· Question :How to develop objectivity ?
Answer :There are several points you can keep in your mind. I can give you one or two. I do not know which one will inspire you. You can also think something of your own .Whenever you are overwhelmed with either happiness or sorrow , ask yourself if the same thing is happening to your neighbour/friend what will be your attitude ? You may be happy or sad as the case may be when it is your neighbour. But you will not lose your balance. When it comes to others we are all philosophers !
Another method is to understand our own relative insignificance in this whole universe. How big is this Solar system ? In that how big is our earth ? In that how big is India ? How big the city in which we live ? And the colony in which we live ? In the total pattern we are very insignificant. We should not give ‘ black market value ’ to ourselves .
· Question :How can I be happy ?
Answer :To be totally happy you have to be self-realized. But on a relative level the less selfish you are the happier you will be.
· Question :What is the cause of our unhappiness ?
Answer :The main cause is that we love to be unhappy. We love to crib. We are not unhappy because children around the world are dying of hunger or malnutrition. We are not unhappy because most people do not have even the basic amenities of life. We are unhappy because someone has not said ‘good morning’ to us or someone didn’t remember our birthday etc etc. We have forgotten to be grateful. How many of us say a ‘thank you’ prayer before our meals ? We take everything for granted. The food we get, our ability to eat and digest that food. You know for the simple act of drinking a glass of water, how many people have put in the effort, not to speak of the coordination of muscles, bones and nerves in our body ? If one nerve decides not to cooperate…. I can go on like this. If someone says he/she is a ‘self-made’ man/woman, it is a lie. There are numerous elements that help and support us. Only thing is we are not even aware of it. We do not realize how fortunate we are. In short, if we have an attitude of gratitude, we will never be unhappy.
· Question :What is detachment ?
Answer :Have you traveled long distances by train ? I have traveled from Delhi to Trivandrum. It is very interesting to observe our co-passengers. When they get-in the train ,they are in a hurry to occupy their seats, arrange the luggage and see that nobody else has occupied even a little of their space. And every time a new passenger gets in they look worried if they have to share some space with the new entrant. This goes on for the first two days. On the third day ,after breakfast everyone is relaxed. They are all packed and ready to get down. Because they know their destination is about to come. Now they are fearless and are even willing to share the seats with others .The knowledge that they are about to get down gives them a sense of detachment . They have no more use of their seats. Like-wise if we are prepared to ‘get down’ at our ‘destination’ we will be detached and relaxed. No matter what our age is. Our ‘destination’ is sure to come and we have to get down there. When and how ,we do not know. But it will come for sure. Live with this awareness and you will not feel unduly attached to anything or anyone.
· Question :How should one live in this world ?
Answer :Like an actor. Whatever happens to the character does not affect the actor. But his aim is to put in his best performance and get the applause of the audience.
· Question : Why do bad people prosper in this world ?
Answer : First of all there is nothing bad or good. Everything is relative. Now to answer your question, people can be divided into four groups. Aggressive good, aggressive bad, passive good and passive bad. In order to be successful or to achieve what we want we should be aggressively good. Yudhishtira represents passive goodness and Duryodhana aggressive bad. So Duryodhana is able to defeat the Pandavas at every step. Sri Krishna represents aggressive goodness and only with His help the Pandavas were able to win the Kurukshetra war. So if we are not aggressive or at least assertive ,no matter how good we are we will not be successful.
