Expectation

Most of the times, expectations know no bounds. Such expectations are never need-based or necessity-oriented. The more one yields to other people's unusual wishes, the more he moves away from his cherished goal. Expectations, not always very rational, especially from loved ones, are very difficult to avoid or ignore.

Expectation keeps us annoyed. People are expecting, always. They are expecting us to behave in a particular fashion, expecting us to go out of our own way to help them, which at times may surely be legitimate, expecting us to be present at a particular place at a particular time and so on and so forth. Parents expect their son or daughter to grow up into someone which would be very much to their liking. Thus expectation, in many a ways, prevents us to manifest our own nature. We feel pressurized and remain disturbed. It destroys our tranquility and prevents us from achieving what we love to achieve. We feel like a caged bird, narrowly within our family, and broadly within the society. Our life goes astray.

This way people keep on trying to bring us down to their way of liking and thinking, attaching a zero price tag to all our likings and desires. Soft, kind-hearted people seem to get affected more.

At times one has to break free from this shackle of expectation to achieve something, which he cherishes. A far more liberal attitude from those who are close would go a long way in removing this shackle and set one free to do what his soul wants him to do.

During daytime we can feel this pressure the most when this world expects a lot from us. At night this pressure somewhat eases out, and the whole world seems to belong to us. At night we come within ourselves and find peace. It is during the silence of night that great things fashion themselves. Many a great work of fine art has been accomplished during the night. At night we are the master of our own selves, and are best equipped to serve our own sacred soul.

Then, does it mean that from today onwards we all shall stop expecting? Certainly not! Expectation is an inherent characteristic, deeply embedded within us. One can surely expect that his or her life partner should love him, and bring a present on his or her birthday. Parents are always expected to fulfill their duties towards their children, or children, when they grow up, to look after their aged parents. The poor and unfortunate can always expect some help from the more fortunate people. It can be expected very legitimately that neighbours and relatives should visit a house of mourning and sympathize. To a great extent, in certain basic areas, expectation is definitely legitimate.

However, we have to be very careful not to venture into areas where expectation turns into pressurization, which in turn turns into subordination imposition and compulsion, which in an extreme form may take the shape of enslavement. Conveying the expectation is enough. It should not be pursued like a one-way traffic on a highway.

Also read : Philosophy of everyday Life - 1

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Subordination

Uncalled favours are used by some to keep the other person in subordination, in control, without giving total freedom in that area. Total freedom could easily have been given with a little effort and a desire for collective well-being. Lack of desire for collective well-being signifies lack of spiritual sense. Thus the giver enjoys constant superiority over the receiver. Obviously the giver is more able in certain respects. A desire to rule is possibly at its root.

So one must be very cautious when receiving occasional favour from someone, which are not called for. Gifts and presents are often used by some people to keep the other person obligated. It is a good thing often used unfairly and unethically to make people serve them or dance to his tune.

During a conversation sometimes statements are put very deftly that logically drives one to a conclusion and consequent acceptance, which he is trying to avoid, or which is totally unacceptable. Such statements should be noted and taken care of very intelligently with sound reasoning power. In a conversation one must not get subordinated in this way.

There are people who somewhat want to remain in subordination. They want to remain subordinated to that special someone who provides him or her with some kind of security. They prefer to remain in that special person's shadow and feel secured, mainly socially and economically. That way they try to find peace and happiness. Such people are possibly weak-minded and suffer from a feeling of insecurity and inability to take up certain responsibilities. However they may be more able and strong in certain areas than most. There is no harm in it. We are all dependent, in some way or other, on our near and dear ones. Mutual dependency between life partners is always welcome. It strengthens the relationship.

However, autonomy, in some form, must also exist. Doctrine of Individualism says that the interests of an individual ought to be ethically of paramount importance, and all values, rights and duties originate in individuals. Individual initiative, action and interests are necessary to maintain the independence of an individual, and in so far as subordination hinders that independence, it is not acceptable.

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Spiritualization and Common Man

Spirituality is an ultimate or immaterial reality, an inner path allowing a person to discover the true essence of his being. It helps a person to find the deepest values and meanings by which he lives. It is an inner strength. It has a lot to do with our conscience, through which we get connected most comprehensively with the Universal One. It is non-material in nature, basically having a lot to do with our mind, because the deepest values and meanings by which we live can only be comprehended by our mind. The body is also involved, as the state of our body influences our mind.

Spiritualization can take different heights for different people. There is no definite or ideal peak for it. As much one can attain, that is enough for him.

In our endeavour to attain spirituality we must first try to understand ourselves as spiritual beings having human experience. We have a body, which is subject to destruction. But we also have a soul that is indestructible. Once this feeling comes to the mind, one can be assured that he has found his path to spirituality.

One must also be ready to accept the fact that this world is the creation of the Almighty and there is no beginning or end of it. One is an integral part of that Universal One (Whole) whose numerous manifestations one can see all around him. This will help one to discover the true essence of his being, which, in turn, will bring in faith.

Human needs can basically be categorized into three parts, namely necessities, comforts and luxuries. Regarding necessities one does not have much choice. One can't do without food, clothing or a dwelling place, and for these one needs money. However, one can put a limit to the use or consumption of such necessities.

To spiritualize ourselves, we need to consider our comforts and luxuries. To attain spiritualization in an area we have to think whether we can do without that thing or not. If we can make up our mind that we can do without something, that area is well taken care of. This does not mean one immediately has to give it up. Only the mind should remain prepared for it. This will drive away the fear of loss, which is so essential for spiritualization to set in. Fear of loss is the hallmark of materialism. Spiritualism is the awakening of the soul, and materialism is soul in a sleeping state. This way one can make up his mind to move somewhat away from materialism and progress towards spiritualism. Materialism goes side by side with externalism, whereas spiritualism promotes internal growth and brings in ability to know oneself as part of the Universal One.

Materialism is characterized by fear of loss, whereas spiritualism is characterized by peace and tranquility. This way a common man can judge how far he has been able to progress towards spirituality.

An everyday prayer for the well-being of every living being and to again get united with the Universal One also promotes spirituality.

An endeavour to move up into an area of higher virtue increases spirituality. Virtue is nothing but moral excellence, which promotes individual as well as collective well-being. It includes goodness, righteousness and uprightness. The four main virtues are wisdom, courage, restraint and justice. A strong basis for all virtues is already there inside every human being. There is no need to search for it elsewhere.

Morality is the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and good and evil through decisions, intentions, actions and behaviour. A strong sense of morality is absolutely necessary.

This world was not so beautiful with such a wide variety of flowers and trees, colour and fragrance, meadows and pastures, when there were no human beings on this earth. Nature started giving all these only when men, who only can appreciate beauty, came to this earth. This understanding will make one more spiritual.

It is a habit that needs to be nourished with total devotion and courage, without which spiritualization is not possible. The call must come from within. Its' effects will radiate outwards and reach the farthest corners of the world, no matter where one is. It leads one to a blissful world, to a world of complete peace and happiness.

Also Read 1)Body and soul 2)Renunciation and its effect 3)Acquire, only to give away 4)Root of humanity

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Mind and Matter

We as ordinary people conceive ourselves as existing in this world where various objects also exist together with us, like a tree, a building or a television set and the like. These things exist independently and we are conscious of their existence. We can quantify and qualify these objects. We can understand the nature of these objects.

This idea obviously does not give an answer to the question, "Why things are as they are?" What a thing seems is no different from what a thing actually is. But as we inspect our mind we find that there are things we experience which do not exist anywhere. In dreams and hallucinations we see things that evolve in our minds, though these may have their roots in things that we are conscious of. In dreams we also see things, which we can never locate in the material world. Thus there is a world outside our material world. Here comes the mind. Such a non-material world exists in our mind only.

Here comes the word "idea". If we think of our consciousness as mere ideas upon which we construct everything, the whole affair seems to become a lot easier. Ideas do arise out of our acquaintance with the material objects as well as out of non-material objects evolving out of our minds. Ideas arise out of our minds, which may have different states at different times.

Thus mind and matter can be regarded as constituent elements of the Absolute, which is the only real thing left in the universe. All material and living beings are merely parts of that Absolute. This is called Idealism. Idealists put forward the doubt that external existence of objects, away from the mind, is at all possible or not. Even if such external existence is possible, it can never be known in its true form.

By Realism we mean that objects are independent. They are not related to one another. It is basically the common sense view of the world.(Discussed above in Paragraph 1) By relations we mean internal relations, which are not known and not seen.

Knowledge stands in between mind and matter. But knowledge is not the only bridge that connects mind and matter. Actually knowledge may get qualified by our mind itself, keeping us somewhat away from the real knowledge. Knowledge, real or ideal, gives rise to ideas.

When mind is in the present, we perceive the object.
When mind is in the past, we perceive in memory.
When mind is in the future, we perceive in anticipation.

Mind must find some object or event or happening to think over, to ponder upon. If all matter, or event constituted of matter vanishes, mind also ceases to exist, but only in dreams and hallucinations.

Thus perception is a process where the mind enjoys the company of an object. The object influences the mind through the sense organs, which causes the brain to project or generate characteristics of the object as its data. Different people may perceive the same object in different ways and thus generate different knowledge about the object. However, some element of error in knowledge might creep in. That way truth may be frustrated.

The mind looks at the world from its own standpoint peculiar to itself. The world seen by one mind is surely different from that seen by another mind. Also, whether seen or not, the world exists in its own form, with innumerable views of the same world from different places. Whether any such view is occupied by a mind or not that is not known. Thus an external reality is established which is not mental.

When a view is experienced by a mind it becomes a "private world" of that mind. When all the views, whether perceived or not, are taken together, it becomes a System of Perspectives. These perspectives, which are related to one another, may be said to constitute "space".

Science of mind is known as Psychology and science of matter is called Physics. A unification of these two fields of science might solve the problem and help us to explain the relationship between mind and matter more clearly.

Both mind and matter are active particulars. So there is a need to develop a neutral particular in which both mind and matter can merge, and from which again both can be derived. Thus a new branch of science need to be developed which will study the arrangement of these neutral particulars, which lie at the basis of both mind and matter.

Till then, even if Psychology and Physics narrow down the scope of Philosophy, it will thrive and exist, simply because the intellect of man cannot sit idle, and the curious mind cannot refrain from being curious and venturous, and will continue to get emotional satisfaction out of it. Thus man's quest for the unknown will continue, and in the process man will continue to question and doubt a thing. This way man's quest for a universal spirituality will continue to forge ahead.

Based on works by Bertrand Russell

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Body and Soul

We are composed of two things - the body and the soul. The body is destructible and subject to decay through passage of time. However, our soul is indestructible and indivisible. It cannot be blown away by air, drowned into water or burnt into ashes. We are conscious of our body through our five senses. Only when we think deep and nurture with the idea of immortality and the future of our life after death, we become conscious of our soul. At that instant the idea of our body becomes absent.

The effect of whatever we think or utter or whatever we do does not end with the act. Actually these have a deep-rooted impact on us. All our thoughts, utterances and deeds get transformed and go into a subconscious state within us. One area where it resides is possibly our memory, but there may be other areas as well. These things reside within us for some time in a potentially nascent form. After some time, which may as well be indefinite, these nascent forms emerge again and make themselves evident with true characteristics. These manifestations design, mould, and shape the life of a man in many a ways.

This way, a man is primarily not bound by any principle other than what he designs for himself. By his acts, thoughts and utterances he transforms a potential energy into an active energy. That may have a good effect or evil effect. It depends upon the nature of the act, thought or utterance. The great Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, once said, "Our life is what our thoughts make it." So true!

The individual soul of a man is a part of the universal substance. It exists with an eternal nature. It has neither a beginning nor an end. The primary characteristic of the soul is to manifest its true nature, which is moving towards a state of total perfection and purification.

A thought or action is considered good if it helps the process of perfection and purification of the soul, and conversely bad if it hinders the process. All powers and abilities of a soul are within it. These are not derived from any external source.

When a soul loses its body in which it was residing, it takes up another body. In this way it goes on perfecting and purifying itself in a very complex manner. One should always try to provide the soul with a sound and healthy body, because it is in a body that a soul resides and carries on with its purification work.

At some point of time the soul moves to the heaven with a totally blemishless form. However, its love and sympathy for humans remains. So a soul, time and again, may reincarnate to set this world free from all evils and show mankind the enlightened path to the heavenly abode.

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Root of Humanity

This world constantly keeps us telling that we must stop looking only at ourselves and turn our head towards the world. But there are obstacles. We fail to submit ourselves like a blooming morning flower. When we remain confined within ourselves, the world with all its endless manifestations all around, feels constantly frustrated.

There is sorrow. There is no end of it. Everyday we are enduring these pains and sufferings. Had we been inglorious and totally confined within ourselves, we could never have been able to endure them. So we are definitely glorious and divine. We, as humans, show this quality through our ability to endure all sorrows and sufferings and yet survive. Sorrow makes us feel supreme, makes us aware of our strength and ability, and ultimately gives us happiness.

It is through our ability to feel sorrow and sadness in its kaleidoscopic form that we put the stamp somewhere that we are unique in the world of all living beings; we are humans.

It is through sorrow that humanity expresses itself completely. In sorrow lies the seed of humanity. Incorporating humanity within oneself is not as easy as it is for a flower to come into full bloom.

On one side this material world makes and keeps us busy, at times even drives us crazy, whereas on the other side our constant endeavour to get united with God makes us peaceful and restive. There lies the balancing act. On one side the soul remains supreme, on the other side the soul relinquishes its supremacy to the Almighty and becomes glorious in love. Ultimately we do submit ourselves and get united with God.

Translation based on Bengali works (essays) by Rabindranath Tagore

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Acquire, Only to Give Away

Whatever God gives us, he gives it out of his own creative power. For that he does not have to collect materials beforehand. He creates out of sheer joy and happiness. We do not have that kind of creative power. To create we require various materials.

The ever hungry "me" or "I" within myself is a pauper. It tries to grab everything that can enhance its pride. It looks for honour. It wants to establish its name everywhere and be immortal. It is after fame. It seeks power and authority.

This impersonal "me" or "I" starts collecting things out of which some creation can be made possible. It has to face a lot of trouble while collecting things that can enhance its pride. It has to exert power at times to bring things under its control.

Once Collected, this "me" develops a kind of authority over its accumulations. It may also try to give these accumulations a special form. A sense of possession and pride comes into being, and a feeling of ownership gets build up over these things acquired by this symbolic "me".

God always allows us to acquire such things because that forms an integral part of His universal creation, and without which we fail to find an active role in this whole creative endeavour of the Almighty.

Creativity ultimately leads us to giving away or relinquishment. The true characteristic of our soul is the same as that of the Almighty. That characteristic is to give away or relinquish. Total joy and happiness is achieved by such relinquishment. Our soul becomes happy when it gives, not when it takes.

The river water is for all. When "I" collect it in my bucket it becomes "my" water. If a thirsty person now comes forward, my soul directs me to give water to him. I give him "my" water from "my" bucket. The soul becomes happy as it "gives".

When "I" collect a flower from the garden and offer it to God, it becomes "my" flower. Here also the "me" collects and the soul "gives".

A soul becomes pure and free only through such giving away or relinquishment. We, as humans, may not be conscious of this intention of our soul, but the intention to give away always remains within us.

We cannot give unless we possess or own something. Thus the "me" within us keeps on collecting and possessing only to allow our soul to eventually give them away. If this "me" attains indefinite proportions, and his possession and pride keeps on increasing excessively, the situation becomes miserable for the soul. Then it suffers silently in a subconscious state.

Translation into English based on Bengali works of Rabindranath Tagore

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Knowing Oneself and Others

In our passage through life we come across many a people. We get acquainted with them in various ways. Some of them become very close. We come to know each one of them in various degrees. We know each person in a different way. However, we must remember that even after knowing a person for twenty years or so, we may not know him totally. Such is the complexity of the human mind. For twenty years things might have gone perfectly. But suddenly that person might do something very strange or behave in an unfriendly manner, which we never expected or anticipated. Somewhere an element of unpredictability always lurks underneath, though on surface all seems to be perfect. It is almost impossible to know a person completely - ninety nine percent known, at least one percent possibly unknown.

There is nothing unusual about it. We all are like that. Only we remain unaware of it most of the times. Thus the same thing applies for all of us. Like others, we might also show such uncongenial behaviour, which others may not like. Such things happen possibly because we do not know ourselves also completely.

So the person whom I know for twenty years, I don't know him completely, in and out. Certain areas still remain unknown. That person may as well be someone closest to the heart.

This simple knowledge will help us in all our interactions with people.

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Think Twice

We are human beings living in a society. We have to communicate and interact with other members of the society. We have to use words to express ourselves, in order to make a point clear, to give our opinion on something or the like. But we must remember that what we say or speak out or judgement that we pass out, at the social level, in our day-to-day interactions with people may as well be used against us to humiliate or insult us.

So we always have to be very careful about what we say. The extent to which our opinion or statement can be misinterpreted or distorted is limitless. So we have to be careful to safeguard our own interests. We should think twice before giving out our opinion. There are more things in some people's minds than are dreamt of in our philosophy. It is always safer to lend our ears than tongue. Listen more and talk less. That is because we have two to listen, and only one to speak. Even if we need to lend our tongue, we must do it with extreme caution. Level of caution may vary depending upon the place and gathering. We must also try to keep our opinions unbiased, because we all tend to get biased unknowingly at times.

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Trees, Blue Sky and Water

This has been done with an impressionistic approach. The colours have been brightened up to increase the depth. Is't the place beautiful ? What do you say ?

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Faith, Patience and Tolerance

Frequently we find people getting more and more critical about others, though they are not always expressing it very outwardly. Criticism is good in so far as it helps to bring out the true characteristic of a particular aspect. But criticisms that lead to arouse a guilty feeling in the minds of people criticized, are not acceptable. Is it because of lack of tolerance? May be. People are getting less tolerant.

One reason may be that people remain very busy and disturbed with their own affairs, many of which they can't bring under their control. This leads to impatience, which is caused by lack of faith. The subconscious mind remains impatient and stressed, which seeks solace by being critical. This feeds the mind with some kind of false peace, which is temporary. They need help. Possibly their ego prevents them from asking for help. We must try to help them.

So, another reason is ego. Egoism is something that signifies that we are more important than others. Only our thoughts and beliefs are true. Our point of view and our knowledge are correct and everything else is false. This leads to stubbornness, arrogance and ultimately self-destruction.

Empty arguments are the active tools with which ego works. In such empty arguments rational thinking suffers, as proper or logical reasoning fails to find a place. It may gratify the mind but leads one to nowhere.

So one must be patient and tolerant, and give up nourishing only the personal viewpoints and stop indulging into empty arguments.

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Scattered Thoughts

We often find people grumbling about what they have not. He tends to think more and more about himself than anybody else. His entertainment, his amusement, his happiness, his peace and so on are the most common areas a man keeps himself confined to. However, we can't blame him totally for this. It is the way we all are. Still we must find some time to think about others. As the great poet Rabindranath Tagore once wrote in one of his poems, "Just come out of yourself and stand outside. You will feel the impulse of this whole world within you."

Firstly, we fail to understand that more we think about ourselves, the more unhappy and depressed we become. True happiness lies in the act of also thinking about people who are around us.

Secondly, we never count our blessings. Once we start doing that, we will surely feel happier and peaceful inside.

Thirdly, we tend to concentrate more on material aspects of life, and consequently on the monetary aspect. We should try to reduce this instinct, though it is difficult enough and requires a lot of spiritual practice. Money is a thing which is most unevenly distributed among individuals. We must make up our minds to accept that this fact is, to a great extent, natural. At times we tend to think that one or more of our neighbors is better off. We must not think in this way. It is not correct. He may be better off than me in some ways, while I may be better off than him in some other ways. He may be better off financially, but that does not matter a lot, as most common people think. In the ultimate analysis money is not so important as we tend to think, even if we do not have money to buy our daily food. We must keep in mind that unhappiness is not all that unhappy a thing. There is also joy in it. It strengthens us mentally, it gives us more spiritual power to work, toil and win in future.

Then again, we always try to keep a firm grip upon everything we have, so that these things may never leave us. Here also we must remember that nothing is permanent in this world. Today we have something, tomorrow we may not have it. What we do not have today, tomorrow or day after we may acquire it by virtue of our own merit - or as well do without it, without feeling its need, by virtue of our wisdom.

The most valuable things of life are not those that one gets for money. They are free for all. One just needs to pick up these as we can pick up a pebble lying beside the road.

Lastly one must try to learn the lessons from the poor and the distressed. They have faced the hardships of life and they know how to cope with each.

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Renunciation and its effect

There is a doctrine known as the Doctrine of Renunciation. Life does not allow one to stand at a point for long. One has to leave that point and advance forward in life. Also there is no such point where, after reaching, one can say that this is the place where I will stick to. One has to always move along with life.

The way of this world is not to cling on to anything for good. One has to move forward. In order to move forward one has to set aside many a things. Then only one can advance. One has to unify his own way with this way of the world. Then only can one be set free. If one can't achieve this unification, he will feel unhappy and inglorious. Things acquired may as well be snatched away from him.

One must not allow this world to snatch things away from him. Rather, he should give up before that can happen. This way one has to prepare him for the ultimate renunciation. This is basically a matter of mind and heart rather than body.

By foregoing things, one does not get poor. Rather, he moves towards completeness. Whatever one clings on to, he binds himself to it. So long as a child is inside his mother's womb, he does not get his mother. He gets her only when he comes out of the womb. He gets physically detached first before he can get his mother. Similarly, one can get something fully only when he can somewhat alienate or detach himself from it. The horse attached to the cart has no control of ownership over the cart. The cart belongs to the person who drives the cart. He is not attached to the cart.

This way, real work is that one which one does without expecting any benefit out of it. When work itself is a joy, benefit automatically flows out of it. The moment one attaches benefit he gets embedded within the work itself.

There are two basic properties in this world, one is to take and the other is to give. A proper balance between the two is absolutely necessary. If one takes more, he gets caged up, and if he gives more, he feels deprived. If ones' work fails to set him free, he becomes a slave, and if he seeks freedom without doing anything constructive, he perishes.

Renunciation does not lead to emptiness; it leads to completeness with authority. Renunciation does not mean giving up worldly life. In one way it means to refrain from consuming something or stop indulging into something.

But questions still remain. Why should one give up ? Why should he not keep on enjoying all that is around him ? Does not giving up leads one to a deserted land ? One really gives up something by offering it to his God. One will find total fulfillment from such an offering. Ultimately it will lead to a state where one will feel happy, contented and peaceful from within. That is the ultimate aim. Ultimate happiness puts an end to all the questions.

Everyday give something to the needy (ex. a handful of grains) without anybody's knowledge, thereby avoiding all kinds of praise from others. One should give it not out of a sense of duty, but as an offering one is making to someone who is also a creation of the Almighty. This will keep on accumulating and one day make one so supremely happy and contented that he will even be able to give up everything he possesses, and yet remain as filled up as ever.

Also, through ones' everyday prayer, he can make his path towards total renunciation more clear and definite. Then all work becomes a joy, all relationship becomes sweet and true, and the grace of God reigns supreme in his life.

Translation based on Bengali works (essays) of Rabindranath Tagore

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