I don't post the works of other authors in here generally, but I found this to be very inspiring, and hence have posted it. This piece of wisdom is by By SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA, which appeared on the Times of India centre page of December 2, 05.
" These days people are inclined towards glamour than goodness. Media highlights glamour. People are brainwashed to believe that glamour is equal to happiness. It is a wrong notion.
Why does glamour have more appeal than goodness?
There are three traits in human consciousness: Looking good, feeling good and being good. The most important is being good. Many people value feeling good. However, if feeling good is not anchored on being good, then people get into drugs. Drugs temporarily make you feel good, but are not good for your well-being. People also value looking good more because it helps to impress others. For them, looking good physically and psychologically is more important than feeling good and being good. There is nothing wrong in looking good provided it is based on being good. More often people want their image to be appreciated to feed their ego. Glamour is food for the ego; it decorates the lookinggood pattern. Hence glamour is of greater appeal.
Is looking good wrong?
It is not a question of right or wrong. There exists a deeper meaning to it. A young girl, widowed at the age of 20, expressed that she was feeling lonely. I asked her why she could not remarry. She replied that she feared what people would say if she were to get married again. I asked her as to what people were talking about her right then. She replied that they felt that she was a good woman. However, I asked her if she was feeling good. In the eyes of the people she was looking good but she herself was not feeling good.
People sacrifice feeling good and being good for the sake of looking good. When looking good is not based on being good then life becomes a mess. The world runs on the illusion of looking good. If you do not look good, you will not survive this rat race, little realising that even if you win, you continue to be a rat. Are people happy in spite of being successful? Why is it that many successful people continue to be miserable? The reason being that they do not know the art of being happy. A study done on happy people showed that happy people were good finders. They always seek and find something good even in the bad.
Use the image of looking good but do not be used by the image of looking good. Just as you wear a dress, you are not the dress. To be happy, be free from any image of yourself. Be empty of image, thoughts, and conclusions. This inner emptiness is joy. This is a new way of looking.
Why should I be a good individual if being good involves more problems?
People throughout the world want only good things to be spoken of them. Nobody wants others to talk ill of them. It is thus clear that we are all seeking goodness. Being a good individual requires facing problems. In fact, being a bad individual also involves facing problems. Problems are part of life; hence train your mind to enjoy problems. Just as you go to a gym and enjoy the workout in spite of sweating, train your mind to enjoy problems. Problems often make you a powerful individual. "
1 comment:
What is a successful person?
"...One is successful or a failure, not because of the ambitions. If unfulfilled ambitions makes one sad, disappointed, frustratd and lose one's objectivity; then one is a failure!
On the contrary, one who has learnt to manage his or her likes and dislikes is a successful person and he can afford to have a few more wants because he or she knows how to manage them..."-Swami Dayananda
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