The SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam

77. Foolishness

No fool would call himself a fool. No one will even think so. There is only damage in this. There is no benefit.
Same way, no wise person will call himself wise, nor would he think so. There is no harm or damage in this. There will certainly be benefit in doing so.
Are you a person who has been harmed or are you a person who is benefited? You only have to examine and tell the result.
Without taking into account one's own fitness and clarity, if one has a firm belief (knowingly or unknowingly) that 'I am wise', it is only from this seed of belief the thorny bush of 'foolishness' grows even without one's knowledge.

A post-graduate student presented a new and sensational research paper in the University. The entire audience listened to it with rapt attention. After the presentation was over, the entire hall itself reverberated with applause.

But the chief of faculty who was sitting in the front row was not at all moved by it.

On seeing the chief's face, when the student worriedly went there and asked him, 'Have I done well in my paper?' the chief said, 'This is pure plagiarism. Every word in this article has already appeared in another book. I cannot be deceived.'

The student was shaken due to shock. The reason: That article was out and out solely prepared by him. The student lost his sleep that night because the Master said, 'Tomorrow I will come with that book.'

Next day, the chief came and said, 'Open this and see' and gave him the book.

On opening it, the student was shocked. It was the Oxford dictionary.

What is stated above is not an exaggerated story. It is the truth of the inner world.
It is an example of foolishness raising its ugly head in the name of intelligence.

Like the chief who snubbed the creative ability of the student, the foolishness of snubbing everybody and every thing should be found out. It should be dissolved.

'What Swamiji, the heading itself is rather negative?' – are you thinking this way...

What to do...

Some times truths have to be spoken loudly in public. I am going to touch the tumour present in the minds of many people for a long time. Some may feel the pain...

There is no other go. Let us treat that tumour at least now. Otherwise it will become fistulous day by day.

Those who get the thought, 'Is this article meant for me?' please continue to read on.

If you think, 'Oh! This article is not written for me.' Know it clearly then that this article is definitely for you.

Remaining lazy without doing any thing constructive in life is surely foolishness.
For that reason toiling without rest and earning endlessly is not wise either.

Life is only to live! It is not to die by earning continuously.

Here is a story of a doctor, who conforms to the above statement.

Dr. Moorg Mukund, he is a very famous surgeon and the HOD(Head of the Department) in a medical college. He owns a hospital with excellent modern facilities in the heart of a big city.

P.A. to Dr. Mukund was talking about the greatness of the doctor. He said, 'Our doctor holds an important post in the association. Two days in a week, he will be on tour attending conferences in other towns, visiting medical camps. Once in two months, he visits foreign countries. Other than this, his business, his estate...'

The moment I heard all this, only Vivekananda came to my mind. Once Vivekananda was taken to many important places and entertainment centers in America to show the most modern developments there.

Americans were waiting to hear in what way Vivekananda was going to appreciate all that.

Vivekananda said, 'One thing is clear on seeing that you have created so many entertainment and recreation centers and on seeing huge crowds of people coming to them, that you are all greatly disturbed mentally and are in sorrow'. By this statement, he made plain the condition of Americans.

Americans were amazed.

Vivekananda continued, 'If the people are not suffering from mental troubles and sorrows, and if they are happy, why at all should they come here in such huge crowds? Will not their own homes themselves be heavens?' he asked.

It is the same story in the case of Dr. Mukund also.

The recreational centers of the Americans are actually the colourful paints created to make them forget their lives which are devoid of happiness.

The extra-ordinarily busy life-style of Dr. Mukund is only a colourful painting to show him only as an achiever, duly hiding his unsteady and shallow life.

I asked the personal assistant to the doctor, 'Do you wish to live like your doctor in your next birth?'

The Personal assistant was hoping to impress me with the achievements of the doctor and was expecting a reply such as, 'Oh! Is it so? Is your Dr. Moorg Mukund such a great doctor?'

He hesitated and after thinking for a while, the Personal assistant said, 'No, no. It is not possible for me. I do not want such a life.'

I asked the Personal assistant, 'Why do you say this? What a great doctor he is! How much of property he owns! Whatever he thinks he can buy, he can achieve! Why you don't want such a nice life?'

He replied, 'No, you don't know. Whatever I said about him are all true. These are his achievements in the outer life only. In his personal life every thing is topsy-turvy.'

'What are you saying?' I asked.

The personal assistant continued, 'Yes. He is a disciplined man. Exactly at seven in the morning he will come to the hospital to see the patients. After seeing every one he would return home only at nine O'clock.

He will not stay in the house for even half an hour. Immediately he will pick up the cell phone in his hand and spend his time with the cell phone making business calls and calls related to property management. Then if he begins to see the out-patients it will go on up to 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Besides this, he has to go to medical college also twice in a week.

He will go home at 3 in the afternoon eat his food in a hurry and then lie down. As he is having B.P and diabetes, he cannot get up quickly. But as the duty calls, with great difficulty he will get up at half past four and when he comes to the hospital at 5 O' clock. After finishing surgery, it would be 10 or 11 in the night. Some days it may even be twelve in the night.

As soon as he reaches home, there will be just time enough for him to eat and sleep. Again, he has to be up at six in the morning. What life is this? For the last thirty years his life is going on in this manner. He does not get even an hour fully to speak lovingly to his wife. If his son wants to talk to his father, he has to come to the hospital, talk between the patients and go.

The number of days he has actually lived with his family can be easily counted on one's fingers as these are the days when once in two or three years he travels with his family to some far off place for 4 or 5 days.

There is no satisfaction at all in the family life either for himself or his wife or even for his sons who are studying abroad.

Without any satisfaction in life, simply going on earning money and fame and stacking it in a big way, what is the benefit and to who is the benefit?

Swamiji, I wish to live a happy and harmonious life along with my family only.

I do not wish to live a life with this profession and with money like him.

In my next life, if I am going to get a life similar to that of the doctor, then my present life which is many times more peaceful and less difficult, is itself much better', so saying the P.A. poured his feelings of pity and sympathy for the doctor.

I asked him, 'Are you able to understand fully that the life lived by the doctor is not a wise or pleasant one?'

He replied, 'Yes, I am able to understand that fully.'

'Because you are a spectator, you fully know about the difficulties of Dr.Moorg Mukund. Does the doctor know about himself to the extent you know about the doctor?' I asked.

He emphatically replied, 'No. Certainly he does not know.'

'When the doctor himself does not know about his own self, how is it that you know about yourself?' I asked.

The P.A. was shaken a little by the question.

I told him, 'You examine about yourself thoroughly.'

After a few minutes, having got upset, he started sweating and he said, 'Yes, surely I do not know about myself fully.'

Further, 'So far, on seeing people who suffer more than me, I have believed all along, that I am fine and I am living an intelligent life.' Accepting this truth, he started correcting himself.

Like this P.A., for many persons, other's foolishness is clearly visible but the truth about them alone is not visible or known.

Unless one gets enlightened some foolishness or the other will be sticking on to man.

Hasid Master Jumalki said, 'Even though we may be intelligent when it comes to some aspects of education, culture, society or religion, there will be some immature aspects that are very much present in us.'

If we do not have the satisfaction of having lived our life in all its fullness and totality, then from that itself, we can understand that we have not made use of the energy or power of intelligence given by God.

Each one is able to see the other's faults very clearly.

But one's own fault is not at all visible even in a dim manner.

Examine as to where that foolishness, which destroys and spoils away the satisfaction is hiding.

Consult and discuss with others.

Perhaps, like you, your relatives also may be intelligent persons in correctly pointing out the mistakes in others.

Start utilizing fully, the energy of intelligence given by God to experience and enjoy fully each and every incident in life and to live naturally.

Intelligence will begin to bubble up.

You will begin to live life with fulfillment to the extent of having lived satisfactorily.

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A meaningful incident.

Parents to the son:

'Tom is younger to you. But how is it that Tom continues to get higher marks than you always?'

The son replied, 'Tom's parents are intelligent.'

Are we intelligent to the extent that we believe?

Find the answer.

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Meditation chisels. Chisel No.32.