Feeling sorrowful will not relieve one from grief. Sorrow is not a solution for grief.🔗

Clarity is understanding the truth or the reality and not embroiling oneself in difficulties and grief continuously. Clarity is the intelligence to realize that these are all just ordinary things in life's natural flow.

If we get clarity, that is enough. We can find solutions for all problems and come out from them. Even if we don't get solutions, we can think clearly and come out very quickly from our mental confusion by knowing that the sufferings may take their own time to get solved and we will know what is to be done at the then existing moment.

Thinking that we can come out of a problem, without clarity, is just like a blind man trying to walk nicely on a slippery and slushy road, without even using a stick. When we try to lead a clean life, without getting to know the correct ways to lead a crystal clear life, we get only troubles and disappointments continuously.

Even though we believe that we live with a clear mind, the fact is, that, from our youngest age, due to the adulterations in thought caused by disappointments, our clarity is really 'unclear'.

One small story:

A fellow, Johnny by name, got frustrated in life, decided that suicide is the only solution for him and went to a medical shop, bought some poison, ate it and lied down.

He waited on and on till the morning with expectations, thinking, 'I am going to die in ten minutes, die in five minutes ... ... '

In the morning, Johnny went to the medical shop and asked the shop-owner with anger, 'Sir, what sort of poison did you sell me? : Nothing has happened!'

The medical shop owner, without getting irritated at all, said very casually, 'Nowadays where do you get unadulterated poison?'

Though it looks rather funny, it is worth pondering deeply. Our clarity has become adulterated. It has become commonplace nowadays for people to roam about thinking that they speak everything with clarity, only even though thev do not possess any clarity at all. It is rather sad.

How to change unclear clarity to clear clarity?

Let us add a pinch of salt to the taste of our life, by adding meditation gradually to enhance our intelligence which, at present, is the size of an ant.

How? Only if the ant becomes bigger to the size of a puppy. it will become clear to it that the balloon is only an ordinary thing like itself.

In the same manner, it will be known that, as the intelligence increases, all the difficulties and problems are mere ordinary stones on the path of life.

Clarity will begin to blossom in us, petal after petal!

***********

It is wrong to say: 'Persons who don't study; persons who cannot study.'

Education: A Burden?

• Education is an art.
• ☆ Until there is an attachment in life, there will not be enthusiasm and intelligence in education.
• It is only the compulsions and struggles imposed by society on education which creates hatred for education.
• It is difficult to learn painting or sculpting with aversion in the mind.

If we try to learn with aversion, even art will create worries and anxieties. It will appear only as a burden. This is the subtle thing which makes education a burden.

Is education an obstacle to live life joyfully?

Either due to various problems, without a regular education, some spend their life without understanding life properly at all. For this reason many do not really understand what life is. They have to suffer later on due to an inferiority complex.

Otherwise, having read very much, some people obtain PhDs in two or three subjects. Because they have read so much, they think very highly about themselves. They begin to suffer from feelings of superiority. In the end, both these types of people struggle by failing to enjoy their lives.

As a matter of fact, education is not an obstacle at all to happiness and joy. Real education is a method which helps us to understand ourselves. Education for worldly life means learning to understand the worldly life and live a good life.

Our understanding about ourselves and our understanding of the world are both only for living a good life. Of these, understanding ourselves is more possible and understanding the world is very difficult.

If we begin to understand ourselves, the process of 'studying' which happens in us will become a natural and ordinary one. Until we begin to understand ourselves, 'studying' will only appear as a burden.

We have very many wrong ideas about how to study, actually. If we go one step further, we have to admit that we are educating our children exactly in the wrong ways. In the name of educating the young children, what some teachers do to them is a form of torture.

At this date, the most important thing is to teach such teach children in the correct way.

Children possess an abundant wealth of imagination. They have the capacity to think and act in such peculiar ways that are even unthinkable for us. We don't understand their creative abilities. We think of our children as plain slates with nothing written on them.

We are in such a great hurry to write something on them ourselves before the child can write anything on himself.

The result is, when they should to be actually playing at this age, they are writing, making their fingers swell with pain. At a time when they should be seeing with awe and wonder a squirrel and an owl, they see them only in books. At an age when they should be learning new words in their mother tongue playfully, they are being compelled to read this and that.

When they are compelled to read in this manner, they develop an aversion to reading. Therefore, their attention towards reading gets scattered and thev get attracted to watching T.V., games, chit-chatting, bad habits, etc.

Because this compulsion continues to be there even as they grow further, some youngsters become addicted to drugs, etc.

The idea that the youth should be allowed to watch T.V. excessively from very young age to keep them happy and form other bad habits (possibly drugs) is wrong. The great aversion and difficulties created knowingly or unknowingly over studies creates an attraction to and happiness from, other things such as T.V. and possibly drugs. If this is understood, half the problem will be solved.

Recently a gentleman came to me with his 22-year-old son. The son is studying in the medical college in Bangalore. Whether he learned medicine or not he learned well to use ganja (drugs). He had been spending his time using all sorts of drugs.

The old man had brought him to me, as he was afraid that he might lose his son ultimately.

After speaking with that boy, it was known that the boy had absolutely no desire at all to study medicine. As he had started doing medicine only on the compulsions of his parents, he easily fell a victim to drugs.

When his condition was explained to him suitably and tactfully, he realized his mistake. It was easily possible to redeem him and bring him back to the correct path. He understood that mere aversion had shaken him and brought him to such a bad extent. The aversion over the education was gone and desire was born in him.

It is correct only to say: 'Persons who have failed to study at the time determined for studying.'

In fact, all have the capacity to study well.

Education is a necessary burden for today's life, today's world. You may wonder about my calling education a burden. You must understand it as a burden which has failed to become a pleasure.

The first twenty-one years of a man can be divided into three stages.

The first stage is from age one to seven. This is the child stage. 'I should be with the mother: I should get whatever I want; all should accept me.' Children have such desires.

Whoever is trying to separate the child from the mother or from its playing, will be hated by the child. Children cry for at least a few days when going to school because they think that the school. studying and the teacher: all of these things control them and bother them.

This is the reason why the children joyfully run out of the school when the school closes daily and they run out like prisoners escaping from jail.

The second stage is when the children are between the ages eight and fourteen desire to play much. But they are deprived of such opportunities because they are attending special classes, etc.

So many desires are not satisfied and remain in their minds as unfulfilled desires.

The third stage is during the ages between and twenty. This is the time when the child becomes a youth. This is the time when they have to fight with their hormones for the first time; a time to accept responsibilities and become an achiever.

During the period of life from birth till the age of fourteen, it is a time of moving about happily like an independent bird. It is only because this independence is either 'refused' to them or because they 'think that this independence is refused to them'. Children of the age of fourteen to twenty-one prepare themselves mentally to satisfy those pleasures which they have lost. The reason is the independence and the bubbling youthfulness present in them in this age.

It is sufficient if they know the basic reasons for their lack of concentration, they will come to know that whatever things are diverting them from their studies are just illusions which don't really exist. If this is understood, automatically, the aversion towards studies and attractions towards other things will begin to reduce. Interest in the studies will naturally begin to increase. Enthusiasm, intelligence and eagerness in studies will happen. Studies will no more be a burden.

My dear youngsters! Study well during student days. Never doubt whether it is possible for you. The indisputable fact is 'Everything is possible for you.'

Continue to keep in mind always the belief that you are capable of achieving and the belief that you can achieve things.

Enough with your sleep and sadness. Rise up. There is no end at all to the race called achievement.

***********

Desire - Birthplace of Memory

• Studving is a burden
  • Until desire blossoms in the mind, this is true.
• Studying is tasteful - After desire blossoms in the mind. this is a realized truth.
• & Saying that studying is either a burden, or pleasing, depends upon the amount of one's desire.

Drrrring....Drrrring...... (Telephone rings)

'Hello! This is Kannan speaking. I am studying in the 10th grade. I have very little memory power. So I am not able to read and not able to get good marks.

...... You suggest to me some way to increase my memory power.' This is what a student asked in a live question and answer program on the T.V.

I asked him, 'Brother, did you watch the last cricket match? With great enthusiasm he replied, 'Yes, are you asking about the Bharat – Australia match? Oh! It was a super match, Master.'

'Is it so? Who was the man of the match? Who all took the wickets?' I asked.

He began saying, 'The man of the match……' and continued to tell all the details and gave all statistical information for all questions I asked and also for those not asked by me.

I told him. 'Brother, just now you told me that you are having very low memory power and that's why you are not able to get good marks. If you had very low memory power, how could you relate all statistics about a match which was plaved last week?

The student began saying, 'Oh, Master, which is ...... '

I told him, 'Brother, now do you understand what your real problem is? You have a liking for cricket. So you are able to grasp easily and clearly about that. '

Because the desire or liking for studying is somewhat less, it is difficult to grasp and retain in the mind, studies and all related information. That is the reason why whatever is read is not retained in the mind. It is only the collective result of these things which create the illusory appearances such as loss of memory power, etc.