Hari
Om
Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by
which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality
and become more congruent within our personality.
The next text which will guide the
Choose-day posts is "Tips for Happy Living - jIvnsUÇai[
/jiivanasuutraani", by Swami Tejomayananda (Guru-ji). Choose-day's writings
are here to prompt deeper thinking on the choices made on a daily basis and
seek to provide prompts for raising the standard of one's thinking and living.
This text composed in the format of Sanskrit traditional teachings, speaks directly
to this purpose. As ever, the full text may be obtained from
CM publications - or your local centre (see sidebar).
As
humans, we are often curious about the
possibilities of 'life after death' - or even if there is any such thing. It is
a strange preoccupation, taking us away from living 'life after birth'! It must
be said that many 'after birth' proceed through life in various levels of
existence, be it simply surviving all the way through to grasping each moment
and living life fully. A person may be breathing and moving his limbs about -
but is he really living? We see it all the time do we not? Those who, for all
sorts of reasons seen and unseen, move from one calamity to another, suffer more
than others, seem to draw trouble to themselves. Others move through life with
manipulative and ill-tempered approach, achieving things, but also losing much.
Still others seem to spend their days in misery of complaint about one thing or
other and expecting the world ought to provide for them, with little effort on their
part.
Then
there are those who appear to move through life with minimum hassle, engaging
happily with others and dealing with situations without too much damage to
themselves. People, too, who can master both themselves and others - without
nefarious tactics - who provide inspiration and cheer others; people who, once
met, or oft remembered.
There
are folk we know we wish to avoid, and there those whose company we look
forward to, according to how they live and interact. We can make choices always
about the type of personality we wish to be and present to the world. Getting
from who we are, to who we want to be is part of what is referred to
colloquially as 'growing up'. Self-development is not easy, much of the time,
because it means we have to become very honest with ourselves and truly see
ourselves as others see us. Even if we think others are wrong in their
impression of us, we have to think, 'if that is what has been seen, then how we
are presenting is incongruous with who we think we are'.
A
large part of 'happy living' is to be completely congruent in our personal
being.
There
are, in every culture, basic 'rules' about living which aid us in our social
interaction, our general self-esteem and, thus, keep us balanced and happy in
life; moving through the 'after birth' state until such time as the 'after
life' state arrives. We commonly know that there is a time called puberty in
which all these 'rules' are stretched and tested and it is part of the path to
adulthood that we rebel. What is less commonly understood is that, though we
may be considered adults according to our number of years after birth, for many
and varied reasons, we actually lack skills as fully-fledged human beings. This
is why we have historical texts and the need for the wisdom of elders.
Furthermore, there are many levels even within the gaining of such wisdom.
Guru-ji
is an elder and a wise soul. Inspired by his observations of devotees, as well
as by all his learning from elders who came before him, he composed the
Jiivansuutraani in 2009. It may not,
currently, be logged as one of the shaastras, but it is written in shaastric
form and over time may enter the annals. All shaastra (scripture) had to begin
somewhere.
The
form used is that of suutra. The word itself simply means 'thread'. In English,
the closest approximation is 'aphorism'. A shloka is a verse with a complete
message within it, whilst a suutra may only be part of a whole. Several suutra
may be 'threaded' together to give a more complete teaching; single = suutra,
several = suutraani, suutraani strung together = suutra. One may be many, but
will be one again. Guru-ji opens his text with an exploration of what we can
draw from a sutra, be it single or compilation, and we shall look at this in the
next Choose-day post.
SAADHANA
Meanwhile,
simply ponder how you approach life currently. Don't over analyse it. Do your
best to see objectively how you greet the morning, how you greet people, how
you deal with the little frustrations which ever present themselves. Try to
observe how, in this more withdrawn way, you could actually make a different
choice at any given moment and change how you feel about that moment when it is
later remembered. This exercise is something we all do anyway, but usually in a
negative, reactive way. Turn it to purpose!
