I Think..........

Exam, thank God, my exam is over, The phobia of exam is such that, every day as soon as the paper is finished, the first call I would receive is from my mother enquiring about the paper,,,,and she would say me Dudu,,,,,,how was your exam,,,,,how much you will get, was everything fine in the paper…..then the stream of call will start,,,,,my Father,,,,,straight to percentage, either he will start from 95 percent or 20 percent, then my aunt (pahi), Koka, Aita,(Grandpa/ Garandmaa), my mother’s sister (Mahi),,,,her son,,,,and the streams of call will go on and on…..and the tension barometer of my body would go up to the boiling point.

I was wondering, actually when we are in the process of growing up, what we learn about success, is that we always must excel in our studies. We must always work hard in order to achieve it, right? We need to work long and hard get good grades, in order to get high-paying job. Now that thought has become so engrained in our materialistic society that if any one try to think a different path or think out of the box, his or her path is always viewed as failures. If we didn't get good grades in school, we were reprimanded by your teachers and parents, and even made fun of by your peers. Even worse, we are prevented from moving into a higher grade. If we didn't get into college, our parents were disappointed and our friends felt sorry for us. If we haven't gotten a medium to high-paying job at a reputable company with a prestigious title, it can be almost shameful.

When we see someone, who has lost their job, or who, although qualified, has been unable to find a "decent" job. What kind of emotions does a person in this situation usually feel? Fear? Like a failure? Resentment? Shame? Yes. These are all emotions that many feel if they do not fit in to society's definition of success.

So in order to avoid feeling these emotions - to avoid feelings of fear, failure, shame, lack of security, and resentment - many go through life working hard and long to avoid failure, rather than achieve success. This is a major difference between those who ultimately achieve success and those who do not!

I personally coined a term FFS (Fear of Failure Syndrome) I feel that one who goes through life trying to avoid failure will find it very hard to achieve true success. The majority of people are trying to achieve success in their lives by avoiding failure. What do they focus on? They focus on anything that could go wrong in situation, anything that could cause loss or defeat. Or in another modern day language we can call Plastic Knowledge, Disposable Knowledge, which lacks the basic foundation of Principal,,,,in every sphere we use our knowledge giving top priority for our personal benefit, then comes society, nation, environment.

These type of knowledge who calls themselves "know-it-alls", the first ones to try and discourage you from taking a risk. In fact, they hate the word "risk", they run from it. Yet they think they are successful, because they have never failed. You know why they have never failed? Because they have never tried to succeed!

These are the ones that focus on all that appears to be impossible, and what they focus on becomes their world. They constantly say things like, "That would never work!" or "That's impossible." Or, they settle for what they already have and make excuses in saying things like, "I'm comfortable where I am," but deep down inside they long for more.

So what happens when opportunity comes knocking on the door?

1. They don't hear the knock at all, because they're fast asleep; Or
2. They hear the knock, open the door, only to slam the door in opportunity's face, because they looked for and found 1 thing that "could be" flawed in what opportunity had to offer, while ignoring the other 99 benefits that would make that flaw utterly insignificant.

In so doing, those who avoid failure also avoid success. They stay in their comfort zone refusing to risk anything to be successful, hoping that the perfect "big break" will one day come along and save the day.

YOU control your mind.

YOUR MIND controls your ACTIONS.

Your actions determine the type of life you will lead.

Your dominating thoughts become your world.

Your dominating thoughts ARE your world.

You create it with your thoughts. We do not say that by just sitting there and day dreaming any one can become successful or rich. To say so would be plain stupidity. But we believe that your reality is a projection of your thoughts that are in harmony with yourself and your actions.

Our thoughts have a power of their own. If we can understand and utilize them properly, we can accomplish a lot more in our lives. Our thoughts and our state of being go hand in hand and together they create the experience we call life. Positive thoughts create a positive life, bringing us its rich rewards. Negative thoughts do the same thing in a negative way.

An idle life is a product of morbid thoughts. A mind fired by the power of imagination and the desire to achieve cannot produce idle life. If one knows the secrets of thought power and can harmonize ones being with them, corresponding effort would follow and bring in corresponding results. Having energized his thoughts with determination, clear thinking and purpose, it is difficult for any one to sit idle and day dream. His energized thoughts would drive him into action and make him work for his goals.

It is very much true that we create our reality. No one else does it for us. Others can interfere with our lives in a limited way. In the first place they cannot do so without our permission and willingness. The healing thoughts that come to us from outside also can work upon us only with our permission, when we are in a state of receptivity, and are willingly seeking some help from someone or somewhere.

Otherwise, we build our lives completely on our own, with our thoughts and ideas, our goals and desires, our feelings and emotions, our fears and expectations and our behavior and actions. Others come into this drama through our thoughts only. If you know how to make your thoughts work for you, you will accomplish much more in your life than otherwise.

Therefore, before we expect our undertakings to be successful, we must pour into them required energies and resources, not necessarily ours only, but of others as well. Through the magic of our thoughts we can seek the willing cooperation of others also. But we cannot do this by forcing others with our thoughts, but by making ourselves more amenable and acceptable so that we can influence them in a persuasive way for the common good of all. We may employ a thousand people, but we will not get the positive energy of their thoughts unless they are disposed towards us positively. The synergy of a team effort is truly the synergy of the thoughts generated by the team collectively.

With the power of our positive thoughts we can give a definite shape to our efforts and with the power of our sustained efforts we can bring our thoughts into surface reality. This is the underlying mechanism in any successful accomplishment. What we call the planning stage in any venture, is actually a mental exercise during which we give a mental shape to the project with our thought energies and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead.

Our thoughts are therefore our true assets, the raw material with which we build our wealth, the source of all our possibilities and accomplishments. To build something in the physical world, we need to build it successfully in the mental world. Any one who can think clearly and confidently on any project before he actually begins it, stands a better chance of succeeding in his life. In myriad ways, using his thoughts, he can set into motion what he truly desires. By empowering his thoughts, he can create the reality he genuinely wants to experience.

The secret of your life is that your life is shaped by the combined power of your thoughts, your desires and your actions. If you aim for something in your life, which is within the realm of possibility, with determination, and sincerely work for it with perseverance, you will achieve it. If you aim to become something in you life, without any inner conflict, and believe that you can truly transform yourself into that situation with necessary sacrifices, you are going to be that. This is the reality. WE ARE WHAT WE THINK AND BELIEVE TO BE.

Thought

The Quality of our Thinking

The recent dastardly coward act of the Maoist group of attacking the train, where innocent civilians who are unarmed men, women, children, completely unaware of the happenings around them were killed by the meticulously planned strike, once again highlight the fact that that the quality of thinking determines the quality of our life. Whether the serial bombing in Guwahati, or the 26/11 happenings of the Mumbai act or any terrorist attack in Pakistan. When events such as a terrorist bombing that kills hundreds, people all over the world are affected. They feel the tension wave of those unstable situations even though they're not directly impacted. The collective energy generated from the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of the almost six billion people on this planet creates an atmosphere or 'consciousness climate.' Surrounding us like the air we breathe, this consciousness climate affects us most strongly on energetic and emotional levels. An increase in “coherent” thoughts and feelings creates an uplifting momentum in the consciousness climate. An increase in “incoherent” thoughts and feelings creates a stress momentum in the consciousness climate. In other words, coherence or incoherence is broadcast via the consciousness climate much as music or noise is broadcast via radio signals.

The quality of our thinking determines the quality of our life. If we improve the quality of our thinking, in any area, we improve the quality of our life in that area. By using our mind, our ability to think we become a creator of circumstances rather than a creature of circumstances. We move from being powerless to being powerful. We determine everything that happens to us by the way we think about it, in advance. We may not be what we think we are, but what we think we are.

The recent activity of the various terrorist groups operating in India, unfortunately India is the only country where we are faced with three types of terrorist Ideological, Ethnic, and the Religious Fundamentals which make worse for the security force as the approach for each group becomes completely different, worse again we have yet to make a concrete strategy for the ideological terrorist group like the Maoist, the Home ministry is still groping whether to go soft or hammer and tong. Well coming to the main issue of thinking the recent activity of the civilian attack proves beyond doubt that the Ideological group has lost the power of rational thinking. Thought is a power and has its effect on the material world. Thoughts, if powerful enough, travel from one mind to another. If we keep thinking the same thought, people in our environment perceive it and act on it, furthering, usually in an unconscious manner, the materialization of our desires. It reminds me of Bhaja Govindam where a verse depicts our positive attitude of life…..

Translation

As water on a lotus leaf is very unstable, life is extremely unsteady. Know that the whole world is stricken with disease and arrogance and afflicted with sorrow.

Interpretation

The Pratipaksha Bhavana continues. Look at life afresh and you see an uncertain future. Shankara says life is as unsteady as a drop of water on a lotus leaf. A slight breeze is enough to tilt the leaf and the drop of water falls in the pond. Similarly life is unpredictable. At any age, however healthy or strong you may be, there is no security against death. It takes away anyone, at any time.

There is no time to waste. We have a tendency to procrastinate, postpone investment in the spiritual field. This verse conveys the urgency of the situation. Now you have the health, mental and intellectual faculties to develop the spiritual quotient. Who knows what the future has in store? The same facilities may not be available later. So use this precious time for self-enhancement.

Even during this uncertain tenure life is beset with all kinds of problems. There is disease at the physical level, sorrow at the emotional plane and arrogance at the intellectual stage. All of which create agitations. But we have got accustomed to them and do not feel the need to rise above them. We cannot visualise a life free from these hardships. Hence there is no attempt to rid ourselves of them. Bhaja Govindam tries to awaken us to the truth that as human beings we are meant to experience a hassle-free life, one full of cheer and joy.

This does not mean we should take the approach that we might die any moment. The point of this verse is that we must utilise our time judiciously. Invest in our spiritual growth and make our life worthwhile. We seem to think the study of the scriptures is for retirees, but the truth couldn’t be farther from that. Every one of us must set aside a little time for spiritual study everyday, think about it and strive to put it into practice. Before being diagnosed with cancer, Lance Armstrong took it easy on the cycling track. As a result, he didn’t cycle as well he should have. It was only during his fight against cancer that he realized he wasn’t performing to his potential. He decided to commit himself to giving his best everyday. From then on, Lance Armstrong has gone on to win a world-record six Tour de France titles. Unlike Lance, we shouldn’t wait for cancer or some disease to hit us before we start giving our best. So take affirmative action NOW. Refuse to pamper your body. Desist from pandering to your whims and fancies. Make a concerted effort to abide by your own deeper aspirations. Entertain the thought of the higher always. And see the difference.

Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.

Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more ... and on and on it goes.

Positive Action is verily a signature of life. Life manifests most vividly in the form of actions. If the very life principle is said to be the eternal divinity then its manifestation in the form of action is indeed its divine fragrance. To be able to act is indeed a blessing, and anyone who acts in a dynamic, creative way out of the feeling of well being for all becomes a blessing for all those around him, and paves the path for his total fulfillment too. Any philosophy of life which gives due importance to action alone facilitates people to make the best of their lives and vice versa any philosophy which professes an inactive life becomes responsible for the fall of that person, society or the nation

**** Verse & Translation: Vedanta Vision,