arshavidya

As an individual I have to fulfill many roles and duties. And all the roles and duties must be performed correctly. Correctness means righteousness.

As a righteous person I follow a simple code of conduct. My code of conduct is non violence or ahimsa.

By being non violent I am not hurtful with my words and actions with whoever I interact. Hence my words and actions are quite calculated even before they are heard or visible to anyone.

I will treat others the way I want to be treated by them. Isn’t this quite easy to understand?

Hence following this simple mantra of Ahimsa helps me in warding off uncomfortable conversations and situations. Discomfort comes when a situation becomes unavoidable and non manageable. The unavoidable nature of situations creates problems in our lives.

These problems are more or less same which each one of us faces regardless of our age and gender. Well most of the problems are not even existent since it’s our mind who gives birth to them. That’s a bit of Psychology coming into picture. But we will avoid that for now.

So let’s resolve to follow non violence by treating everyone with kind words and actions.

Today let’s talk about Dharma. Dharma simply means The ability to know what is correct and incorrect conduct. Conduct in terms of speech, behaviour and action.

There is no equivalent English word for Dharma however we will stick to righteousness. Dharma also means universal law and order. Doing what is right is Dharma. The knowledge of right and wrong is often based on our whims and fancies.

I behave the way I feel is right, but my behaviour often lands me in trouble situations wherein I have to justify my words and actions. Somehow I am unable to do it, which in turn spoils relations and develops mistrust amongst people I know.

The reason is that my knowledge of right and wrong  is not governed by universal values. My behaviour should be in compliance with universally acceptable values. Ex. Speaking the truth at all time.

As an individual my duties differ with roles, I have to fulfill many roles being a part of the family, society, organisation, school, etc. All the duties must be fulfilled without disturbing law and order. I must not rub against the social order. My behaviour must be ethical and value driven.

Living a life in compliance with universal values is Dharma. The study of Dharma begins with the study of Scriptures

We as humans are constantly searching for happiness in the form of material gains. However each time we acquire something it still leaves us unfulfilled. What is the reason for this?

Our body needs food and water to survive as survival is a natural instinct. The Mind does not need to be taught what hunger and thirst is! It just knows. The stomach generates certain juices which send the signal to the brain. Hence the mind then craves for food and water. Just as food and water is a biological need, so is happiness a psychological need, which needs to be choicelessly fulfilled.

Now let’s divert our mind to fulfillment of  desires. Desires are endless but we are endowed with Buddhi which gives us discriminative knowledge on which desires should we pursue and which we should not. Only humans are endowed with discriminative ability. The ability to even differentiate what is right and wrong is a gift to humans. Hence it is said that Humans are the most blessed species on the earth.

In the next post we will discuss about the four human pursuits.

We are a searching for happy moments in our lives. The moments which would make us forget our sorrows and problems. This search for happiness began in my life at the age of 23 when I got into depression and was diagnosed with PTSD.

Everyone has their own story of suffering and each suffering is real. But somehow the suffering never comes to an end and our problems never seem to cease. 😓

Is the suffering ever going to end? 😵

This question used to haunt me day and night. Every time I used to encounter a happy moment I used to cling to it. A happy situation would not last long. Sorrow would come back. This play of happy and sad moments is an unending game of life. Infact life is all about ups and downs, success and failure, our life is filled with pairs of opposites.

As long as we keep fighting with ourselves to strive for happy moments we will be a part of this perpetual game of ups and downs. After each happy moment, a certain feeling of being empty and alone comes back and this feeling makes us strive to bring the happy moment back.

The more I struggle, the more I discover that the search becomes endless. 🥲 This is the story of all of us. Is life worth living for small happy moments? Should we keep fighting for the search of happiness? Will the fight ever end? 😔 We will ponder more into this thought in the next post. 💭

Pranam. 🙏

Every individual is both the agent for an action as well as the one who experiences the result of an action. As a doer he is called as the ‘Karta’ and as the experienced he is called as the ‘Bhogta’. The result which he gets may of an action done either in recent past or even previous lives. It is important to understand that as a ‘Karta’ the person has a choice over his action however, as a ‘Bhogta’ he has no choice but to experience the result. As a performer of action an individual prefers favorable results.

As a ‘Karta’ the individual cannot completely determine the outcome. Hence it is right to say that every Karma we do may or may not produce what we want. This understanding often creates a sense of helplessness. A person may plan to achieve something but what one achieves may be quite different or even the opposite.

In times like these where everyone is scared of being infected by the virus let’s try to reduce the panic and anxiety in our minds by being mindful and aware.

To help in developing the positivity here is a small meditation that we all can practise any time of the day.

1. Wear comfortable clothing, sit on a chair or lie down on the bed.
2. Rest your hands on your hips or rest them on your sides if you are lying down.
3. Close your eyes and relax your facial muscles.
3. In your mind try to say the following things

My body is healthy and fit.

I extend my positive energy to everyone around me.

I nourish my body with healing foods.

My body gets all the vitamins and nutrients it needs.

I love eating healthy foods.

Energy flows to and through me freely.

I radiate positive energy and vitality.

I want everyone to be healed.

I want to see everyone around me happy.

You can do this meditation twice or thrice a day. I hope it helps everyone.

Most of the times our mind wanders in places where we have been before and other times it goes into the places where we want to be. In short our mind is either in the past or in the future. Now this sounds absurd. If my body is here then why isn’t my mind here?

The answer to this is not easy. Our past experiences and situations keep replaying in our head throughout the day. We keep thinking about the pleasant and stressful situations most of the times. Often trying to reenact the past. Frankly speaking there is no outcome of it. Its a complete waste of time and energy. The time which could have been utilised to do something productive is spent in thinking about the last dinner or about a recent argument you had with someone close to you.

The past can be troublesome most of the times as it brings back depressive memories and sad events. And the mind keeps reinventing the scenarios with the best and favourable outcomes just to please the mind.

The impact of this is directly on the present. It affects our day to day activities. It diverts the mind from focusing on the work on hand. Mechanically we carry on with the work but without mindfulness. Subconsciously we end up doing the activities like studying, reading a book, writing an email, etc. but we are not doing it with full involvement. Maybe our mind tries to open some doors of the past. Maybe we think about the weekend that’s going to come.

The experiences that affect the present the most are the bitter ones. As Gautama Buddha said “Attachment to situations, people and things is the main causative agent for any kind of suffering.” unless we let go off these attachments our mind will always be stuck in the past and will try to seek pleasure by satisfying those cravings.

1. Make a schedule
Take two or three subjects per day and make a weekly plan so that all the chapters are covered from the entire syllabus. Approximately 5-8 hrs of self study should be aimed at as the final lap matters the most.

2. Take breaks
After a study of 2 hrs it is good to take a short break for coffee or having a chat with your mom. It freshens up the stagnated mind and opens up the clogs for the next study session. Remember, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

3. Write write write
Keep writing difficult answers of Science, Social sciences and Hindi. Maths should be practised keeping in mind 20-30 questions in one hour. Practise diagrams, formulae and chemical reactions.

4. Stick charts
Make charts and diagrams and stick them on to your pin board or near your study area. Visual memory will develop when you keep revisiting the diagrams and charts.

5. Meditate
Atleast 10 mins in the morning should be spent in meditation. Just focus on your breath, it will calm your mind and remove the unnecessary chaos from the mind.

6. Solve previous year papers
It is recommended that students solve previous years papers, practise papers or sample papers. These are easily available on the internet or purchase a book which has sample papers like Oswal, Arihant, etc.

Hope these pointers are helpful. Follow them with deligence and success will be yours.

Hardly any days are left for the final exams of all grades leaving the students in stress and confusion. The following things will definitely help you all in managing the time and studying effectively.

Best luck for your exams!!