Summarized by: Prarthana Gururaj
PARADOX OF LIFE – WE HAVE MORE AND MORE EXTERNAL COMFORTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE BUT WE ARE NO HAPPIER THAN BEFORE
We are all seeking freedom from fear
FEARS – fear of death, insecurity about jobs, relationships, health etc
We seek this freedom because it is our essential nature to be free.
FREEDOM ( aka DETACHMENT) begins with intelligent self restraint. ( egs understanding Yama,
Niyama, daily sadhana, Shreyas and Preyas)
Eg: using electricity requires following its laws.
Governments impose laws for a free society to
function efficiently and peacefully. We impose restrictions on our diet etc to live a healthy life.
THE ART OF RIGHT CONTACT:
Our religious tests have prescribed codes of contact for us to interact with the world so that these
interactions create the right kind of contact.
The tests describe happiness as something within us and not in the external world.Therefore
problems should be seen as opportunities to sharpen our personality
1.Perception is REALITY
2. You are the PROBLEM and you are the SOLUTION
3. Situation + My Response = Outcome.
Eg: Knife cannot be sharpened if it is not polished against a blunt stone.
Don’t blame the world, it is your view of it. Not understanding this makes us bitter in the presence
of challenges.
Step one to experience mental tranquility is the develop the attitude of gratitude. Awareness of all
our blessings.
‘I had no shoes and complained – until I met the man who had no feet’
OUR HERITAGE:
Our heritage is to be independent of the world around us. Our true Self seeks to be free of the
World of objects.
We are not meant to be slaves to the ever changing scenarios of the external world.
A person who has realized that freedom has gained mastery over his mind. He is at peace regardless
of the surroundings.
He is not indifferent, he feels emotions but is not overpowered by them
At this point we also discussed the concept of FIR – frequency, intensity of mental agitation and
recovery in response to an external situation. The goal always being that the FIR should go down as
we progress on this path of gaining mastery over the mind.
Human being fundamentally consists of:
Body: realm of perception( sense organs) and action
Mind: Realm of emotion
Intellect: Realm of thoughts and idea
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