel that they also enjoy my company. I enjoy feeding pigeons, caressing dogs, watching squirrels, loving cows and other such activities. Moreover, the serenity of mountains, valleys, green vegetation and other such beautiful sceneries fill my heart and soul with joy.

2.       Don’t get too attached.  Getting too much attached to something or someone, living or dead, tangible or intangible, human or animal, male or female (or ... :P ), your own or someone else’s, is the single most severe reason that drains the satisfaction and contentment from a person’s life. The thoughts that ‘stick’ to our mind and don’t let go are the principle cause of attachment. These sticky thoughts – known as our vasnaas ( vasan is a Sanskrit root meaning sticky) are something we should all try to keep at bay. But it is easier said than done. Thus for a beginner, the first step in this direction would be to not get attached to whatever we do. This in turn controls the intensity and duration of our smriti (loosely related to memory). It is noteworthy that without smriti, there can’t be vasnaa and getting attached to something makes it very difficult for us to forget it.

3.       Put your heart and soul in the work you do. This is the most essential thing required for leading a satisfying life. It was once pointed out by Steve Jobs - “It is because our work is going to fill a large part of our life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” It should be made clear that putting your heart and soul in the work we do is about getting fully involved and engrossed in your work. It is different from getting attached. Thus we must learn to put a mammoth effort in the work we do without getting attached to it. It is important to maintain this delegate balance and avoid crossing the line of involvement – attachment.

4.       Be aware of death. This is another important aspect involved in being content. The best way to do this is to look in the mirror every morning and ask yourself – “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” This is actually a very effective way of being satisfied. It is because remembering that I will be dead soon is the most important thing to make the big choices in life, because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. Following this approach empowers a person to follow his own heart.

These are the conclusions that I have made after learning about the ideas of Shri Yogavasishtam. These self-realizations have dawned upon me as a result of learning through the course in part and also through self introspection. So as to conclude, I would like to cite the following important ideas of the sacred text, remembering and understanding which can pave the way to lead a truly satisfying and peaceful life. So as to maintain the originality of the teachings, I have tried to cite them ‘as-it-is’ in their original form and tense.

The Learning:

• World is a reflected manifestation of Brahman in the mirror of mind with all the three (Brahman, World, Mind) being in Brahman. Brahman is non-dual. But the world displays multiplicity. Due to this we can’t live in the world without duality. But sticking with duality will not allow us to be aware of the nitya. Thus the solution is to be a dvaitiya when we are in the world and be an advaitiya when we are with ourselves.
• Great Doer (Maha Kartaa): is the one who performs actions as they occur to him without any hesitation or doubts. Although this doesn’t mean he/she has the freedom to do anything. He must conduct himself appropriately in this transient world.
• Great Enjoyer (Maha Bhoktaa): One who does not hate anything, does not desire anything but enjoys all there is available in current, is known as great enjoyer. If we become a great enjoyer, then everything pleases us.
• Great Renouncer: One who rejects in his mind: happiness-unhappiness, birth-death, sweet-bitter, all desires, all doubts, all rewards, motivated efforts and all determinations (Sankalpa).

Thus it all boils down to this –

Becoming a great enjoyer, a great doer and a great renouncer will result us in leading a content and peaceful life.

Refrences: The sacred texts of shri Yogavashishtam and Steve Jobs speech at Stanford

Is there a meaning of life ?

As a species that is capable of higher order thinking, we treat life which is something to be valued. Being 'intelligent' means that we try to associate a meaning with life. We all seek the reason of our existence. We try to know the aim/objective that is supposed to be accomplished. I believe in the principle of causality. There is a cause of everything including life. If we wish to seek the meaning of life, we must first try to know its cause in a holistic manner. Since I do believe that 'something' or 'someone' caused life, therefore, in my view, there should definitely be a meaning of life. It can't be that the objective of life is merely to grow, reproduce and generate more of one's own kind. There must be a larger meaning of the overall picture painted on this canvas (of world) of which we are merely spray dots of God's brush. But even these small dots must have a significance to the overall picture.

What does life mean to me ?

I feel that we are just tiny parts of a huge framework but have our own little roles to play. In a way, I do not support existentialist thinking. Things just don't work out fine if we try to put self as the the center. My motto of life is 'Hanso Hansaao, Mauj Manao'. To me, life means is about mutual co-existence. I see all the dark and light shades of this world as the elements that enrich out lives. To me, life means to be committed towards relationships and work alike. It is all about not letting yourself bowled out and remaining in high spirits (Chad-di-kalaan in Punjabi). Two things that would never fail you in life are innovation and creativity. For me, the meaning of life is to make it a celebrated one. People sometimes say things to me like - 'You were born to make people laugh.' I find a lot of satisfaction in such comments.