Friday, 31 March 2023
Thursday, 23 March 2023
Goodness
The deeper you go into yourself, the more
you can understand your motives for your actions. An analysis can really shock
you. Because you can see the stark truth. The mind has so many layers that we
ourselves cannot fathom the deviousness of our actions which appear to arise
out of “ goodness”. We fool ourselves many a time.
The moment there is a tendency to adhere to
mere appearances, there develops a cleverness in the mind. Anything that comes
from the heart will be real. But the heart is not used much. The brain largely
has an upper hand .
We stand revealed to astute people who can
decipher the reasons for the overt expressions of bonhomie. Perhaps, if we knew
that, we would be careful and perhaps, even reform.
We are not meant to use virtues as tools,
to be used sometimes and with some people only. Yes, wisdom does teach us
boundaries so that goodness cannot be taken advantage of. At what personal cost
is goodness , is a matter of debate .
However, goodness is certainly a matter of personal evaluation. No certificates required other than your own. Because you know the how and why of everything that transpires within your awareness. More than anyone can know about anyone else.
Unfortunately, our personal happiness
depends on belonging to people , not to ourselves. This is the main cause of
our compromising what we might actually believe in but cannot actualise in our
life. Our needs for human contact determine our ability to balance our virtue
with the demands of the external world.
If we work on ourselves continuously, at
some point, the balance begins to get easier to achieve. But, it is undoubtedly
hard work , to learn what does not work and relearn to become wiser with every
experience.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Spiritual Practices
As the candle burns the brightest before
getting extinguished, so , when pain is the highest in intensity during its
transitiory phase , and before it disappears to provide the relief.
Ofcourse, this is evinced after rigorous
spiritual practices to empty the mind of memories and seek salvation through a
superimpisition of positivity on every
negative factor seen within us.
It is not quite right to assume that pain
and suffering won’t recur. But with regular practice, their impact can be
minimised . With an understanding of why it is returning and with the wisdom we
have hopefully acquired .
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Saturday, 11 March 2023
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
Observation
One of
the most painful existences is one of not feeling relevant! It could be in any
field, and the reason would be close to not getting a feeling of comfortable
belonging while alive in this world.
The
deepest root is a lowered immunity due to a lack of a relevant self-image.
I am
not an educated psychologist but I guess, my work as a hypnotherapist has
taught me a little from life experiences and observation.
It is
absolutely essential to feel relevant. To take up any vocation with passion and
interest without craving for any recognition. Just enjoy it and let not your
feeling relevant or otherwise, be in the hands of others who might never know
you for who you are but will make you feel irrelevant in their lives.
But we
are all relevant to OUR own lives. We need to remember this.
Surekha
Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree
Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Friday, 3 March 2023
Wednesday, 1 March 2023
Spiritual Environment
The
cause for much suffering is the realization that things could have been done
differently. We see a heavy price being paid for our actions.
On the
flip side is the dawn of knowledge that nothing COULD have been done
differently until the dawn of knowledge, that there was karmic fallout to
experience.
Only
out of deep suffering comes the thirst for spiritual knowledge although the
exposure to a spiritual environment may have been since very early in life.
Attachment
is like a leech that does not get unstuck easily. In fact, sometimes never! Leading
to hurts, anger, unfulfilled expectations and sometimes the shock of having a
diametrically opposite life than envisaged for oneself.
The
equations are warped. Simplicity and straightforwardness is equal to suffering.
Suffering is due to not knowing any better, translating into ignorance. Wisdom
eludes us until “ prarabdha” karma is around us. And vision starts clearing
after a great deal of effort and working on oneself.
By the time the vision clears, there is a lot of damage done. But unless our minds extricate from the world, spiritual knowledge cannot be translated into actual practice. One needs to get into the eye of the storm to experience the aftermath of peace.
People
say it is better to skim the surface of life rather than suffer. As if it is in
the hands of humans! And is that a wise option anyway?
To
cultivate wisdom and virtue can take many lifetimes. Avid students of Vedanta
also find the worldly journey difficult. But one has to look ahead and bring in
the light into our lives, however much darkness may envelope us. And be
confident that the light is just beyond the darkness, even if the darkness
seems like it is pitch black at the time.
Surekha
Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree
Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari