DISCUSSION ON SPIRITUALISM, PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUALISM, UNPRINCIPLED ACTIONS OR KARMA AND GREY AREAS IN OUR LIVES.

 

DISCUSSION ON SPIRITUALISM, PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUALISM, UNPRINCIPLED ACTIONS OR KARMA AND GREY AREAS IN OUR LIVES.

 

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

 

Adopting a way of life with freewill

Just transcending boundaries

No inhibitions of any scriptures

Selection of journey is not forced

Through some injunctions or some laid down method

These are followed with pure intentions

With purity in action

Purity in convention

Purity in perception

Adopting righteous path bereft of any inhibition

With a positive desire to excel

Not losing sight of positive attitude

Humility and compassion aplenty

Along with doling out from the pool

Of possessions and knowledge

With full trust and belief

For unity of self with that of universe

Expecting little or nothing in return

Resulting in acquiring equanimity

And eternal peace in plenty

Eternal bliss is the final outcome of all these pursuits

The impediments of all these are unprincipled actions

Malice towards others, anger and greed for others possessions

These negative traits retard

Our spiritual march any further.  

 

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY IS A FREEWILL ENDEAVOUR

Spiritual journey is free-style  endeavour – just without any inhibition,  no string attached. No laid down norms followed, no methodology or particular procedure followed while we take the route of spiritualism. Whatever suitable and convenient way is good and ease with which we can follow the sojourn  is appropriate for us.

First of all, we should be able to understand spiritualism. SPIRITUAL principles are based on truth, pure consciousness, pure knowhow, pure perception, pure conception, doing everything without let or fear, pure desirability, righteousness, compassion or kindness, love and renunciation without any inhibition of any kind etc. In other words, whatever the path we follow, we do it truthfully, systematically and with enthusiasm, desire; freedom; liberation; positive attitude,  compassion, with a sense of sacrifice, giving away possessions in excess of one’s own basic necessities without any expectations in return, living purposefully following moral turpitude,  unity of self with universe, contributing holistically for the upliftment of body, mind and soul enabling and empowering, enrichment, commitment for enduring peace and happiness  besides eternal bliss.

The spiritual path is traversed with good traits like compassion, humility, gratitude, trust and integrity. Everybody would like to cultivate these and make these applicable in their lives. By doing so, we attach meaning and significance to our lives. Now love, wisdom and compassion are the spiritual principles. These add luster to our lives and make us sublime and provide peace and equanimity in our life. When inner and outer harmony manifest in the form of true understanding and acceptance, preference will align with principles dear to us.

We have to shift our focus from self centeredness to encompass more than our identity of some faith or the other, transcend things that limits — we’ve to aim for coherence. Cultivating balance leads to peace of mind. Spirituality is the movement of peace and it springs from our own inner equanimity. When our inner and outer harmony manifests in the form of understanding and acceptance, preference will align with principle. Truth wins at the end though  untrue preferences may be in any dimensions.

What is good for one may be bad for others. In spiritualism there are some rituals which are not liked by some people but are being followed by some. There are the ones which has not stood the test of time such as ritual of sati is not longer followed now as was being done before hand. One believer may follow certain way of prayer while other may follow the other one. It is termed as spiritual preferences.

UNPRINCIPLED WAY OF LIFE / NEGATIVE TRAITS WHICH TAKE US AWAY FROM SPIRITUAL PATH

We know how some of colleagues in our offices steal, hide, withdraw some important document or information in order to put other in disrupt and present the same as theirs in order to earn some brownie points and in the process lower others’ esteem. We also hide tax related information so as to save some money. Or hide cash in some parts of the tax havens to earn more and escape from the tax net. Recent Panama leak has exposed a systematic crime and corruption besides tax evasion of gigantic proportion. This leak has also highlighted behind the iron curtain secret deals which are fishy in nature.

If we just ignore unprincipled behavior means we are siding with the wrong doers and it is also self-evident that our ignoring unethical transgression hardly means it will just disappear in thin air. It remains here and kicking. For its eradication some tangible steps are needed besides ignoring wrongdoings also tantamount to supporting these ignoble acts of omissions and commissions. Ignoring a danger hardly means the danger is removed from our midst.
It has been seen that if we gloss over or look the other way after seeing something fishy means we ourselves are part of this non-transparent deal. This grey area is the black spot which needs to be curbed and and loophole plugged. If there is a fishy transaction, it should be brought to light. Some may say, they were ignorant, not knowing the exact position. Others may just say why he, of all the people, should come forward and point finger? If everybody thinks so, then, sure enough, unprincipled people will have a field day all the times.

When unethical behavior such as lying, cheating, stealing, hoodwinking and other violations take place due to our own then what? When we deal with people to whom we do not know, it does not pain much but when it comes to in our own bosom friends or in our most near relations then it falls under the category of grey areas and thus is most glaring. In daily discourses we come across such ill-conceived behavior almost on daily basis.

That which goes against our conscience is considered unethical on individual’s standpoint. It may also be unethical for community as a whole. Further whatever comes stemming due to fear of our karmic force; that if I act in a particular way, it may not be good for me overall. May be wisdom also comes in the way of action and if we act otherwise then that course may not be good for all.

We usually err because of our own judgement or a situation in which we are placed. We may err sometimes because of own judgement. Or due to our deliberate negligence or may be due to following some irresponsible way. We may think it to be right course of action but other may take it otherwise. There are injunction for doing a thing like sexual immorality is considered a sin and should not be resorted to. Gray area include; drinking, smoking, gambling, dressing in a way we want, viewing any movie we like. Err, slip-up, blunder, intentional-mistake are due to situation or condition in which we are placed.

All the creations by our creator are lovable but to discriminate on the basis of religion or caste, colour etc is not good. We become judgmental about others without thinking that all are created by our lovable Creator and He has gifted all air, water, sun equally with no bias. Our conscience may say something to be in order but it is also a fact that our aptitude, faculty or intuition or judgment may not be able to decipher good from bad sometimes. Moral judgement are driven from value system. When we commit a mistake, our conscious does not permit it because we think that our actions are contrary to the moral values. Or our actions are falling under negative trait.

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL PREFERENCE

We may prefer one set of methods for our prayers which is contrary to others or may be that is not in sync with the general spiritual principles. Then what? Would we be sticking with our own preferences or shift our gear to spiritual principles which are time tested. Which way we follow in real sense of term depends on our own aptitude and our own decision according to the situation in which we are placed.

GREY AREAS IN OUR DAILY LIVES

There are in fact grey areas in almost the aspects of our activities in one form or another. There are certain way of doing something which may not be in sync with rules and conventions of the community in which we are living. But all is still not lost. There are some areas where balance is to be maintained by us. Compare the behavior of two entities; a known astrologer and a unknown bus conductor. I happen to e-contact an astrologer and wanted to know about answer to my query: Whether our hard work could change our destiny? The answer to this query was prefaced as: ‘You’ll have to pay Rs. Three thousands for every question asked!  Also on a visit to my relative, I had on me Re. one less than the actual fare of Rs. 10/-. He accepted Rs. 9/- and gave a ticket for Rs. 10/-. Contrast it with the action of astrologer and the bus conductor.

There are the parents who are ill-treated by their offspring in their oldage. This is a disgrace. The children should introspect, how the parents had brought them up. The father eked out a living and the mother sweat at home. She slept in the wet part of the bed but kept the child in the dry part. How and why do the children; when they grow up just forget? Some parents also do injustice with their grown up children. For instance if two children of a parents are there, one is provided every rights of ownership of the household but the other one woefully is divested off all the possessions and expelled from home without any plausible reason or rationality. Is it justified, too? This too is a grey area in our society which requires a relook.

There is no doubt that man is errs, but in doing so, he sometimes acts unethically thus tarnishing his image not only his own eyes but also in the eyes of general public. It is double whammy since firstly the person concerned knows that his act of stealing others’ possessions is wrong and secondly when people come to know about it, it becomes all the more difficult to save his skin.

• Discriminate humans on the basis of colour. and region besides castiest attitude. The sham of racism is really a black spot and a slap on our face who tend to be civilized yet discriminate because of colour!

• Immorality

• To deceive others by heaping with white lies.

• Show disrespect to our older members.

• To show innocence where none exists.

• To show to be truthful where none exists.

• Drunk with pride and ego.

• Children not been taught the value system from their childhood.

• To most audaciously tell lies for gaining sympathy of others.

• Being thankless for others’ bounties to us.

 

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ON ANGER AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.

MY ANGER AND ME

The castle of my character

Built brick by brick over a period of time

Sometimes support of brick in the form of tolerance

And another times in the form of enough patience

Cemented diligently with ample dose of compassion

Falls like a pile of ninepins without indication of any caution

When I fall prey to unwelcomed aggravation

Due to sudden burst of unwarranted provocation

Coming from a dear one –  with least expectation

Bringing in its wake uncalled for tension

No escape route could be fathomed on the spur

Defense mechanism wilts under severe pressure

All efforts to control rage razes to ground

Of all things, puzzling indeed

Whence all these weapons just fizzle out

And become futile defenses

Of little consequence

I follow a path most uncharitable – regrettably

A path which has tarnished my image in my own eyes presently

Under the influence of anger, so unpleasant

Which brings to the ground my strong castle of myself

Built brick by brick over a period of time

But crashes down just in a moment

Thus washing off everything created over time

I lament this split second anomaly spiteful

Wish that I could rewind and relive that moment again

And make a conscious effort not to lose myself from now onwards

And rewrite the history of losing myself in the bargain

Wish that I should have erected  firewalls  and safety cushions

More impregnable than done therein fore  

When a most sincere conscious effort could have made difference

By the grace of Providence.

ON ANGER AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

In Granth Sahib it has been mentioned: Violence, attachment, greed and anger are like four rivers of fire. Falling into them, one is burned, O Nanak! One is saved only by holding tight to good deeds.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil – says Holy Bible

And those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men. And Allah loves the doers of good (to others). And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong their souls, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins. And who forgives sins but Allah? And they persist not knowingly in what they do.”  Says Holy Quran

There are three gates leading to this hell–lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul. Says Bhagwat Gita

Our own behaviour and the selection of words we use are responsible for making us angry or otherwise. Sweet tongue converts our sworn enemies into friends. We lose our temper simply because of our inner conflicts and contradictions owing to which we cannot fight the outer influences. Seemingly, we are not consciously ready to face our inner contradictions. Nobody can make us angry till such time we willfully succumb to somebody’s crafty designs because of insufficient inner resolve to remain cool despite provocation. Our inner defense is responsible for protecting us from fighting inner conflicts, outer unpredictable dangers or sudden outbursts. It has been observed that if somebody pierces our two peace-weapons; patience and tolerance coupled with our intelligence in management of our emotions then nobody in the world can protect us. Hence, we are responsible for being angry on smallest provocation and nobody is responsible for it.

It should never be forgotten that the two weapons (Patience and Tolerance) are acquired through a lot of sincere efforts over a period of time. Need is to nurture these and not let our defenses weaken these. The extent we can put up our defenses or manage our passions depends on the endurance and dependency of these two weapons. These weapons are sliced open if the limit goes beyond our perceived idea of defenses. For example if somebody adopts different unethical strategies to test our two weapons, the best way is to keep calm and not to fall prey to others’ tactics.

Suppose somebody wants to lower your self esteem and insinuates you with a single point agenda of making you lose your temper that too in front of others. Then what is the way left with you? Two scenarios are possible; either you fall prey to others’ antics or you may intelligently weigh pros and cons of it all and reach to a conclusive results – not to fall prey to somebody’s stratagem or design. Best way forward is to keep calm despite huge provocation. This would also be a huge slap on the face of ill-intentioned perpetrator.

There happened an unsavory and unfortunate incident – misrepresentation of facts.  There is a family near my home. One day, a lady knocked my door. She wanted to have a bucket of water as there was no water supply to her home that day. On that day, my family had gone to our relative for an important commitment. I gave her a bucket of water. Next morning, when I woke up, I saw some ladies outside my gate. They were asking the lady as to why she had gone to my house when his (mine) family was not there. I did not take it seriously since my conscious was clear and pure. On the other hand if I could have taken critically, I would have fallen prey to anger and created problem not only for myself but also the lady concerned. Lesson from this episode: When one has no evil designs against others, he/she need  not fear from anything or anybody.

Emotional intelligence too plays its role in controlling anger when required. When to control our emotional upsurge and when to be swayed by it depends on the person concerned. It should always be remembered that one who makes us angry in one way or another controls us wholly hence we should always adopt cautious approach while dealing with such people and emotional maturity plays a stellar role in this.

We know what happened to Demon King Ravana who despite being knowledgeable, anger made him infamy and embodiment of evil. So much so he got enraged on seeing Sarupnakha’s (his sister)   nose cut by Lakshmana (brother of Rama) in a fit of rage that he was provoked to unethical act of abducting Sita Maa which resulted in death and destruction; as you may be aware what happened in Mahabharta epic.

Anger is upsurge of negative emotions or disgust against somebody’s inappropriate behavior which comes about if somebody has harmed us. When somebody harms us, we in turn, want others to be given in the same coin. Anger is a caustic emotion which can adversely affect our health and wellbeing. Indulging in anger is not only bad for the perpetrator but also for whom it is directed. Anger is acting like a child who is not able to control his anger. We get angry simply because we cannot control our emotions. It starts with just on silly pretext and then snowballs into bad things in our life and subsequently becomes  a habit.

Some may say, sometimes anger is necessitated to proactively direct our emotional tendencies to a productive use but I opine anger is a negative trait which should not be resorted to in any way since it impacts our instincts besides impacting our spiritual forward march. Also, we show our anger to the children so that they follow correct path in their lives and hence do not derail from the path of truth and wellbeing.

We get hurt by anger of someone when it is directed on us when we are unethically and unnecessary poke in others affairs.

Some of the facts about anger:

• When somebody unnecessarily pokes into our affairs – our exclusive zone. It creates resentment and illwill and at times may lead to hostile action and violence.

• A child may grow up to be a angry young man. We’ve to tell our children to control our anger.

• Voters’ demonstrate their anger against politicians for non-performance.

• Nobody likes a person who has anger writ on his face.

• Angry man, more often than not, needs our pity not our anger in return.

• Impulsively angry man. Intense emotional response on anything and everything; provocation or no provocation hardly matters for him. Here personal liaison and boundaries are violated. Such persons cannot earn friendship and cooperation in any endeavors.

• Intrinsic value of anger. Some may say, there are inherent values of anger but I dispute all these and say that ‘anger’ should be controlled in all its entirety. It is harmful to our body, mind and soul thus concerted efforts should be made to control it or not to be allowed to take control over us.

       

 

 

 

LIES & ITS FORMS

 

LIE AN INTENTIONAL BLUNDER

Lie is an act of being economical with truth

Truth which must be said above everything else being true

Lie is a trick of a person made willfully

To create impression wrongly

That one is behaving clumsily

To get things in ones favour through – an act most shameless

And in the process make the victim defenceless.

When the lie is of sufficient magnitude

It may succeed in some cases most unfortunate

Because the lie is systematically concocted

Lying is synonymous with pretending that something exists

Where nothing exists in real sense of terms

Being an act of unwelcoming deception

To overwhelm others in the black shadowy defamation

With an unethical or immoral act

Which is opposite of a fact

In Mahabharta, Shukni deceived

Pandavas in the game of dice, craftily devised

And won everything including Draupti for Kauravas

Draupti the beloved consort of Pandavas!

A stark lie which became a cause

Of death and destruction on all sides

One may feign not to have lied ever

But a lie could be nailed finally

Now or after sometimes surely

Most harmful is the premeditated lie

Since it is known to the concerned person

Who is the architect of this act – most shameless

And the one for whom it is directed with deceitful thoughtlessness

Victim suffers the consequence of deficit truth or half truth

Woefully with absolutely no fault

 

A tradition from the Holy Prophet (S) declares:“Beware I inform you regarding the greatest of the mortal sins: Associating anything with Allah, disobeying parents and lying.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. HOLY BIBLE.

Lie is the deliberate or intentional intent to deceive others by resorting to falsehood or echo tirades willfully or may be unintentional. Falsification or prevarication of facts may be for garnering undue gains where there is nothing due. Lie could also be hurled due to creation of impression or delude others by falsehood – to act as an imposter or phony beyond being truthful in order to get things in our favour.

We’ve seen how false or inacurate statements are made in the court of law, as a witness to present a case in order to escape the outreach of law. This lie cannot be detected since this is intentional lie which cannot be disputed till it is detected after finding a proof thereof. Ethically, telling lie or misrepresenting fact is a sin and must be shunned and condemned by all right thinking people since its repercussions are contrary to the laid down conventions and laws of the land besides by extension these are in contravention to the Natural Laws – to lie out of difficult situation.

WE CAN TELL/FLUNG LIES ON THE ACCUSER IF WE REMAIN STAND STEADFAST

If somebody is in the habit of flinging lie on others even on the silliest pretext then the best course of action for the recipient of this unsolicited gift of lies is to stay put in ones belief system and remain unmoved or affected. Follow truth and the results would be result oriented/favourable.

ACCUSING OTHERS OF LYING WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIAL REASONS

It has been observed that we accuse others with an intention to get things in our favour knowing fully well that our accusation is nothing but a pure lie. This may be to browbeat others or lower others in the eyes of others unreasonably.

HIS POOR WORK GIVES THE LIE TO HIS CLAIMS OF EXPERIENCE

There are occasions when an interviewee tells a lie or misrepresents facts or hides fact with respect to his/her qualifications and experience to gain undue advantage in selection for which that person is not competent. It shold be borne in mind that whatever is acquired by lying cannot last long. The doer will get its consequences sooner rather than later. If success is attained then this unethical behavior is termed as bluffing our way to success.

TO LIE MALICIOUSLY

There are the people who are in the habit of lying just flagrantly without consciously even thinking about it. These people are compulsive liar and should always be handled or dealt with care as such people will not think two hoots while telling lies for getting things right in their favour. The revelation what had happened with regard to purchase of Augusta Westland helicopter deal and other scams which bedeviled India with the use of bundle of lies and deceits for personal gains is shameful and malicious.

A LIE FOR MAINTENANCE OF TRUTH IS GOOD

It has been seen that sometimes we are constrained to lie simply to hide something which has got higher severe implications. Sometimes we lie in order to not to hurt others feelings. Suppose we do not like the somebody’s dress, we cannot outrightly tell tell that person.

There is a story of a shepherd who was looking after the herd of his sheep. Then a butcher came running and asked him whether he had seen the cow which had come to that direction. Although the shepherd was knowing that the cow had gone to left direction but he informed the hunter that it had gone toward right direction. He thus saved the cow by telling a lie.

When in piquant situation lie is the only option. Situations in which one is compelled to tell lies lest they give out truth and jeopardise the safety, lives and property of people:-

(a) When a soldier is caught as POW. In a warlike situation or in actual war, if a soldier is caught by enemy, he is supposed to know many things including the location of their troops, their numbers and other information. If he discloses these, then the lives of other troops will be at risk. That hapless soldier tries all tricks at his command to deflect the quizzing party to give as little information as possible or give a wrong information. Being truthful may not help here?

(b) A robber asking for location of the gold ornaments etc. When in the midst of a situation – an armed robber asking the unfortunate owner the key to the locker where all the precious things are kept. The person concerned may try to tell lie in order to buy time and divert the attention of the thief whichever is possible under the circumstances. Being truthful will not help here.

(c) To saving somebody’s life. Suppose somebody with an evil intent asks you about somebody you know about his bona-fide malicious intent. Surely, you will lie that you do not know anything. Alternatively, if you tell the truth here then is it within the purview of ethics or rationality or logics?

(d) When dealing with an evil doer. When we are dealing with a compulsive liar whose modus operandi is always a suspect.

(e) Being truthful is always paying. There is no two opinion that telling the truth and feeling the heat Is better than telling lies and remaining always under the fear of being exposed when our lie is nailed.

(f) Resorting to bundle of lies in order to conceal our initial lie. It has been observed that many a times we resort to lie initially in order to impress others. For example, if we conceal our qualification initially and brag our position of authority then when a time comes for its veracity then we are constrained to tell bunch of lies in order to conceal our earlier lies. This could ultimately be found out.

(g) Speak falsely in order to deceive. There are the ones who hurl lies after lies in with an intent to defame others so that a belief is created: where there is fire there is smoke. We can flung the lie on the accuser if we can stand steadfast in our conviction. A truthful man pure and no lies can stick him notwithstanding the lies hurled on him.

(h) Accusing others of lying without any substantial reasons. There are people who are compulsive liar and would go to any limit in telling lies on flimsy grounds. The lie could be by an individual, group of people or even by a country!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF & WHEN USED PROPERLY

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF & WHEN USED PROPERLY

The condition of the prehistoric man was wretched

Was like a just born child

Bereft of any power or control

Over the hostile elements of Nature

Wild forest was his place of his habitat

Hunted by wild beasts so ferocious

Despite being hunter himself for his daily subsistence

Till such time he learned a great hidden secret

As to how to use the fire as defence against elements most hostile

For keeping himself warm and keeping the wild animals away.

Then started his quest for more knowledge

About the environs around himself and even beyond

Bit by bit he started storing knowhow in his memory

About Mother Nature and its functioning

Though with trial and error method initially

Ensured that he does not act unethically

Which is not in sync with Nature’s laws and its purity

Lest it may strike back with impunity

Where it hurts the most severely!

The storehouse of knowledge was collated assiduously

With varieties of experiences over a time period most extensively

Spurred the man to his forward march more aggressively

Made use of his faculty optimally

Even spurning the Laws of Nature to the wind with impunity

Which acted as a beginning of sure recipe for self destruction

Then reached a stage where he surge still ahead

In variety of fields – aplenty indeed

Such as science, arts & crafts, medicines et al

Even made expedition to moon

Which earlier on was considered a distant dream

And is making efforts in reaching other planets

Hereinbefore considered just a pipe-dream

But in its zeal for still ‘more’ to his credit

Man forgot his limitations and limits

Started fiddling with Mother Nature

Started cutting forest green cover to quench his greed

Started exploiting the inner crusts of earth without even a second thought

For fuels,  minerals and what it contained so abundantly

For his comforts and more material prosperity

Started industries and comfort zones after destroying lush green woods

Started spewing harmful pollutants in the atmosphere

Polluted the water bodies with poisonous contaminants from industrial units

Thus disturbed the natural balance to the hilt

Increasing global temperatures too

Resulting in melting of snow in Antarctica & Attic regions

Without even realizing that if this goes on unhindered

What consequences it will entail!

It will  result in surge in sea level

The flourishing habitations we today see

May turn into part of sea!

Meaning by our own selfish karma

We are shunning the human dharma

Thus for material prosperity man is playing a cruel drama

In the process of taming Mother Nature, an idea so bizarre

He may be tamed finally himself by not forgiving Nature

That day is not far to see

Lest man realizes his folly

Even now retrieval is not far to be found

If realization downs even now

Knowledge power should not blind us

But should bestow us foresight

To see that our coming generation is secure

Which can only be ensured

When all the Nature’s Laws are fully cared and met

God give us wisdom to introspect on the message and cues

Given by Mother Nature loud and clear

In the forms of tsunamis, wildfires, snow storms and droughts

That knowledge should make us humble

And not egocentric and pompous being.

Is the knowledge power gained by going through
Scriptural texts is of any consequence
Whence power hunger makes some

Like demon king Ravana intoxicated with knowledge power
Which made him egoist, haughty and arrogant to the core

Some like blind King Dhritrashtra of Mahabharta fame

Become totally blind to others needs with power that came
And became a cause of his total ruin.

We’ve to be like Sandalwood plant

On the branches of which poisonous snakes love to entangle

It does not absorb  the traits of these  toxic snakes

And does not give up its essence

Of giving us fragrance

Besides helping us in variety of ways from birth to death.

Finally, some persons with knowledge remain humble and cool

While others with knowledge power hungry act like a fool

That is the exactly the difference between the two.

HARBANS KHAJURIA

 

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF AND WHEN USED PROPERLY.

Knowledge removes ignorance, enlightens us about variety of subjects, inculcate awareness not only about ourselves but also about the environs in which we are living. In other words, knowledge is a driving force which drives the vehicle of our life on the smooth and not so smooth paths of our life’s sojourn. Irrespective of what sort of life we are living, knowledge which is gained through self efforts helps us in traversing on our journey of life with ease since it is gained by our individual efforts, keeping in view the rules and conventions set by the society and most importantly, obeying the Laws of Nature – which sustains us and life giving while we live in accordance with its Laws.

The knowledge could be acquired through Formal and Informal methods

• Formal Knowledge is the one which we get from our schools, colleges, universities or any other technical degrees etc with formal syllabus and after certain fixed period of time we have to appear for examination and subsequently degree is awarded.
  

• Informal knowledge is the knowledge where there is no fixed syllabus or prescribed learning methodoligy or organized way of learning. In other words it could be learned by experience or learning by doing, or self directed learning experiences etc. This includes learning language through interaction with the society, learning social etiquettes through participation and accepting norms of the society, knowledge acquisition from the informal institutions such as churches, mosques, temples etc. or any other religious congregations or takes place in the community. This could be called as self learning. More the knowledge, the more we delve with the people who could render assistance on the subject. And also there is no final examination or test of knowledge that we have learned or unlearned the previous experiences which are not commensurate with the present time and space.

One thing which is most potent in informal knowledge that it is vast and open. There is no inhibition in this. It could be termed as a holistic knowledge. We must have observed that people with less formal knowledge through degrees could have less of knowledge than the ones who gain knowledge through self efforts through trial and error method. 

The condition in which the pre-historic man lived at the mercy of nature is well known. He was both a hunter and also hunted by the wild beasts. Subsequently man started living in harmony with nature and after the discovery of fire and its usage it made things easier for the man to tame the wild animals and started getting help from them in variety of ways.  Thereafter, man started to store information in his mind; analyzing  and rationalizing the new information obtained under different sets of situations and conditions. Acquired and stored knowledge made it possible for him to use the expertise and live in accordance with the prevalent conditions suited to him – discarding the ones found untenable under the circumstances.  

With the use of his faculties man was able to acquire knowhow about the things around him, perceive and assume and after experiencing things practically formed opinion. This gave him confidence and also belief in his capabilities. Slowly but surely the man started considering nature not his adversary but benefactor. Many mysteries of nature were unraveled while living in the midst of nature. Thus nature became a harbinger of hope for better life and well-being for the man. The store house of information / knowledge about nature gave a huge fillip to his own advancement in life.

Subsequently hypothesis, analysis and further experimentation in various branches of science including mathematics gave further boost to knowledge base. But unfortunately with it, a delusion arose in his mind, as to how he could control the forces of nature. An idea fraught with dangers. He started fiddling with the MOTHER NATURE due to his egocentric tendencies. Forgetting in the process that Nature too has a set limit; too much of its exploitation spoils its balance and results in disproportional droughts in some parts of the world and excessive rains, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis  etc in other parts. The incidence of wildfires round the world is just alarming – this again is disturbing the balance of nature.

Knowledge about exploitation of nature to our benefits is ok but knowledge that what repercussions the over exploitation or misusing nature  causes should also be known – that the very bounties of nature that sustains our life are being misused. Use of nature in an irrational manner spoils the very balance of nature. Man is given power by science to use nature but wisdom is required to rationally use it. The melting of snow in the Arctic and Antarctic sea and is a cause of concern due to rise in global warming. What future augurs for us when there is persistent melting of snow is not a rocket science to know. The result would be rise in the sea level and the consequences would be disastrous.

There is no denying the fact, although the scientific temper and know-how in medical field have helped mankind in curing many diseases which were considered incurable and thus increased the lifespan of populace yet new diseases are also sprouting – may be due to excessive use of pesticides on the fruits and vegetables for higher produce, over-dose of medicines or insect bites, for example zika virus due to mosquito bites. Overdose or misuse may also adversely affects immune system. It can conveniently be said that when we fiddle too much with nature then we lose the effectiveness of natural power of healing.

Having more power and pelf – may it be worldly possessions or of acquired knowledge, man has become egocentric. If we have the knowledge, we also should know how to utilize it, it should not make us pompous and fastidious. We have several examples to substantiate: when one does not use the knowledge judiciously he/she may fall prey to his own karma.  Demon king Ravana of Lanka (who had the scriptural knowledge besides being the most loved worshiper of Lord Shiva with all sorts of boons) despite having treasure trove of knowledge did not use it properly and met his end due to his ill-intentions. Here knowledge did not provide him wisdom to make difference.

 We consider science to be all and end all. The religion and spiritualism which teaches us about our self awareness is not being considered seriously by our present generation. It is the spiritual knowledge which gives man to understand the lows and highs in our life and how to maintain a balance between the two. With the use of knowledge as a power, we are losing our moorings and giving more credence to material prosperity thus earning in its wake dissatisfaction, greed, rancor, one-upmanship etc.

Self realization comes when we balance spiritual development with material advancement since material advancement to a degree is required for the substance of self and those dependent on us. Simply to say that spiritual development can quench the hunger of our stomach is an understatement. But those who seek happiness only in material prosperity will meet disillusionment after sometimes. Eternal happiness is attained through SELF AWARENESS or SELF REALIZATION. It is the knowledge of introspection and the ability of an individual to recognize oneself as an individual entity separate from the environment in which that individual is living. The knowledge that religion gives is to motivate ourselves for seeking God – insatiable hunger for Him always pays. Religion is the pathway for connectivity with our Lord. It should not exploit the gullible. In Hinduism, it was the gross misuse and misinterpretation by different priestly classes which provoked Lord Budha and Lord Mahavira to offer their own interpretations which made the common people to understand the true meaning of religion. We should try to understand the knowledge given in scriptures of any religion.

Despite all the knowledge at the command of the man, man cannot have total control over the forces of nature. Natural Laws are permanent and have to be obeyed by all irrespective of power one wields. Man is still at the mercy of his own instincts. Man is certainly can garner knowledge but wisdom to judiciously use is the moot point.