The most important thing to us is our life. If it's the most precious and valuable thing we have, we should think twice before spending it. Most people spend their life to buy a living which facilitates to have food , a house and clothes. Making a living, though, is not a big problem with most people if they are fairly smart. All other creatures are doing it .
A Universal Issue : Many Responses
How to make life is a personal question which needs a personal solution. As this question has troubled everyone from the beginning of humanity , it has got various responses and has also become a universal question seeking universal solution. These solutions have been codified in the scripture books of various religions and cultures. Many philosophies have emerged .
Approach to Life : Human and Animal
In my opinion, making a life requires a conscious effort from us . If we leave it to flow on its own , it will have the same course as that of the other animals without little or no brain. Human beings boast of having the most evolved brain enabling them to think most efficiently ,so they must deal with this most important question with the most conscious thinking possible.
What Do We Need To Live?
It occurs to me that life needs a balance among its components. Any excess can poison it. Any deficiency can ail it. Body is the first thing to deserve our care. Breath, food and water are the first three needs without which life is not possible. They are present in plenty around us ; nature takes care of them . What we need to do in this regard is only one thing - save it from the greed of yourself and other humans.
Next come the clothes and shelters.Fulfilling these needs requires no great effort . The matter gets complicated only when they are used for show off.
Then we face the issues of safety and security .They cause fears.They are sometimes real ,threatening life. But in most cases they are psychological and unreal. Our wish to live a quality life is greatly affected by these fears . If the problem is psychological , the solution too needs a psychological approach.
Psychological
On the next stage we encounter another psychological problem which exists only in the mind but has a great effect on our life. That problem is in the form of desires for money, power, fame , love and respect .
Money as a means to fulfill the needs is all right and necessary because, in society, we depend on each other for our needs. But it is an evil if used for show off. Power comes from competence and ability . It is necessary to sustain life .But when it is needed to dominate and harm others, it is a perversion . Fame is purely a psychological and unreal need. A desire to be in the memory of others actually turns the energy of a person in the wrong direction. It leads to unending frustration and unhappiness. Love is a noble feeling and brings happiness but only till we keep getting it. What is done by us is under our control but what is done by others is not.If we want to love someone, it's in our hands but if we want someone else to love us , it is not. Our desire to get it from others is a psychological want and leaves us restless . It too will damage our happiness. Likewise we are free in giving respect to others and we have full control over it.But a desire for getting it from others is nothing but an ego-born unnecessary want , a psychological one. This too is impossible to always get from others and will lead to frustration.
Life is Simple, Not Complex
Thus we see how we make a mess out of our life. We have , ironically, become masters at making a simple thing , complex. Living life is a simple thing but we make it complicated by putting innumerable and unreasonable conditions before it. On a little close observation we find that most of the problems hindering us from enjoying life fully, are the products of our own psychology. Ruining the major portion of life by running after our desires for money, power, fame and lust is nothing but becoming a prey to our own psychology. In such pursuits we forget the real goal which is life.
Know Yourself and Your Tools
To live a life to its maximum possible limit , we need to work on our capacity to experience it. The capacity to experience life is enhanced in a peaceful and attentive state of mind. Peace and attentiveness can be obtained and increased by following some time tested rules prescribed by the sages of all ages. Following the path of simple and virtuous living brings immense peace. That peace enables us to focus on our mind. A regular focus on mind reveals its true character and its composition. Understanding the character and the composition of mind with its way of working and influencing our life shows us the ways to effectively control it and live happily and freely forever.
We see that our day to day business is performed by our five sense organs with other body parts like hands , legs etc. These sense organs and action organs are controlled and employed by the mind. Mind works through thoughts, feelings and emotions which compose it. Mind can be controlled by intellect if one desires to do so. But intellect itself works under the control and guidance of the identity we give to ourselves.
Identity, we see , is ever changing and shrouded by ignorance. In the state of peaceful meditation we can easily view ourselves as different from these organs, mind, intellect and the mistaken identity. This knowledge gives us a sense of freedom and relief. It gives us control over our life . Now we shall find ourselves in the position of a driver not a vehicle. We shall see that we can control our physical and mental actions. We can control our thoughts, feelings and emotions. We can change our identity which means that we are above all identities .
Knowledge is Bliss , Not Ignorance
Such knowledge will enhance our experience of life greatly. It frees us from pain and sorrow. It makes us realize the evanescent nature of the cravings which do not let us live happily. We realize then that even without the blind chase of money, power and fame , one can live happily.
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