IMPROVED INTROSPECTION

Its 4:30 am. I haven't been writing for a few days, but today the urge suddenly returns. Maybe i didn't have a reason to write these past few days as i was so busy doing things - things which are related directly/indirectly to my future. A myriad world is around us, but yet we make our way silently and patiently doing these "things" which seem to have the most bearing on our lives. The law of Karma is what governs our lives, even if we choose to admit it or not. It is a simple law, one that is easy to understand, but hardest to implement. Cause our minds work faster than our bodies, we imagine ourselves doing a thousand things before they actually happen, creating a world of "skewed reality" around us. We build hopes and dreams around these pseudo-realities. And when things dont happen as we want them to, or against our wishes, we cry, we rant and we let all the negativity in. Part of our lives are consumed by this negativity which is a burden, a chain, that is curbing our growth, our life. It needs to be eliminated, cause we, as human beings desire to be happy. That is our ultimate goal, cause we have senses of touch, of taste, of sound, of sight and smell. We want to please these senses, that is all. Everything we do in this world is to please our senses. You might argue, that satisfying one's ego is not pleasing of the senses. But it is, as science has shown that pleasant sensations run across the body if one's ego is satiated.

A highly important concept in life is to just observe these sensations, don't develop an emotional attachment to them. Cause they are impermanent, so dont crave for them or dont hate them. Just see them for what they really are. These were the teachings of Buddha. And he raught us a way to just observe them. A wonderful technique called as Vipassana meditation. I wont go into the details of the technique, as it can be best understood by experience, but what i will say is that, it is not something that tells you to forget about life and worldly matters. It is something that tells you to have a strong determination to move forward no matter what happens in your life. It teaches you that everything you feel, see, hear, taste and see is ephemeral. Enjoy it, but do not desire it all the time. Cause these sensations are beyond your control. They occur at the subtlest level of the mind. Your job is not to react to them.

A large part of me always felt that teaching was not a big deal. It was just anything else. In terms of skill it is, but in terms of Karma, its gold. Absolute gold. Imparting knowledge of any sort is a noble act, as it is a positive thing to do, it shows a way forward. A way to a place where you are helping yourself. And this is the biggest act of Karma. Realize that you are are helping yourself by every positive thing you do for yourself or for others. Realize that you are harming yourself by every negative thing you do for yourself or for others. Now a lot of philosophy feels like intellectual enjoyment, but it matters what you do with that philosophy. Just be aware of guidelines and do your work. Life is simple, our inabilities make it complicated.

The above are not really my original ideas. they draw heavily from the teachings of Buddha. I recently went for a Vipassana meditation course and imbibed some of these. I must say that after 10 days in isolation I realized the cause of a lot of things. Of why we suffer, why we enjoy, why we feel things the way we do. Its all internal. All answers to our questions lie within ourselves. I highly recommend the Vipassana course for anyone interested in answers to abstract questions.

P.S. The image is that of a baby meditating. :)