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
   

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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.

Paths to Truth

 

Most of us are in search for the truth, whatever that means.

The meaning of truth differs for different people and differs for the same being at different times.

There are three paths to discover the truth of reality. One is the scientific approach, the second is the logical approach, the third is the spiritual approach.

The scientific mind will experiment, and test repeatedly in the objective world. Only when there is proof, the scientific mind accepts.

The logical mind, by using philosophy, evaluating pros and cons, reasons out the truth and conclusions are drawn. No testing is carried out. The entire exercise is subjective and in the mind.

The spiritual approach, where one experiences the truth. They often know not why it is so, but it is.

Scientific approach is of the material world and the exterior, it deals with the objective. In this category belong great people like Newton, Aryabhatta, Ramanujan.

The logical approach is pure mind work and it deals with the subjective and is of the interior. In this category belong Socrates, Kautaliya and Einstein.

The spiritual is the link between the interior of our existence and the exterior world in which we exist. Linking our being and our world, and in this category belong Guru Nanak, Gautam Buddha, Jesus, Kabir Das, etc.

Every individual has a natural inclination and sometimes the gift of teaching and guiding others. Some go the scientific route and some logical and some spiritual.

The scientists often laugh at the spiritual and the logical people for their lack of hard facts and truth.

The philosopher thinks the scientist blind in his arrogance, and the spiritual being as a fake.

The truly spiritual being, simply smiles in bliss and says nothing about others. He or she simply knows.

We are like water, each one a droplet. We take birth springing out along with other droplets of water soon to form a stream. Soon streams merge to form rivulets and they in turn become the river.

Some rivers flow almost straight some wind their way forward. Some rivers flow east, others flow west. Thousands of rivers known by a million names some mighty and some little but all will eventually flow into the ocean where no one can describe which water came from which river.

Each droplet with all its arrogance will eventually return to the ocean. Who knows which drop is right and which is wrong, which is greater. No drop is insignificant but none is also eternally significant.

So it is with each individual and our truths Each one originating from the same ocean as a droplet and returning to the ocean through a long journey back to the ocean.

Truth is so evident and yet so elusive. It is like the air, we cannot grasp it with our hands and minds. It can only breathed in and experienced.

________________

Note: I am grateful to my elders and various friends and teachers who taught me so much and help me awaken even if so little.

Where the women are loved

 

Nowadays one sometimes reads about incidents in India of mistreatment and disrespect of women, and that can never be condoned. However just like a few trees do not define a forest, an aberration does not define a civilisation.

Contrary to common belief, in India, as in most agrarian societies the Goddess the provider of all things, as mother nature, has always been revered. In such societies the female has always been respected, loved and worshipped. Hindu and later Sikh tradition have always honoured women with the highest status of which women are rightly deserving.

Somewhere along the way, this valuable lesson which kept man and nature in harmony got disturbed. Influence of patriarchal and alien religions and cultures industrialisation, urbanisation etc. amongst other causes has taught man that nature and hence females are to be exploited for man's convenience and pleasure. Exploitation can never bring honour, dignity or love, only submission and resentment.

Our salvation and lasting joy can come only by loving and cherishing nature, which is manifested in the female.

Culture is shaped by both tradition and historical influences, and provides us many valuable lessons. Love, trust, and respect can never be legislated, or taught. Respect for women can only be instilled in the hearts and minds of our children by the example of elders and parents in every household.

It is not possible to impose values like respect, love and trust upon individuals, nor can it be taught in classrooms. Though this  is often attempted by the government, media, priests, schools, and civil society with little or no benefit except to enhance their own grandeur and power.

I can share what I have learnt.

If you are a man attempt not to understand them, rather try to cherish and respect the women in your life. If you are a woman, then accept them as imperfect yet honour, respect and care for the men in your life. If we do this the days of our life will be wholesome, because divine energies will reside along with us.

______________

* The Manu-Smriti, also known as Manav Dharam Shastra, is the earliest work on Brahminical Dharma in Hinduism. Manu-Smriti is believed to be the word of Brahma, the Creator and it is classified as the most authoritative statement on Dharma.

The scripture consists of 2690 verses, divided into 12 chapters.  It is presumed that the actual human  author of this compilation used the eponym ‘Manu’, which has led the text to be associated by Hindus with the first human being and the first king in the Indian tradition.