Just Do It
JUST DO IT
Of all the philosophical discourses I have come across or read, the above three letters summarise everything you need to know about how to lead a good life. Some of the conclusions that I would like to state after 27 years of existence are as under:
Philosophy cannot be preached and taught by reading books. Philosophy is a personal experience – a state of mind. And just like any other degree course like engineering, medical or architecture, you should have practical knowledge of the same. One cannot learn how to swim just by reading a guide on “swimming made easy for starters “etc. You need to jump in the water and swim.
Most mantras of life eg – how to be successful, how to win friends and influence people, how to say no, how to think positively, how to create opportunities, how to manage time and countless other how’s which get published and sell like hot cakes, are not required to be read. You have the capacity to know them as time goes by. You will learn them automatically and naturally. You just need to live life without getting too analytical about it. So, just do it!
The way things are going in the far west, people are in a hurry to read whatever can fall in their hands – how to tie your shoe lace, how to breathe, how to chew on a chewing gum, how to impress your girlfriend, how to manage your first date, how to order in a particular restaurant by not appearing too conscious, how not to sound obvious and so on. God! Give me a break! Do you need to know this? Life would be close to hell if you thought you could practice and fine tune each and every moment of your life. Sorry sir! Life’s primary lessons we need to learn is to be spontaneous and flow with the tide. We need to acknowledge that we are not perfect most of the times, but that should not hinder us from enjoying life. Ever seen local folks in Jaipur, Jodhpur building a house or performing a daily chores of washing clothes, preparing lunch/ dinner, drying cow dungs to be used for plastering and redoing of floors? You feel the happiness they exhibit. Why? Because they are so involved in what they are doing. They haven’t got educational degrees or haven’t read what Deepak Chopada or Sri Sri had to say on life. You can learn a few lessons by just watching them.
Wonder. That’s the essence of feeling wonderful about life. Children always wonder about how does the sun rise from the east, why is the grass green and not red, why can’t we fly, how can birds fly? Ever wondered? Ever? We all did, but when we were small. What happened now? You think you know the answers to above questions so the sense of wonder is lost? Think again. If you don’t wonder, perhaps you have tuned yourself NOT to. And that makes life pretty dull. Wonder is a sort of an acknowledgement about things you don’t know or you know, yet you respect the creative spirit behind it. Einstein, inspite of all breakthroughs he made, always wondered when he looked in the sky. There are things unexplored, some of them can be justified in due course of time, others can’t. But by wondering on them , you enjoy the mystery behind them.
Concentrate. What does concentration mean? It means to focus on something. It also means to REMOVE extra garbage and disturbances other thoughts play in your mind. When a person concentrates, he directly “feels”. There are less conglomeration of thoughts in his mind. Finally, the climax of concentration is when there is not a single thought in your mind. The concept (or illusion) of mind then dissolves. Along with it, all things associated with the creation of your mind – your identity as niranjan or shailesh or tom, your fears, opinions, judgments, his, hers, country, race, religion, Hindu, Christian, minor superior, poor, rich, strong, weak, fat, thin, tree, sky, mountain, water, mud, brick, stone – everything dissolves. Your mind exists as long as any thought exists. The moment you vacate your mind, you experience that there is no mind, there is nothing. What remains then? Experience of that Creative Spirit, of what everything on this earth is made of. You reach the essence. That is why it is important to be silent everyday. Silence of the mind can be achieved by prayers, a hobby, a game or doing anything that RELAXES your mind. Do it. All problems in life humanity faces is because we haven’t tuned in to ourselves and realized who we are.
The result of concentration also leads to detachment. Because you realize that nothing is real enough to disturb you, you experience abundant bliss. You are detached although you are active. You are a key player in life and you are also the observer. Once I had a “lucid” dream – wherein I was actually aware that I was dreaming. The moment I realized (in my dream) that THIS is only a dream, I was relaxed and fearless. A sensation dawned on me that nothing in this dream would affect me, so lets ENJOY the dream. This is exactly what you feel when you know the essence of your existence. Life is a dream. We take it far too personal. And to know it’s a dream, you have to be absolutely still and calm.
My suggestion to everybody is – discard books. Just live life and enjoy it. JUST DO IT!
Of all the philosophical discourses I have come across or read, the above three letters summarise everything you need to know about how to lead a good life. Some of the conclusions that I would like to state after 27 years of existence are as under:
Philosophy cannot be preached and taught by reading books. Philosophy is a personal experience – a state of mind. And just like any other degree course like engineering, medical or architecture, you should have practical knowledge of the same. One cannot learn how to swim just by reading a guide on “swimming made easy for starters “etc. You need to jump in the water and swim.
Most mantras of life eg – how to be successful, how to win friends and influence people, how to say no, how to think positively, how to create opportunities, how to manage time and countless other how’s which get published and sell like hot cakes, are not required to be read. You have the capacity to know them as time goes by. You will learn them automatically and naturally. You just need to live life without getting too analytical about it. So, just do it!
The way things are going in the far west, people are in a hurry to read whatever can fall in their hands – how to tie your shoe lace, how to breathe, how to chew on a chewing gum, how to impress your girlfriend, how to manage your first date, how to order in a particular restaurant by not appearing too conscious, how not to sound obvious and so on. God! Give me a break! Do you need to know this? Life would be close to hell if you thought you could practice and fine tune each and every moment of your life. Sorry sir! Life’s primary lessons we need to learn is to be spontaneous and flow with the tide. We need to acknowledge that we are not perfect most of the times, but that should not hinder us from enjoying life. Ever seen local folks in Jaipur, Jodhpur building a house or performing a daily chores of washing clothes, preparing lunch/ dinner, drying cow dungs to be used for plastering and redoing of floors? You feel the happiness they exhibit. Why? Because they are so involved in what they are doing. They haven’t got educational degrees or haven’t read what Deepak Chopada or Sri Sri had to say on life. You can learn a few lessons by just watching them.
Wonder. That’s the essence of feeling wonderful about life. Children always wonder about how does the sun rise from the east, why is the grass green and not red, why can’t we fly, how can birds fly? Ever wondered? Ever? We all did, but when we were small. What happened now? You think you know the answers to above questions so the sense of wonder is lost? Think again. If you don’t wonder, perhaps you have tuned yourself NOT to. And that makes life pretty dull. Wonder is a sort of an acknowledgement about things you don’t know or you know, yet you respect the creative spirit behind it. Einstein, inspite of all breakthroughs he made, always wondered when he looked in the sky. There are things unexplored, some of them can be justified in due course of time, others can’t. But by wondering on them , you enjoy the mystery behind them.
Concentrate. What does concentration mean? It means to focus on something. It also means to REMOVE extra garbage and disturbances other thoughts play in your mind. When a person concentrates, he directly “feels”. There are less conglomeration of thoughts in his mind. Finally, the climax of concentration is when there is not a single thought in your mind. The concept (or illusion) of mind then dissolves. Along with it, all things associated with the creation of your mind – your identity as niranjan or shailesh or tom, your fears, opinions, judgments, his, hers, country, race, religion, Hindu, Christian, minor superior, poor, rich, strong, weak, fat, thin, tree, sky, mountain, water, mud, brick, stone – everything dissolves. Your mind exists as long as any thought exists. The moment you vacate your mind, you experience that there is no mind, there is nothing. What remains then? Experience of that Creative Spirit, of what everything on this earth is made of. You reach the essence. That is why it is important to be silent everyday. Silence of the mind can be achieved by prayers, a hobby, a game or doing anything that RELAXES your mind. Do it. All problems in life humanity faces is because we haven’t tuned in to ourselves and realized who we are.
The result of concentration also leads to detachment. Because you realize that nothing is real enough to disturb you, you experience abundant bliss. You are detached although you are active. You are a key player in life and you are also the observer. Once I had a “lucid” dream – wherein I was actually aware that I was dreaming. The moment I realized (in my dream) that THIS is only a dream, I was relaxed and fearless. A sensation dawned on me that nothing in this dream would affect me, so lets ENJOY the dream. This is exactly what you feel when you know the essence of your existence. Life is a dream. We take it far too personal. And to know it’s a dream, you have to be absolutely still and calm.
My suggestion to everybody is – discard books. Just live life and enjoy it. JUST DO IT!
posted by niranjan at 8:02 AM
2 comments
