To Abandon Society

 Alone we come into and alone we shall leave this world.

What we do in the intervening period is what we call, 'life'.

Individual life is our insignificant participation in this collective and glorious dance of the universe.

However, we who consider ourselves as an intellectually and philosophically evolved species, are unable to accept the reality, that in the larger scheme of things we are inconsequential. 

Biologically speaking, the instinct of every species is to survive, find mates, procreate and ensure the healthy survival of our offspring and hence our genes. This fundamental instinct drives all our behaviour, which leads us to seek to dominate others.

To satiate our ego we manufacture all sorts of ideas and undertake numerous quests, to appear to ourselves and to others, that we do matter. That we have taken birth for a special reason and therefore acquired the right to dominate others.

We enter into society at birth but progress through it by our actions. We are constantly seeking to rise in the hierarchy of our societies. The objectives being to survive, attract the best and most suitable of mates and ensure survival of our offspring.

The individual needs society and society thrives upon the individuals who populate it. Both of whom are also intertwined in a symbiotic relationship with nature and our environment. 

Cursed by modernity, we may have forgotten that we must not disrespect our symbiotic relationship with both society and nature. To respect meaning to take only what we need for our survival and needs, eventually returning back to society and nature all we have taken from them.

Eventually our spirit will abandon even our body and merge back into the ocean from which we have emerged. Before that we will consciously or unconsciously abandon all that defines us in society, our possessions, our status, our strengths, our relationships, etc. 

After a brief life, each individual will one day willingly or unwillingly abandon society, meaning we will abandon society or society will abandon us. 

The difference is in the former we choose, and in the latter society chooses.  No matter what the story of each individual is, this end chapter is common to every life.

If we abandon society consciously we will be content and peaceful. If we cling to society, life will one day agonisingly wrench it away from us. This is the nature of existence.

Often associates, friends and relatives complain about my lack of attachment to things and relationships. But it is not deliberate or even conscious, it just is the dropping out of society. I suppose this is good because it is the gradual embracing of the inevitable, my gradual abandonment of society as I have known it.

By sharing and not bothering about receiving, I feel that the more I abandon society and material things, the greater grows my spiritual wealth. It's a strange but peaceful phase of life, where I explore and examine my learning,  experiences and wonders that I have collected in my brief life.

We create our own 'realities'.

 During the war in 1948, American ambassador to the U.N. Warren Austin called upon the Arabs and Jews to settle their differences 'like good Christians'.

The ambassador was sincere but trapped within his own 'reality' that the only faith in the world was Christianity. As a result he was promptly ignored.

____________________

To survive we all create for ourselves a paradigm. Our paradigm of life being a set of references of how, where, when, why we should do and not do, what we like or dislike, who are our friends, enemies, what is healthy, toxic, safe, dangerous etc. This paradigm is our reality.

Unfortunately most people do not construct their own reality, it is handed over to us by others in society and most people simply accept and follow.

Reality, however is multi-dimensional, and includes aspects such as family, religion, country, community, race, gender, profession, social status, relationship, love, marriage, friendship, etc.

Typically to keep the flock together, leaders political, religious  etc. instil in followers the reality, that those who belong to another community, country,  religion or organisation are enemies. They are strictly forbidden from interacting with others, lest they influence their followers and give birth to other thoughts and ideas. So fearful and fragile is our reality that we blindly cling and defend it to the death or readily seek to destroy others.

That is why it is said by wise men through the ages that 'travelling makes smart people wise and fools worse'.

Those who are smart and travel with open minds and hearts discover other realities, they transcend their initial fears thus becoming wiser and stronger.

Foolish are those who are close minded and stone hearted and they are always insecure. Being fearful and feeling threatened they learn little or nothing because all they can do is seek reinforcement of their existing reality. They become fanatical with little or no tolerance for things that do not conform to their reality.  Fanaticism of any kind is unhealthy, threatening both, individuals and society.

Typically leaders fear change and change agents which can give rise to revolutions and threaten the grasp of leaders on their followers. They want one reality for everyone and will go to great extremes to impose their 'realities'. Awakened individuals discover other realities and can stir up  trouble and upset the status quo. Thus weak regimes and religions are fearful. They oppose education, experimentation (physical, emotional or intellectual) and always restrict access to information.

Leaders are expected to guide people and lead society towards achieving prosperity, well being, happiness, etc. However when leadership becomes corrupt etc. they build, mirrors their nature. Unless the society itself is rooted in strong, healthy values and traditions the leadership can easily conjure up harmful realities.

Sure, if there is no order than there will be chaos, there must be rules in society. Rules however should be born out of respect and understanding for the system and others rather than out of ignorance and fear.

When societies have made sudden and dramatic changes in their reality due to physical, intellectual and financial occupation of their societies, we observe great turmoil within society and individuals. The further and faster a society drifts from its roots and traditions, the more unsettling it is for both individuals and society. 

Individuals can adopt new realities much quicker than society. So we see this great conflict between modernity and tradition. This is the great responsibility of families and all pillars of society to find that balance.

The pillars of society are Gurus and Masters, teachers, healers, doctors, media, members of the legal, political, religious, business, financial, etc. communities. Then there is also the law and order machinery, government administration, the armed forces, etc. These pillars who are all charged with the care and welfare of society are now increasingly failing to discharge their responsibilities or manipulating them at great cost to society.

If these pillars of society responsible for the well being and prosperity of society maintain their integrity and subordinate their personal needs to the needs of society, these societies will flourish and the individuals will have a better chance of being happy and successful.

Without being anchored in values, opened eyed but with closed minds modern man today it seems is besieged from all sides, by corruption, and exploitation.

Complicated laws, rules and procedures, rituals are the order of the day. If the robber does not get you then the legal system will, if the trader does not then the professional will skin you. If the devil lets you escape the priest will capture you.

We humans can survive only if we can construct a better world. Alas it seems we have lost all will and ability to change ourselves or our world. This possibly explains why we are obsessed with the promise of a better existence in the next or after life.

Each individual has his or her own paradigm and therefore our realities are bound to be different.

It is futile to blame or force others, if we want change then it begins with changing ourselves and respecting the realities of others.

Explaining birds and bees to Western children nowadays.

 

A friend from  America wrote and in a humorous manner  complained about parenting challenges they were facing.

It seems that the only way we humans can handle the truth is if it is delivered with wit. Otherwise the public will attack the bearer of the truth. He said,

"It's tough for American parents nowadays. We have to be able to explain the birds and the bees…. The bees and the bees… The birds and the birds…. The birds that used to be bees…. The bees that used to be birds…. The birds that look like bees… Plus bees that look like birds but still got a stinger"

                                                              _______________

The world is following in the footsteps of Western democracies also known as 'mature democracies'. Here leaders in an attempt to get every vote possible rampantly indulge in identity politics. 

So instead of uniting the people behind great purpose and meaningful living. They keep on dividing the population into smaller and smaller segments and subsegments. The politicians promise to accept more and more demands even the absurd from each segment and then to appease them pass laws forcing the majority to accept these unjust, unequal, illogical, unnatural and morally repulsive laws catering to each segment.

The government in power may indulge in the fantasies and quirks etc. of most groups particularly  the noisy and aggressive ones and land up catering to the demands of each sub group. But the general population are not obliged to. Not the majority, not other societies, communities that hold differing belief and value systems.

Sexual deviancy and homosexuality exists in all living species. Yet in many societies particularly Christian and Muslim societies homosexuality is a sin and punishable by death. A movement started in the predominantly Christian West to prevent the persecution of Lesbians and Gays (homosexuals) in their societies by the majority and granting them protection and a legal right to openly practice their preferred sexual orientation. 

At first the move was lauded, now protection and privileges have been extended further to include bisexuals, transexuals, queers and ever other form of sexual deviation and now in an ever expanding list known as LGBTQ+. This is destroying the fabric of society.

The great Chinese master Lao Tzu taught rulers, "A wise ruler keeps the minds of his people empty and their bellies full."  This is the danger from affluence, for the people move to focus on the trivial, and the constant pursuit of entertainment and pleasures forgetting to work sincerely, maintain strong social and familial bonds, and contribute to a prosperous and harmonious world.  

One cannot but wonder that a society so dominated by, and fixated on gender and sexuality issues has got to be  a decadent society. Such a society is inherently weak and ripe for implosion and certain collapse.

Sexual deviancy is observed in all species of animals and plants, in creation. In civilisations like in India, usually deviancy is considered as natural and hence tolerated, even accepted. Deviants may be  sometimes mocked but rarely persecuted.

Take for example, 'transexuals' and 'transvestites', in India they have participated openly, actively and respectfully in Indian society for millennia. They hold public office and operate their own businesses. This is the evolution of a civilisation and not an imposition of 'minority groups', by governments upon the majority.

No two individuals are identical. Each one of us is unique, worthy of existing with dignity as long as they do not trouble or harm others. But do we have to worship the LGBTQ+ community or place them on pedestals? We can merely consider them as exceptions, but not special nor privileged. When they form part of the main stream they become relatively harmless people while retaining a high capacity to enrich and contribute both to themselves and to society.

The people of democratic societies in the West, can make their choices as they like and it is their prerogative.  However the obsession with gender and sexuality glorified under the banner of freedom, by the West is very unhealthy, retrograde and toxic. 

I ask, 'do other countries and societies with their own but differing history, unique culture and value systems, have to foolishly and blindly copy the West or have them imposed by the West on other countries and societies?'

Definitely not.

We can daily meet the Divine

 If we examine our modern and urban lives, we discover that we are surrounded by artificiality. Almost everything we use, consume or interact with is man made. Except for family, friends, and playtime almost all our interactions with others is transactional and hence dominated by a sense of artificiality.

The greater the pervasiveness of artificiality the less the possibility for us to realise happiness.

I spend considerable time in my small terrace garden and I realise that if look with awareness we can see nature and life pulsating and humming in all its glory and power. 

I observe the tender shoots emerging and the flower buds beginning to blossom right before my eyes. 

I see and hear the birds that chirp, the Sunbird's hover and the Myna's hop, the fluttering butterflies, the gecko shooting its long tongue out to ambush and gobble up an unsuspecting insect. The spider ceaselessly spinning its web. Those who have pets know the priceless emotion of their nuzzling upto us simply to love and be loved.

These experiences bring us closer to nature and touch pleasure chords deep within our being.

In those moments, of quiet solitude without phones and papers, where we just watch, listen to and breathe in absorbing life, we feel at peace and happy. These peaceful moments within our chaotic and tightly scheduled lives can and do have a powerful impact in rejuvenating us.

Just like sleep and physical rest refresh our body and mind, our meeting with nature rejuvenates our emotional being, our spirit.

The divine exists in every thing in nature, big and small. To acknowledge both our own and their existence, to respect their place and time in the greater scheme of life, is to be at peace and realise happiness.

We will discover that that this emotional rejuvenation will make achievement and success easier and its taste sweeter.

Not complexity but in simplicity lies success.

Not in the artificial but in nature we will find peace and happiness.

We do not have to offer bribes, go on pilgrimages or to perform penances to meet the Divine.

We can daily meet the Divine, wherever we may be.

God, Men, Women, Dogs and Cats

 "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide dogs with food, water, shelter and affection, they will think you are God.

Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realise that, if you provide cats with food, water and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are God."

~ Christopher Hitchens

In that sense, the nature of men are like dogs, and women are similar to cats.

Men like dogs are easily manipulated and managed by those to whom they give their trust and love.

A man's needs are basic and pretty straightforward. He needs space, to be left alone to do his 'thing', whatever his 'thing' may be.

A man loves it when he is given space to pursue his hobbies, passions etc. well fed and preferably gets sex on a regular basis. Under such circumstances a man will think of the woman as a Goddess.

Most men find women too complex, unsuccessfully spending a lifetime trying to understand women.

Like a cat, a woman is difficult to understand and impossible to discipline. A woman just like a cat has a mind of her own, doing pretty much what she wants when she wants.

Women appear to behave irrationally and independently, but actually women are programmed biologically with one main rational motive, to ensure their own survival and that of their offspring.

A woman expects to be wooed, fussed over, loved, not only cared for but also protected, pampered etc. Never satisfied with her man's capabilities, achievements, looks, behaviour etc. a woman expects her man to keep on improving.

A woman almost always complains, how she has the most difficult job in the world, is discriminated against, how life, society and her family are all unfair to her. Inspite of the moaning she feels she is God.

I practice what Oscar Wilde once remarked,

"A woman is not to be understood, she only has to be loved."

So you men stop trying to understand your woman and go out there and simply love her.

Joy at the end of the world

Deep in the Ecuadorian wilderness at an altitude of 2,600 mtrs ((8530 ft) above sea level precariously perched atop a treehouse 'Casa del Arbol' is a is a seismic monitoring station. It's location is perfect for seismologists to observe and keep a tab on Mt. Tungurahua, the nearby active volcano and warn others in the region in case of any danger.

While the treehouse itself is a sight to behold, the real attraction is the swing hanging from one of the tree’s skinny branches appropriately called 'Swing at the End of the World'

With only a lonely seat belt to hold you in, the swing set up by a whimsical seismologist arcs riders out into the air over the seemingly bottomless canyon.

If one wants to experience the feeling of joy, and excitement of existing at the very end of the world, then the swing at Casa del Arbol, near Banos in Ecuador might just be the place.

Should the active volcano Mt. Tungurahua in whose shadow sits Casa del Arbol, erupt then one will witness the city of Baños being engulfed in lava.

If instead of erupting should the volcano explode then the Casa del Árbol too would be engulfed in lava. From this perspective, a visit to this swing will definitely feel like the end of the world for the swingers. But what a ride that would be?

The swing at Casa del Arbol only goes to remind us that there is a possibility of happiness, joy and excitement everywhere for everyone.

 Interesting links:

• The Swing of Casa Del Arbol, Ecuador ~ Amusing Planet
• A swing to dangle you off the very edge. - Casa del Arbol, Ecuador ~ Atlas Obscura
• Swing At The End Of The World ~ Wanderbus Ecuador
   

More from Guru Wonder:

Blogger - Facebook - Gab - GDNLife -  Instagram  - linkedin - SikhNet - SoundCloud -

South Asia Analysis Group - Tumblr - Twitter

Ref: G0782

 

Women, not the weaker sex

Acharya Chanakya (B.C.E. 375 -283) was an Indian monk with a profound understanding of life and its myriad dimensions. He has provided the world with many treatises on numerous subjects and within them countless gems of wisdom.

Many of these gems of wisdom, challenge our modern perceptions of life. Modern perceptions are actually impositions on an innocent humanity by intellectual, religious, political that have vested interests.

I came upon this nugget of Chanakya's wisdom.

"In comparison with men, women have,

Double the hunger,

Four times the bashfulness,

Six times the valour, and

Eight times the sexual desire"

If this be true then why is it not so evident. This is because a woman conceals her desires and wants, behind her bashfulness, something which men cannot do.

A woman is normally not aggressive, however when necessity demands it a woman can throw up her fearless nature revealing her valour scorching the object of her fury, as many an adversary has discovered.

As a brother, a father, a husband and a son, as a colleague, friend, and employer I can certify from my experiences that women are definitely not the weaker sex.

Women, without them men are but a fraction of themselves.

For a man may have his will, but a woman has her ways.

Blissful

 Imagine the soul to be a swan.

This swan wishes to soar, but cannot, because it is held down, shackled by chains.

The chains of ego, anger, greed, lust and attachments.

Power is not bad neither is wealth, nor love and emotions, they are all integral parts of our lives. even essential to our existence. The problem occurs with attachment, we believe that the position is for ever as will be our wealth, strength, beauty, youth, etc. and all the peopled things in our life. They are not permanent, in reality nothing is permanent not even our own body and mind. 

The day we acknowledge and accept that nothing is permanent the chains will fall away and the worldly shackles that hold the soul to our physical, material, mental world released, then the soul swan will soar to the skies.

The bliss is not in the sky but within. The swan is metaphorical. The soaring is of the spirit.

A word is worth a million images

A word when read or heard will form a unique image in the mind of the listener or reader. Unique because each individual has his or her own perspective on everything, which exist within the reality they have created for themselves.  For example take the word 'love', it will form a different image in each individual's mind. Each image viewed differently for the same reality.

For each word, billions of people, can potentially envision billions of unique images.

Why is this important to appreciate?

Harmony between people can only be achieved if people are willing to accept that different individual and communities have different realities Each reality shaped by environment, society, family, learning and experiences.

Openness and engagement helps us evolve and becoming wise, permitting us to broaden, deepen and make vibrant our individual perspectives and allows us to better understand and respect the perspectives of others.

It is useful to remember that, the foundation of a civilisation is respect, not tolerance.