Traffic Jam

The number of vehicles is increasing very fast in our country. Over a period of ten years, the total number of vehicles has gone up manifold and the trend continues. While it is a healthy sign of economic development, it is also creating many problems. In India, the road infrastructure has not kept pace with the increase in the traffic, resulting in the crowding of roads, particularly in big cities. Earlier, Calcutta was known for its traffic jams but now other metropolitan cities have become worse. In addition, the problem of pollution is also reaching unmanageable proportions. While legislative measures are being taken to tackle pollution, their poor implementation makes the situation worsen

day by day.

For few years I had the opportunity of living in Delhi and Calcutta. Quite often I also faced the problem of traffic jams. At times I was able to change my route or would not venture out, just to avoid traffic jams but normally they had to be faced. Once we get stuck in a traffic jam, it becomes very difficult to come out as a number of vehicles surround us and we have to follow the race. In such moments, I generally took a very amused view of the situation and compared it with the growing rat race in the society. This contemplation has taught me some valuable lessons.

In today’s materialistic world, the number of desires entertained is considered to be an important criterion of progress, and for most of us, it is the sole criterion. The increasing emphasis on consumerism is an indication of the acquisitiveness of today. Even the TV programmes are full of commercial advertisements and create the unnecessary desire to acquire more and more things. I compare this increase in the number of desires with the increasing number of vehicles on the roads. Like the number of vehicles, human desires have also increased manifold in recent times, resulting in a materialistic rat race. While the increase in the number of desires up to a certain extent and their fulfilment is a healthy sign, beyond a point they choke us materially, mentally as well as physically. It is more so when resources do not permit such an increase. This is like the road infrastructure in relation to the vehicle population. Unless the roads are widened accordingly or new roads are constructed, the increasing number of vehicles is bound to choke them. Similarly, unless our income increases proportionately or new sources of income are created, it is not possible to fulfil the increasing number of desires and they are bound to choke our resources. Comfortable living and the use of modern appliances can be quite helpful if one is able to afford them and also maintain a healthy mental attitude towards them. Such an attitude will not create the pollution of negative thoughts. 

Unfortunately, this is not happening. The more we progress materially, the more we are becoming envious and jealous of each other. In the process, we are not always able to enjoy the fruits of our own progress, nor of others. Our negative thoughts keep polluting the environment and the pleasure of our acquisitions is also lost. We either take no steps to stop this mental pollution or do not act upon them. The situation is like taking legislative measures to control vehicle pollution without implementing them properly. Not many of us read good books or live in the company of wise people, who, in any case, have few followers.

It is also not possible to fulfil the increasing number of desires of all the people. In fact there are not enough resources to meet them. Unnecessary desires can be fulfilled only by a small percentage of people, thus creating disharmony. Generally, such desires cannot be met by honest means. The kind of corruption we see all around today is mainly due to unnecessary desires of the people. Even if one is able to fulfil such desires, in the final analysis, one finds them not worthwhile. By the time one realises so, it is too late and one has to endure the consequent agony, much like the situation of a person trapped in a traffic jam. He can neither move further nor change his path. All progress at that time comes to a halt.

What is the way out? The way out is to choose the correct goal, the correct path and the correct means of transport. A good number of vehicles on the road are moving without any goal, going from place to place due to restlessness. After choosing the correct goal, choose the right path. At times, the goal is achieved quicker by taking a longer route which may be less crowded and it is not always necessary to be in the rat race. Also, do not change lanes every now and then, most traffic jams being due to such changes. The correct means of transport is also important. At times one can reach the destination quicker on foot than in a luxurious car. After all, the vehicle is just a means and not the end. Lastly, choose the correct timings. It is better to start early. Taking care of these factors, a traffic jam can be avoided to a great extent, be it on the road or in life. In that case even occasional jams can be enjoyed as they give us an opportunity to watch our own position closely.

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Human Situations - 1

I am going to write here about some human situations arising out of counseling and psychotherapy, spiritual guidance, and relationship and friendship settings. These situations not uncommon in day-to-day life can help us learn more about humanity. They can help us cope with life better, and enjoy life more fully.

Situation 1: I listened intently and empathically over an hour to a person who considered himself to be one of the best husbands and fathers in the entire word. He always treated his wife with deference and gave her the best his money could buy. He always made sure his wife was well-dressed in public. He made many sacrifices so his two daughters could have the best education and best careers in the world. He even went beyond his means to make his wife and daughters happy. When his wife and daughters ganged-up on him, and abandoned him completely, ungratefully, and cruelly, the bottom of his world fell down. He was utterly devastated. His life was his family, and he attained the goals set for them. That the thought of his wife and daughters leaving  him would not leave his mind disturbed him immensely, and made him very restless.  He did not think he would want to receive them back into his life as things would never be right again. He could not understand why they did what they did to him as he was nearing his retirement age, and eagerly looking forward to enjoying time with them. Nobody including God gave him an answer. That there was no answer was the only answer. The only comfort I could give him was my attentive and empathic listening intended to afford understanding of his very painful situation.

 

As he could see no reason for what happened, I gently tried to explore his plight with him psychologically and spiritually. Did he enlist their cooperation sufficiently to achieve his goals even though these  material goals were for their own good? Did they feel respected in their own freedom of choices all along the way to the goals? Was he over-motivated in achieving their goals in such a way that they got stifled? Would their not achieving the best careers in the world have kept their family intact?  Did he treat them as subjects or objects? Did he exclusively focus on their worldly goals and material well-being to  the detriment of their spiritual and emotional growth? He definitely loved them; but did they experience him as loving them?  We have no answers especially since his family wants to do nothing with him. Yet he has to keep on living. It is important that he finds the message contained in what happened to him. He may never get the answer or the message he is looking for. His getting the answer or the message he looks for may not make him happy either? Besides, it is not necessary that we have answers to all our questions in order to live a happy and purposeful life. He needs to find his own purpose in life independent of his wife and daughters. His wife and children are there solely to help him achieve his purpose in life as he is there to help them achieve their purpose in life. I suggested that he forgives them even if it is only for his own enlightened self-interest. I also impressed on him that it is not necessary for the thought of betrayal to leave him in order for him to be happy and emotionally healthy. The unwanted thought would leave him at its own good time. What he would do if they came back to him can be left safely for the future as he has enough to do presently.

In this context it is relevant to inquire as to what is his purpose in life? Also, what is our purpose in life? Is our purpose in life dependent on someone else's purpose in life? If we let our purpose depends on someone else's, no matter how dear that someone may be, we are condemned to misery and psychological and spiritual turmoil and wasteland as thinking and aware persons.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti  

Life of Eye

Six days before he breathed last. He was one of the best and oldest students of my class. His family called me. They wanted to get his eyes donated as per his last wish. I called the national eye bank help line number 1919. Telephone service provider kept telling me that I am trying a wrong number. I dialled the eye hospital directly as I knew where exactly the eye bank is. There team came and got the job done. A large number of people gathered outside his house to know how the eye donation is done. I had to herd the crowd towards a side to avoid distraction to the eye surgery team. I tried to explain the facts about eye donation to the anxious neighbors. I always wondered that in spite of so much promotion by stars like Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan, the knowledge about eye donation is quite limited. Our country needs about 2.5 lakh eyes and only about 25000 donations are received in a year. Many people still feel that eye donation can lead to deformity of face, which is a complete myth. Only a very thin layer of cornea is lifted from the eye. 

Sometimes corneas can even be sliced vertically to give the gift of vision to multiple people from one eye itself. Two eyes can often lead to vision for four people for their life. Eyes of very old people, people with diabetes etc, can also be donated successfully. Even if the person has never pledged his eyes, his family members still have the legal right to donate eyes after his death. Eyes can be donated up to six hours of death. Most hospitals in our country do not promote eye donation as a part of their service. Even if a person dies at hospital, you might have to shift the person to your home before his or her cornea can be collected. This reality I have faced myself. India has a crude death rate of 8 per 1000, which means about 80 lakh people die every year. Out which getting just 25000 eyes means only about 3 eyes every 1 lakh people we are able to get as donation. To fulfill the need we need to make it 3 eyes per thousand people. This is possible if we can make some simple changes to our mindset. All doctors in the hospitals can be trained to encourage people to donate eyes. All surgery forms can take permissions for eye donations also. All funeral places can have eye collection team ready. Telecom companies can be forced to treat eye donation number as an essential services number.

So friends! Please tell your family today, that you want to see this world for ever, even after your physical absence. If you happen to go for a condolence of any near or dear ones, please do counsel them for eye donation, if the time frame allows. Believe me, it always works and even the family of deceased will ultimately appreciate it. Please do save the number of a nearest eye bank around you in your mobile address book.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

The greatest Wonder

Which is the most striking or the best of all the wonders in this world? The Pyramids of Egypt? The Great Wall of China? The Taj Mahal? A conclusion without objections is impossible. Perhaps, the Great Indian epic Mahabharata might be the only book which gave an appropriate answer to this, quite beyond all disputes. The greatest wonder in this universe according to Dharmaputhra (Mahabharata) is nothing other than a living human being. He did not mean the many billions of cells in a human body that works in absolute harmony; he was also not referring to the puzzling twists of consciousness. What that quizzed him most was the way humans generally think and our foolish deeds which we generally claim to be the output of an ultimate boon, called wisdom. Dharmaputhra meant that death is an inevitable transforming factor in anyone’s life, at which we leave aside all the glories we have accumulated and leave this matter world with nothing in our hands. Still, every one lives as if this rule is not relevant to them. This is what surprised Dharmaputhra. This says that those who have realized this truth are worth to be called rich and all others unquestionably poor. I think that this old dervish story may clarify what I mean.

A wealthy merchant, observing a dervish who was praying silently appreciated his devotion and sincerity; it touched him deeply. He offered the dervish a bag of gold. 

“I know you will use the money for God’s sake. Please take it.” He said.

“Just a moment,” the dervish replied.

The dervish asked the merchant, “I’m not sure if it is lawful for me to take your money. Are you a wealthy man? Do you have more money at home?”

“Oh yes. I have at least one thousand gold pieces at home,” claimed the merchant proudly.

“Do you want a thousand gold pieces more?” asked the dervish.

“Why, yes, of course. Every day I work hard to earn more money.”

“And do you wish for yet a thousand gold pieces more beyond that?”

“Certainly! Every day I pray that I may earn more and more money.”

The dervish pushed the bag of gold back to the merchant. “I am sorry, but I cannot take your gold,” he said. “A wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar.”

“How can you call yourself a wealthy man and me a beggar?” the merchant spluttered.

The dervish replied, “I am a wealthy man because I am content with whatever God sends me. You are a beggar, because no matter how much you possess, you are always dissatisfied, and always begging God for more.” 

Joseph Mattappally

Coordinates of Life

Coordinate geometry is an interesting branch of mathematics. In plane coordinate geometry, there are two axes, namely, ‘X’ and ‘Y’, crossing each other at right angles. The point of intersection is known as the origin. The origin is given the coordinates, zero-zero. All other points lying on the plane of these two axes are given coordinates with respect to the origin. Thus, each point has two coordinates known as ‘X’ and ‘Y’ coordinates. Depending upon the position of the point, these are either positive or negative or a combination. Since the plane is divided into four quadrants, one quadrant has both the coordinates positive, one both negative and the remaining two quadrants have one coordinate positive and one negative. In graphic form, these may be shown as below:

                                                         

Based on the relationship of these coordinates, various figures are studied in this branch of mathematics. Starting with a straight line, there are complex figures of various shapes.

Overall, the study is very interesting. From two-dimensional geometry we proceed to three-dimensional, which is a little complicated but the basic principles remain the same. Here, the study is made in respect of three-dimensional figures instead of two-dimensional figures. Viewed philosophically, the basic principles of this branch give some very interesting lessons for life. I intend to share my reflections, confining them to the lessons which can be learnt from two-dimensional coordinate geometry.

Firstly, the four quadrants can be compared with the different states of mind. The quadrant with both positive coordinates indicates the happy state of mind when one feels everything positive in life. The quadrant with both negative coordinates indicates the gloomy state of mind when everything appears to be negative. The remaining two quadrants indicate a mixed state where some aspects appear to be positive and some negative. The lives of most of us pass through these three phases and we accept them as such. In all these phases we dissipate our energy either by enjoying or suffering and eventually depart from the earth. The cycle goes on till we understand the truth and realise it. In fact, the truth lies in rising above both positive and negative. Such a position is possible only at the origin which is the supreme reality, or in other words, God. Till we realise this position, we keep on dissipating our energy, irrespective of our coordinates.

An interesting comparison can also be made with three tendencies, namely Sattwik, Rajasik and Tamasik. The first quadrant represents the Sattwik tendencies, the second and fourth represent the Rajasik and the third represents the Tamasik. Most of us have Rajasik tendencies and that is why they occupy two quadrants. Such tendencies motivate us to act for the fulfilment of a desire. If the desire is fulfilled we feel happy and if not, we feel unhappy. On the other hand, the Sattwik tendencies always keep us happy while the Tamasik keep us unhappy. Again the fact is that we stay away from the truth and keep dissipating our energy in all the three situations. The only difference is that in the Sattwik situation, energy is used for good purposes, in Rajasik, for mixed purposes while in Tamasik, for bad purposes. Therefore, the answer lies in rising above all the three tendencies and to become Gunatita. This state is possible only when we take our position at the origin which is nothing but the supreme reality or God. This is what is concluded by Lord Krishna also, in the 18th chapter of the Gita.

 There can be two ways of achieving such a position. One is not to move from the origin, which means that we remain engrossed in God and do not come out in the world at all. This is not possible for most of us who have to lead an active life in the world. The alternative, therefore, is to see God in each happening and object of the world. It means that whatever interaction we have in the world should be seen as emanating from the supreme reality and we should accept it in a detached manner. In that case, everything will appear to be from the origin and the question of positive or negative will not arise at all. In terms of coordinate geometry, it amounts to shifting the axes in such a manner that whatever point we see should appear to be the origin. After all, God is said to be omnipresent and it should not be difficult to see Him everywhere. In coordinate geometry, an exercise for shifting the axes is given occasionally and in life it should be a constant exercise.

 Rakesh Mittal IAS

Ramanujans of Today

Let me begin with this famous story of great Indian mathematician Ramanujan. He was ill and was admitted in a hospital in London. His British mathematician friend G. H. Hardy paid him a courtesy visit. Hardy came with a taxi and he just referred to Ramanujan that the number of the taxi he rode was quite uninteresting and he could not make any sense out of the number. The number was “1729”. Hearing this number, Ramanujan immediately became excited and told his friend that this is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. It can be one cube plus twelve cube or nine cube plus ten cube. Today mathematicians have found many other interesting properties of this number and this number has been named as Hardy-Ramanujan number. Numbers have always fascinated many people in many different ways. In recent years a new fad about numbers has evolved in the form of changing names of people based on numerological luck. I know some people who really charge very high fee to change names. They will add an additional ‘k’ or an additional ‘s’ or any other alphabet, that will suit a certain numerological summation of their names. These so called numerology based astrologers have celebrity clientele and are advertising themselves as fortune changers. I also observe an interesting thing that such clientele often comes from a very highly educated class. Obviously this kind of business is flourishing much more in metros than in smaller towns. I call these astrologers as Ramanujans of today. 

This comparison came to my mind as I found that one such person was also using name of Ramanujan and Aryabhatt to prove that what he is doing is all scientific in nature. He claims that this is our ancient knowledge from the period of Vedas. Such people use the same fear psychosis that is used by other religious contractors to trap you on account of making your future. Sometimes I feel that rational people are falling short in fighting such increasing trend of superstition in our society. I see that even the media of modern times promote it for their monetary benefits. I would be happy if at least one another person can hear my feeble voice and make it a little more louder, so that it can be heard louder in years to come.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

E-Heaven

The word Hindu originally meant people living on the banks of the river Sindhu. Through centuries, it has gained more religious-cum-philosophical connotations. Now, it refers to those who believe in the philosophy of Vedas and silently practice all sorts of rituals that evolved in due course. For the practical attainment of liberation, Hindus have Yoga, which is a system complimentary to Samkhya. Gita expounds the synthesis of three Yogas or ways of attaining union with the Supreme. They were Gyana-yoga (union through knowledge), Bhakti-yoga (union through devotion) and Karma-yoga (union through action). Since Ages, knowledge (data in the modern sense) was being passed from Guru to disciple; knowledge was not either sold in the market or put to auction. 

Today, what we have is only the shadow of a profound heritage – no values are socially promoted, except in words.  Everything, subtle or concrete, good or bad is measured in various units and is show cased with a price tag on them. The worst thing is that that there are only very few souls committed on a spiritual path to the Ultimate. We do not believe in Nature or any natural courses. We insist on strategies that could easily market what one intends. Huge flex hoardings of vicious ads decorate even religious places. Prayers are paid, offerings are taxed and discourses are expensive …….. Thank God! We have polluted air for free. 

Advertisements have become bread and water for everything. Even poojas are arranged by marketing experts. All sorts of general communication mediums are half filled with advertisements, most of them cheating in disguise. It has come to be that even a devil with an appropriate marketing skill can strive here. I remember a physician who opened a clinic in a foreign land. Nobody came to his clinic. He put a hoarding which said, ‘guaranteed treatment for all ailments at 500 bucks, Damage if any compensated with 1000 bucks’. In a world in which everything is translated into e language, it is no surprise that e people look out for e Vedas and e Ashrams. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard about an e heaven which I can recommend. 

Joseph Mattappally