The process of Unlearning

Sid's Blog: Green Versus Green

“The presumption that a child needs to acquire pre-defined pieces of information at a certain age with no modification whatsoever and with extreme pressure and compulsion is unacceptable to me. If we define a system, we draw lines and it becomes very difficult to go beyond those boundaries and think out of the box. So you get out of the box to think out of the box,” he added. Priya Desiken, fellow unschooling parent from Chennai and a part of Swashikshan comments, “My son Raghav left school two years ago. He could not handle the stress, pressure and the structure emphasised on in school. His resentment towards school started growing and it transformed him into a rebel.” It got difficult for her family to handle him. So it was decided to de-school him. “It’s a pleasure to mark the positive changes in him ever since. While in school, he had earned a repute of being a loner and shy. But now, he is a changed kid and has opened up to a large level. Self-learning has done him a great deal …

The life of each nation has a moral purpose of its own, and the manners and customs
of a nation must be judged from the standpoint of that purpose. The Westerners should
be seen through their eyes; to see them through our eyes, and for them to see us
 through theirs--both these are mistakes.
- Swami Vivekananda

My view is,

Every condemnation is only a puzzle to be resolved in a seeker's path. So, my request to your gentle mind is to open another inquiry on those subjects that's been condemned as 'negative' in your mind's corner, till the difference that brought in the condemnation is dissolved completely.

Three sorts of defects make food impure — first, Jâti-dosha, the defect in the very nature of the class to which the food belongs, as the smell in onions, garlic, and suchlike. The next is Âshraya-dosha, the defect in the person from whom the food comes; food coming from a wicked person will make you impure. I myself have seen many great sages in India following strictly that advice all their lives. Of course they had the power to know who brought the food, and even who had touched the food, and I have seen it in my own life, not once, but hundreds of times. Then Nimitta-dosha, the defect of impure things or influences coming in contact with food is another


- Ramanuja

Knowledge is the light which links the seer to the seen. Suppose you go in search of a book in a library in pitch darkness. Can you find it without light, although you, the subject, and the book, the object, are both present? Light has to be present to unite you. This link between the subject and the object in every experience is chit, consciousness. It is both the substratum as well as the witness of the experience

The more we grow in love and virtue and holiness, the more we see love and virtue and holiness outside. All condemnation of others really condemns ourselves. Adjust the microcosm (which is in your power to do) and the macrocosm will adjust itself for you. It is like the hydrostatic paradox, one drop of water can balance the universe.

- Swami Vivekananda

The last Mantra of Rig Veda emphasizes the unity and harmony of entire humanity, 


“Samani vha aakutihi, samana hrudyani vha, samanam astu vo mano, yatha vha su saha asti.” 


“Let your aims be one, let your hearts be one, let your minds be one, and let your unity go from strength to strength”


(http://www.chakranews.com/indian-scriptures-and-its-impact-on-castes/2858)

Manifestation of ancient vasanas (latent tendencies) is creation. Destruction of vasanas is the end of creation. (Guru Vachaka Kovai, 84)


Creation is not a "making" of something. It is the struggle to regain the equilibrium, as when atoms of cork are thrown to the bottom of a pail of water and rush to rise to the top, singly or in clusters - Swami Vivekananda

Be not like certain fisher-women who, caught in a storm on their way home from market,
took refuge in the house of florist. They were lodged for the night in a room next
to the garden, where the air was full of the fragrance of flowers. In vain did they
try to rest, until one of them suggested that they wet their fish baskets and place
them near their heads. Then they all fell into a sound sleep.

The world is our fish basket, we must not depend upon it for enjoyment.

The finer the organism, the higher the culture--the greater is the power to enjoy the pleasure and the sharper are the pangs of pain.


Demonstration - http://pyramideclipse.com/video/

Simple living came upon me when I started asking myself to draw the line that divides the NEED and DESIRE. It's a fine line that helps one to stay focussed on the Life's moment. That's a personal change.

On the social front, a change is warranted in multiple dimensions considering the enormity of the problems we face today; perhaps we need a solution that’s too big to be comprehendible by human minds;  a change that involves multiple stages of implementation spanning across a few generations/ages.  And a change in the course of humanity's evolution towards inward senses is the first stage of the solution and its implementation is already underway. Next stage perhaps is about aligning the consciousness of these simple living individuals to that of the Earth Consciousness (I strongly believe and feel vaguely that EARTH is one living organism)
Another dimension to look at is the DIVERSITY. In Nature, no two things are alike (every life has its own signature) whereas in t…

Dear all,
In India, it's not mandatory to join the army and do service. But let that not stop us from establishing a self-regulated code of conduct for doing service to our near and dear.
The Indian Planning Commission is in the process of finalizing the 12th FIve Year Plan. If the learned people of our society can spend a few hours per week to brainstorm and provide valuable inputs to identify and prioritize problems, conceptualize and crystallize solutions, we can be sure of formulating a great plan. Of course, a great plan doesn't lead us anywhere without a good implementation. But that's a second step. A million mile walk starts with the first step. 
Without contributing our ideas and thoughts to the growth plan of our territory, we wouldn't have the right to complain. Being not aware of the our community's development plan would make us illiterate!!
So, lets exercise our right as a literate by giving our suggestions and ideas on the various working groups of …

அன்புள்ள டாக்டர் அவர்களுக்கு,

பாலச்சந்திரன் எழுதுவது. தங்களுக்கு எழுதுவதில் மிக்க மகிழ்ச்சி அடைகிறேன். 
உங்கள் குருகுல தென்றல் புத்தகம் என்றும் அதே பொலிவுடன் வெளி வருவது கண்டு மேலும் மகிழ்ச்சி.
ஞான மார்க்கத்தையும் கர்ம மார்க்கத்தையும் கலப்பதால் வரும் குழப்பங்களை அழகாய் எடுத்துரைத்தீர்கள். உங்கள் எழுத்துக்கள் என்னுள் இருந்த சாய்வை நிமிர் செய்ய உதவியது. மிக்க நன்றி.
இவ்விஷயம் குறித்து என் மனதில் எழுந்த சில கருத்துக்களை உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதில் பெருமை அடைகிறேன்:
உண்மையை நெருங்க நெருங்க ஞான, கர்ம, பக்தி மார்க்கங்களுக்கு இடையே உள்ள தூரங்கள் குறைந்து கொண்டே வருகின்றன. அவ்வகையில், உண்மையை நெருங்க இம்முன்று கயிற்றில் எதை பிடித்து பயணிப்பது என்பது வாழ்க்கையில் தோன்றும் கடினமான கேள்விகளில் ஒன்று. அதற்கு சரியான பதிலை அறிய, முதல் படியாக, நம்மை அம்முன்று கயிற்றிக்கும் சரி தூரத்தில் நிறுத்தி சம நோக்கு கொள்வதே ஆகும்.
இரண்டாவது  படி, சுய தர்மம் அறிய முற்படுதலாகும். இங்கே கீதையின் சாராம்சத்தில் விளங்கும் பல்வேறு பரிமாணங்களை முற்றிலும் உணர முற்படுதல் அவசியம் ஆகும். அஹிம்சை என்ற கோட்பாட்டை, மாமிச உண…

Barefoot - The other side of life HARSH MANDER, February 11, 2012, The Hindu, Opinion, Columns
LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE: Matt (left) and Tushar. Photo courtesy: RS100ADAY.COM
Can anyone really live on Rs. 26 a day, the income of the officially poor in rural India? Two youngsters try it out.
Late last year, two young men decided to live a month of their lives on the income of an average poor Indian. One of them, Tushar, the son of a police officer in Haryana, studied at the University of Pennsylvania and worked for three years as an investment banker in the US and Singapore. The other, Matt, migrated as a teenager to the States with his parents, and studied in MIT. Both decided at different points to return to India, joined the UID Project in Bengaluru, came to share a flat, and became close friends.

வெள்ளதனைவது மலர் நீட்டம் மாந்தர் தம் உள்ளதனைவது உயர்வு!

The height of the water in the pond dictates the height of the Lotus flower in it. Likewise, the status of an individual in the Society shall be dictated by the beauty of his Heart (The stem of the Lotus adjusts its height according to the height of the water in the pond.)

he says with profound truth: The grass as well as the trees, while they live, are tender and supple; when they die they are rigid and dry. Thus the hard and the strong are the companions of death. The tender and the delicate are the companions of life - Lao-tze

Once found,


You Realise
&
Find the path that is a one way with a dead end.
&
The Journey becomes Effortless & Pleasant.


The only thing to feel thereafter is, Gratitude!

The pure state of having very great attachment to Self and having no attachment to any other thing is verily one's state of Silence. Learning to remain as 'I am that Silence' and ever abiding as It is, is the true mental worship [manasika puja].

Let us count our blessings and never our troubles
Face your troubles. You will find growth in it. Count your blessings. You will find happiness in it. The blessing is that we have enough for our needs. The trouble is that we do not have enough for our greed. Stop asking, “Why me God?” for all our troubles and start asking, “Why me God?” for all our blessings.
What a blessing it is to be born as a human being? We have shelter to sleep under, people to cry for and cry with, enough to eat, plenty to wear, education to build our life on; we speak, read and write in at least two languages; we have abundance of technology to make our life comfortable, limitless avenues of entertainment ….and the list is endless. Oh, what a blessing life is?
Aspire for sneakers, but be grateful for the legs. Aspire for the diamond ring, but be grateful for the fingers. Aspire for the waterbed, but be grateful for your sleep. Aspire for the palatial bungalow, but be grateful to be part of a home that is not buil…

Before liberalisation, the difference between wholesale prices and retail prices was a mere six per cent.

After the removal of Quantitative Restrictions, which opened up India to dumping of subsidised products, wholesale prices started to go down while retail prices continued to climb. The entry of retail giants will further push wholesale prices down, without taming the price rise. It is not the number of middlemen that matters but the size of a middleman. A giant retailer is a giant middleman. It might be a single player, but it harvests super profits at the cost of society.


http://www.asianage.com/columnists/no-therapy-retail-391