Sense of Duty

Do something everyday that you dont want to do ; this is the Golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain !!!
- Mark Twain

The white board in my cube at work, consists of few noise waveforms and the quotation given above on the right hand side. When I read this quotation it rings a familiar bell in my ear. When I was a kid, my mother used to explain me the sense of entitlement she felt towards performing her duties.

The concept of duty exists only in mythologies starting from Mahabhartha all the way to Samurai movies(Akira Kurosawa). I find "Duty" is a good antidote for procastination and fear. In the era of instant gratification where everything has to be served in under 5 minutes and where pleasure search has become our ultimate goal ....the word duty gives me solace. We all have to pay our dues to everyone around us and as long as we keep our integrity through our daily grind to do our best we all can sleep comfortably.

The First Impression

How easy it is to judge a person on first glance???

We all automatically slot people into different categories when we meet someone. They either are an elite group higher than us or depending upon their life story, inferior to us. Lately I am trying to put an hold on this automatic response. Judgement is an important tool to form trust. To survive we need the skills of discrimination and judgement. How do we match the two contradictions and reach a compassionate stance where we don't slot people and at the same time give them a second chance to prove themselves. Our view of others is used to form our world. When external commands give us value, we are more prone to judgement. Our worth should come from within us. There are people who can motivate us or inspire us to do better. But when the inspiration comes from within us, it is more pure and gives our life meaning.

Dalai lama Lecture - Eight Ways To Train the Mind

I was fortunate to attend Dalai Lama's lecture in San Jose California.

The topic was - Eight Ways to Train the Mind.

For the benefit of everyone who could not attend the lecture,I have added the link to the complete explanation of verses.

Verse 1

With a determination to achieve the highest aim
For the benefit of all sentient beings
Which surpasses even the wish-fulfilling gem,
May I hold them dear at all times

Verse 2

Whenever I interact with someone,
May I view myself as the lowest amongst all,
And, from the very depths of my heart,
Respectfully hold others as superior.

Verse 3

In all my deeds may I probe into my mind,
And as soon as mental and emotional afflictions arise-
As they endanger myself and others-
May I strongly confront them and avert them

Verse 4

When I see beings of unpleasant character
Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering,
May I hold them dear-for they are rare to find-
As if I have discovered a jewel treasure!

Verse 5

When others, out of jealousy
Treat me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn,
May I take upon myself the defeat
And offer to others the victory.

Verse 6

When someone whom I have helped,
Or in whom I have placed great hopes,
Mistreats me in extremely hurtful ways,
May I regard him still as my precious teacher.

Verse 7

In brief, may I offer benefit and joy
To all my mothers, both directly and indirectly,
May I quietly take upon myself
All hurts and pains of my mothers.

Verse 8

May all this remain undefiled
By the stains of the eight mundane concerns;
And may I, recognizing all things as illusion,
Devoid of clinging, be released from bondage.

http://www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind

S.N Goenka Interview

S.N.Goenka's interview on NDTV regarding Vipassana Meditation.


http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-s-n-goenka/149260

GIVE INDIA

I visited Parivaar 2 years ago.It was such a inspiration to meet people who genuinely cared about children and their needs.

Parivaar ( www.parivaar.org )is listed on Give India, a very reputed fundraising interface. Give India is having a special event called 'India Giving Challenge' and for 40 days it will match each donation that an organisation raises from amongst its supporters. The period which started from 8th of September will go on till 20th Oct. So if a person donates x amount to Parivaar (through Parivaar's page on Give India site) during this period, it shall be matched with an equal amount and will effectively become 1.91x (a small part is retained by Give for its transaction processing charge).

Last year Parivaar won this contest and emerged as the highest funds-collecting organisation from amongst hundred plus participant organisations. We won about Rs 20 Lacs extra as prizes for this contest.

Donations are welcome during the course of this week (19th to 25th September). That will enable Parivaar to win a Speical Weekly prize in this period.

Our page, from where one can donate, is at :

http://www.giveindia.org/give/pledgepage/ParivaarIndiaGivingChallenge2010

I wanted to request you all to make a donation (any amount 1k, 2k, 5k, 10k)) through Give India to Parivaar so that it effectively doubled. It will be matched by Give India, and we want to take our fund-collection to 50 Lacs by 20th October.

Leadership

The most important aspect of leadership is respect . Its not what the group members offer the chosen leader,its what the leader offers the group members.Its not easy to be respectful of people who have flaws.Every human is a imperfect being going towards perfection.

How to respect other people is a lesson, I don't think they teach in management schools.I somehow am amazed, at how my mind is stuck on its own beliefs and refuses to respect other's opinions.May be I belong to the old school, when I say the leader's intention guards the well being of the group.When a person really cares about others , the dormant potential just rises up.

To have respect for our enemies takes us a long way.

Shapes and Forms

The judgements we dont voice out and which are kept shrouded in shame sometimes shape the bias in our beliefs.As a spiritual seeker I have learnt to watch my own reactions.Its painful to see the root of some of my beliefs.

Some of them stem from complexes which are got from negativity.

Some are got from movies and fairy tales.

Some are got from positive people who have influenced my life.

Its a nerve racking process to break and go underneath some of my complex insecurities.But is it necessary to dig and find out our innate behavioural pattern.Is it necessary to contemplate on our own.In Vipassana Meditation terms ,is it required to perform our own "Mind surgery".The release of patterns which are in built and auto pilot is mandatory for everyone.If that does not happen we repeat the same patterns which have harmed us in the past.Personally,I have benefited a lot from this approach.Its like a emotional baggage which is thrown off instantly when you realize the triggers.

Universal Loving Kindness

This affirmation by Dalai Lama had a deep impact on my life.When I having too much anger or hate,it calms me down.The practice of meditation ends with "Metta".To ensure peace and happiness for everyone.

Universal Loving Kindness - By Dalai Lama

May I be well,happy and peaceful

May no harm come to me

May no difficulties come to me

May no problems come to me

May I always meet with success.

May I also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May my parents be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May my teachers be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May my relatives be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May my friends be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May all indifferent persons be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May my enemies be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

May all living beings be well,happy and peaceful.

May no difficulties come to them.

May they always meet with success.

May they also have patience,courage,understanding and determination to meet and overcome difficulties,problems and failures in life.

Image of Perfection

Disappointments from others are bound to happen.

The world will never have a perfect answer to most questions.

Most of the judgements which we pass on others comes from a place which demands perfection.Spirituality,is sometimes defined as the process to attain perfection.But spirituality is a journey which we have to take ourselves.Fear of not attaining the highest standards set by someone else torments many of us everyday.We live in a "Amoral" universe.Morality is defined by myths,beliefs,rituals,society and above all the trendsetters.Being judgemental negates the true meaning of perfection.We pick the minor detours and tell them as the important part of the journey.

Thansirro Bhikku tells in his discourse how being judicial is more important than being judgemental.Being judicial you make decisions which are good for you and also for others.These decisions come from a pure source of facts not mixed with fear,jealousy or envy.Being judgemental is victory for the ego.You have made the person surrender to their faults.Expressing our displeasure in a way which empowers the other is important.This is not very easy,but can be done with some mindfulness.