hai boys and girls (if you get angry with this then i will ask "hai paattees and thaathhaas"...is that ok?
...let us come out of the 'age related and 'hierarchical position' related behaviours, which age us super fast!
)...how are we?
Spirituality is a part of entire human life from womb to tomb...to become CEOs or top guns in job, or to live a peaceful and successful family and social life you need to live a spiritual life...so, students, if you read the mail below, you will understand these words!
thank you for all those who sent mails and messages saying 'great mails' 'eye openers' etc. One has said 'started my Life Version.02' etc...thank you all!
a special thanks to all who read the long mail completely and patiently. This is also a bit long
but certainly you will feel a change at the end.
those who want to start with a laughter can read the last para first...or read it at the end and laugh!
Our human life is connected by thousands of invisible threads. The places where we live, the situations we meet in life are all continuously and consistently shaping us and getting shaped by us.
The situations we meet creates a good number of possibilities for us to behave. It is very interesting to study and understand how we influence as well as get influenced by one another.
so, even when we are alone we are thinking about others...i.e social thinking...this study about social thinking, social influence and social relations is very interesting!...it is important for us as engineers, managers, leaders, HR professionals, scientists and of course, as adaptable human beings for peaceful living.
It is interesting to discover how a social situation leads a very different people to act very similarly. As well as how very similar people act very differently. we need to understand the nature of social behavior and social thought of people around us.
Few years back ganesh chathurthi was celebrated inside the homes and at temples with bhakthi. Now many political parties approach police and conduct celebrations, poojas, processions and what not. The result is seen as photos now in news papers...all thousands of ganesh idols are floating in gutters, dirty ponds, blocking the passage of water. Do they get immersed?...are they soluble?...The belief in god earlier took only a turn of superstition. You can see now what all turns it is taking!...will this stop with just ganesh or will spread to other gods too?
All these things are happening, not because of lack of education...it is because of our culture of 'emotionally and blindly following' without using our brains. For us 'following rituals' is 'being spiritual'!...we don't ask ourselves 'will doing this ritual result in what we want?'...so, leads to 'everything is there but nothing is there' situation...ie everything is there but the result is not there!...e.g the famous sweet shop near PSG Tech is recently renovated with shining granite flooring!...but the outside cemented corridor gets painted with the 'cow dung' water every friday or auspicious days...all customers step on the wet cow dung and spoil the granite floor. Why to waste so much of money and change cement flooring to granite flooring if our head is full of cow dung?...on festival days my street stinks with cow dung as every house front is washed with thick layer of cow dung!
I received a mail from a Senior Scientific Officer of TATA...it is here...
Dear Ram,
You are going spiritually romantic. That's what I find out from my research with spiritual aspirants. I call it spiritual you are calling it romantic. The same western ghats mesmerized me spiritually but my location was Madhukkarai, where I spent my childhood.
this made me to think about the definition of spirituality!...I have not read Bhagwad Gita or Bible or Kuran or any other religious or the so called spiritual or sacred or holy books of spiritual leaders or mahans or rishis etc. I have never attended the speeches or lectures of any guru and i am not part of any such spiritual groups or organisations. No symbols of any religion or caste neither physically nor in any of my mental structures!
But I learnt it in my own way through my mother...you know how?...all children feel 'down times' and they go to their mom's lap or hugs for the emotional support to gain mental strength. I also used to go and lie down on her lap. But the moment she knows i am approaching and my head touches the lap she used to shout and push me away vehemently...real hard push... "Get lost from here! go to the bed and sleep!...oil on head will spoil my saree and who will wash!"...of course, she is right!...so, I stopped applying oil on my head. For this also I got beaten up and my mom and grandma used to chase me and 'pour' the oil on the head. For grandma, oil should flow on forehead, that is the right kind of application!...in such a situation all children, endowed with the natural coping skills, modify their behaviours...if they perceive empathetically and positively then it leads to constructive behaviours and resilience. But when perceived negatively then leads to destructive, vengeance, revenge taking behaviours affecting their studies and social relations. They will tear the books, dresses, damage all that of their parents, siblings, cause damage to their name and fame, do not study, bring in disciplinary issues from school and society. so, check out if you know some children like this and know the reason to apply the right intervention. Now, coming back to the issue...
so, what I did?...I did not go to bed. Instead I went out and slept on my dog, which never...never...I repeat...never barked at me or threw me...or bit me...instead it used to wager the tail and lick me all over nicely. So, he replaced my mother. This gave me so much of solace that either I studied or slept or slept on my dog. Made me to bring
birds, hens, cats, fishes, and an 'amazon forest' within 2 cents of land with all types of plants, flowers, trees...tubers, climbers...name anything, it was there! two coconut trees, guva, curry leave tree, pomagranette, drum stick tree, all types of 'keerai's (palaks), onion, tomato, brinjal, beetroots, carrot, cauliflower...woff...everything!!!...all hybrid from TNAU seeds!...all these brought lots of birds, worms, butter flies, grass hoppers, of course, snakes too!...hens made a poultry, hundreds of all types of fishes, a big cage full of love birds...so, I was grown up by them with lots of love, love and only love. They taught me the real meaning of spirituality...as anything that gives true happiness, good health, love, success, peace, good social well being etc.
Today, you open any news paper ('thina thanthi') or any book...it will say 'aanmeegam' (tamil translation for spirituality) and contain all pictures of different gods and goddesses, all beliefs related to them, all stories, rituals to be performed, dos and don'ts...wofff...and what not!...our people read all these, spend hours and hours in temples...at the end are they happy?...they are full of anger, frustration, jealousy, 'aathangam'...full of negativities about neighbours, relatives, office staff, friends...suffocating
!!!!
Is it spirituality?...does their understanding of spirituality lead to peace, happiness, good physical, mental and social health and success?
My understanding of spirituality is different. You might disagree with me. But it does not matter
. I follow it and i am happy, peaceful and successful.
It is not about god!
It is not about godly stories, beliefs, rituals and related superstitions (astrology, nameology, numerology, and all such allergic 'logies' without logic!)
They linked god probably thinking that 'fear of god will make human beings, humble, follow value systems' etc. If this is right then every one should be happy, healthy and peaceful!...but we find bodies full of diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, minds full of wild negative strategies and plans on people and relationships, minds with mental disorders causing disharmony inside the house and outside...are they healthy?...they are only part of 'varuthha padum vayothigar sangam!'
Spirituality is about 'how we are supposed to live?' than 'how we are living now!'...it originates from mental aspect of life flowing down to the physical behaviours and 'living the life' rather than the material and sensual aspects of life.
Spirituality is being with nature. Being with other living organisms and plant life. It is about eating only natural food. It is about doing lots of physical work in natural environs (walking, running, skipping and all sorts of exercises (those five types of body parts movements in my blog) and following an 'exercise regime'). It is about doing yoga asanas and meditation to keep the neurotransmitter and hormonal secretions in balance. It is not about 'controlling' tongue (eating) or mind or body or behaviours. It is about 'regulating' all these through above methods so that there are no body urges to eat or 'pleasure' or harm any living organism. It does not mean we will become numb. It only means that we will feel hungry to give nutrition for the body. A pleasant, spiritualistic and soft body urge for 'pleasure'.
It is about not 'expecting anything' from human beings. It is about doing everything by yourself. 'swayam kaam karo'. It is about not being dependent upon others for your food, cleaning, washing and all other chores we expect from mother, father, wife, husband and siblings.
It is about being empathetic.
It is about not being jealousy and comparing.
It is about not demanding, controlling, ordering etc.
It is about loving, caring and giving. It is about how to keep the other fellow human being happy and peaceful. Of course, both in relationship should have this spiritual feeling.
It is about being simple. It is about having least needs and wants.
It is about being noble.
It is about being without anger and all negative thoughts, emotions and behaviours with all people, situations, life events, other living organisms and the environment around us.
It is about being calm in mind and body. It is about accepting everything in the way they happen. Successes and failures. It is about accepting people as they are. It is about knowing our capacities and planning our goals within that. It is about having 'aasai' (needs and wants for growth) but not having 'peraasai' (greed).
It is not about differentiating people. It is not about 'differentiating the humanity and integrating small groups'. It is about no differentiation and no need for integration. It is about no borders. It is about no exploitation of people or scarce resources. It is about preserving nature and not destroying nature. If we preserve nature, then there is no exploitation or cheating, then there is no war or boundary of nations (all wars of past, present or future are for 'possessing the scarce resources').
It is about not being 'possessive' about people, places, wealth, properties, events, life situations, relationships etc.
It is about search for wisdom...any true knowledge for happiness, good health, peace, harmony etc.
It has no gods or religions or rituals or beliefs or politics.
It has no gurus or leaders or rishis or Master or 'god sent prophets or mahan's...it is that all of us are equal and all of us are these sacred people.
It does not require a guru to learn about spirituality, as all of us are gurus to each other. I have learnt the value systems from all these dogs, birds, worms, plants etc and of course, from each human being i have come across, mostly from people less aged than me, children!...the true gods!
God is not partial to bless some and curse some. Let us not downgrade god by applying our human traits to gods. Nature has produced every human being with adequate intelligence to learn from nature about spirituality.
Spirituality is not about 'not having sex' or growing beard or shaving the heads ('mazhithhalum neettalum vendaa, ulagam pazhithha thozhithhu vidin') or having some magical skills, wearing clothes or ornaments or garlands or any outfits that create a sacred or holy image. It is about being a human being.
It is not about creating 'fear'. It is about creating 'love, affection and peace'.
Mother Theresa lived a better spiritualistic life than the spiritual gurus or those adored by people of present and past as spiritual leaders.
It has no linkage or identity with politics, religion, caste and all such divisive forces.
It is not about what to eat, what dress to wear and how to wear. It is about feeling freedom, comfort and making others also to experience the same.
It does not mean remain away from human beings. It is about 'not being with', while 'being with' human beings.
It is about eating other living organisms (plants, animals and human beings) 'only for survival' and not for pleasure, variety, nutrition, strength, good health, happiness etc.
It is not about 'following' the so called 'great' people blindly and emotionally attached. It is about using our brain, thinking, using logical and realistic methods, perceiving and following as per 'what is right for us'.
It is about 'not being emotional' with anything and any one even regarding emotions.
It is not about fearing of gods and people for their 'nuisance value'. It is about 'changing them' or 'remaining away from them' or being an example to bring in the change.
It is 'we are nature and nature is us!'...it is about not differentiating 'us' and 'nature'. Not about differentiating 'us' and 'universe'. We are universe. We are earth. We are gods. Every one is same. It is about seeing everything as one entity. If we see like this then there is no fear of death, no fear of nature, no fear of natural calamities, and all the stories we build to accept 'aging and death' are not required.
It is not about blaming others for not being spiritual but to live a spiritual life for our own good.
It is not about 'not living a family life'...it is not about 'living like a rishi or sanyasi or 'thuravi' etc. It is about 'living a family life while being a sanyasi'. All great sanyasis lived a happy family life (e.g vishwamitran, vashist, thiruvalluvar etc). There is no 'thuravaram' without passing through 'illaram', as nature has produced all bodies, minds, emotions for reproduction and rearing. Faking gives satisfaction but not a complete gratification. Evolution has added more wisdom and skills but has not withdrawn the basic natural instincts for survival and procreation. So, 'illaram' is the route to 'thuravaram'.
Reaching higher hierarchical positions (CEOs) in organisations 'with out any diseases' and while being happy and healthy physically, mentally and socially requires high EQ (Emotional Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual Quotient) more than the IQ. An average IQ, which nature has given to all, coupled with hard work, high EQ and SQ will certainly self actualize and self transcend an individual.
Social scientists define it as 'search for the sacred'. But in my definition it is just 'being a human being'! (check out the comparison between animals and human beings in my blog. As per this, at the moment, we are the worst animals on earth!).
Every human being can feel that 'spiritual experience' which all gurus or so called spiritual leaders talk about if they live as above. It is not the 'proprietary property' or 'god given' special 'varam' or blessings for only few.
It is not a 'process of re-formation or transformation'...then it has a connotation of 'being bad first and reforming later'. It is being spiritual by birth and from cradle to grave. It is living spiritual from womb to tomb.
Some say it is about asking questions like 'who am i?', 'what is the purpose or meaning of this life?' 'why did i come here?' etc. If they give this mail as the answer then it is spirituality. If it makes one to 'go behind' like goats then it is not spirituality.
Some say it is 'an internal experience of an individual'. It is not about the 'moments' of that experience. It is about experiencing freedom, happiness, enlightenment throughout our living at homes, at schools, at college, in organisations and in society.
Psychology and Sociology are all about 'overt and covert individual or group behaviours' and therefore, TRUE SPIRITUALITY IS VERY MUCH WITH IN THE AMBIT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY. If others define it differently it does not affect me. I say this not just here, but at forums where all big wigs are present.
No sacred book or sacred human being is out of the ambit of 'research' or 'questioning'. Medieval period of 8th to 13 century has gone by where the 'sacred's and 'holy's were untouched, not researched, not questioned and blindly and emotionally followed. 'slavery' and 'master-slave', 'manager-worker' concepts are buried long back. Spirituality is not about 'controlling', 'slaving' using the whip of god, or religion or caste or politics or legal weapons or threatening or 'nuisance value' etc.
Spirituality is not about 'talking something in the air'...not understandable by common people...to create a feeling of 'mahan or guru' or 'he knows and has experienced great things we are not blessed with to know or experience!' etc...spirituality is 'being down to earth'. It is about talking 'practical life' and 'living on earth' in harmony with realistic, logical and practical things. It is about 'being with all' and not 'separating from others' as mahan or guru or mahatma etc with different attires.
It is not just about 'inner life', 'purity of motives, affections, intentions, inner dispositions, analysis of feelings' etc. It is about practical life.
A farmer or a beggar also can live a spiritual life and preach about spiritualism to others.
Many have talked, written and mostly confused people with so called 'high funda' 'wisdom of higher domain not understandable by common man' etc. They also gave lots of stories and examples which has taken the common man in a different direction and made him follow a totally inhuman ways of living.
Many go for 'seva' in satsungs but do not do their own chores at home and are parasitic. They demand, expect and possess others, their times and energies. Don't know the real meaning of 'seva'. Are they trying to get a 'respectable image' rather than 'living a spiritual life'?
Every human being is supposed to live a spiritual life and not just gurus or spiritual leaders.
Spirituality is not 'talking theories, principles, rules and regulations' 'reading and forgetting' 'not for talking, preaching to get money or respect or 'great person' images. It is about 'following' in life and being a good example to others. To create a 'culture' of spiritual life, to spread it to others like a 'contagious pleasant disease of happiness and peace'...by initially following these 'spiritual practices' as habits at home so that people look at us, understand the benefits, copy the habits, follow and reap the benefits and form and spread as a 'culture'.
You know, since my childhood i am following this life, but my parents feel i live a 'sweet fuckkkk all life' 'don't know how to live' etc. They attend satsungs. Just few months back my mother called me to teach spirituality...one of her many attempts...showed some book...lots of pics...rain drops falling etc...she was telling 'you know this is how the universe has formed' etc. When i told her 'i knew this during school days!' she got fed up, as usual, and left saying 'ithu thirunthaatha janmam!'...she has taken my daughters to satsungs, after which they have told her 'all these we know paatti and have read in our moral science'...attending satsungs or saying 'i follow so and so' is not the point, 'living the real spiritual' life and being noble is what is important!...let us not go to satsungs for 'identity' or 'image's!
Spirituality is not in processions, burning crackers, doing poojas on roads, constructing temples on the road side near gutters, naming thousands of gods ('kudal uruvi maariyamman' is a god's name!), drinking liquor and dancing on road for the 'parai' drum beats, 'going unstable out of high emotional state' and calling it 'god has entered the body', following all sorts of superstitions. We can only have 'fun and entertainment' out of the mockery of god and beliefs on god. No wonder foreigners laugh at us and captured and ruled us!...situation has not changed and it is going worse making the 'internal white men' to take that liberty to rule.
Spirituality is not in temples and mutts with boundaries. It is in open vast nature. We can not become spiritual by standing in long queues, fighting to go for 'priority' darshans, 'paid' darshans, shouting slogans and religious words / phrases, mantras, feeling achieved after few seconds of darshan. It is in spending more time in the natural environs of the temple. It is not in the sounds of people, drums and all the music instruments played in temples. They only make people go to high emotional states and go unstable. Spirituality is in the sounds of nature. In the silence of the peaceful situation in the temple. No wonder people come out saying 'wofff! what a rush! It is life and death there!'. See what we have made out of temples and 'aanmeegam'!...we have created auspicious days, dates and times and there is a mad rush! Can peace come out of rush?
Spirituality is not taught by gods, god men, gurus, masters, spiritual leaders, mahans etc. It is learnt in nature. Taught by breeze, drizzles, clouds, plants, insects, animals, flowers, smells of nature, birds, fishes, frogs...list is endless!
Spirituality is not about chanting vedhas, hymns, doing 'homam's and 'yaagam's, giving 'offerings' to god etc. It is about understanding the meaning and following in life.
It is not about how many thousands or what wealth we put in the temple Hundi...it is about un-welding our closed skull and start thinking. Can you name one god or god man who is poor?...any temple or mutt having less than a crore?...how many thosands of tons of gold or silver or diamonds in the temples and mutts?...why should a noble mahan have thousands or lakhs of crores?...why are we poor compared to gods and god men?...is it spirituality?...why should women be attached to temples (devadasis) where people following 'brahmacharya' live?...all human bodies whether mahan or man, all have functional reproductive system...so, it is not wrong with them, it is the wrong with us and our understanding that 'not indulging in reproduction is spirituality'...'controlling is spirituality'!
It is not the property of people of higher castes as it has no identity of caste.
It is not about living in mutts or ashrams. It is about how we live in side our homes.
Spirituality is 'not a knowledge' to read, teach, preach and forget. It is a life to live and follow.
It is about thinking, being creative, pursuing an art form which is intertwined with all life events.
Spirituality is about being in our true self by self-disclosure, free expression and meditation.
Spirituality is not a profitable business where money is transacted for preaching or in the spiritual processes. It is a real business of activities in life.
Spirituality is not about abusing the body by dieting ('not eating' is different from 'dieting'...'not eating' is keeping the stomach empty and resting...'dieting' is not giving nutrition for the body and taking work out of it, abusing!!!)...performing pilgrimages...It is not about just doing 'prayers' as a ritual...
Spirituality is not 'being emotional on religions and sects'...west asia, from where the two major religions of the world emerged, is it at peace?...why?...the reason why two great people came up with their religions was to make the fighting people to live in calm and peace...now they have taken religion as the reason for fighting and dying.
It is about having qualities such as love, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, responsibility, harmony, and a concern for others...not to look at people with a suspicion and an aim to exploit and cheat.
Spirituality is not something external to us, for us to research or adore or wonder as if we are not destined to have it or some thing beyond us or only for gifted people...it is just our own day to day living, the way we live!
Spirituality is nothing great, it is just our personal well-being, that increases our morale, happiness and life satisfaction.
Ok...I think it is enough about spirituality....here is the 'mokkai' of the day....
When we walk, why the hands move?...why in opposite direction?...why not in the same direction?...why are we not able to walk comfortably keeping the hands stuck to the body?...why are we able to walk faster when we move the hands swing more?...can we swing more and keep smaller steps?...why?...if both hands are not there, will our body in motion be balanced?...is there any relationship between the dimension of the hands or weight of the hands or direction of their motion with the balance of the body? (What you do is take a text book on 'Theory of Machines'...another text book on 'Kinematics of Humanoid Robots'...a third book on Psychology...read all of them...in just few pages of reading you will get such funny questions...then you come to me...we will start a "Scratchers' sangam"!...(scratchers association)...
ok boys and girls...have a good week end...bye...
Spiritually yours...
rams
