True nature of reality

       Are you sure that what you see, feel, hear is the true nature of reality ? Think about it once again. I have tried to answer this question since childhood but failed miserably to find a convincing answer. However, in the journey to find an answer, I did find some interesting things which are worth sharing.To able to answer this question, first let us think about the body and the mind. The body is a materialistic container transmitted to us by our parents. The body holds the strengths and weakness of all our ancestors coded in the genes in addition to new characteristics picked along the way due to random combinations. Consciousness arises from the mind. The sensory perceptions are mere electrical signals processed by the brain. If we let the brain process the signals that it receives from outside and not assess them, our view of the world becomes
distorted because there is no guarantee that these perceptions model reality. On the other hand, if we wire a different circuit in the brain that actually analyzes how the brain thinks and perceives, we get a different outlook.Thinking about the process of thinking is the first step to understanding reality.
        Buddha's enlightenment holds the key to uncovering the nature of reality. About 2500 years later, quantum physicists are confirming what Buddha perceived, by means of experiments. There are four concepts that need to be realized (Note that I use the word "realized", realization only happens in the mind): Mindfulness, wave-particle duality, emptiness and interconnectivity. The rest of the blog is dedicated to exploring these concepts.
       "Mindfulness" is the key to analytical thinking. This is best explained in the form of an example. If you were to be involved in some activity like say, writing, is your mind focused only on the writing or do thoughts come and pass by at random which are unrelated to the writing ? If thoughts pass by, they are actually transporting you either to the past or the future and distort your image of the present. Being truly mindful, is being entirely in the present and close all passages in the brain where any other thought can flow. To better understand this, imagine water in a glass that is vibrating. No one can either drink the water or see the reflection of any other entity on the water. This is the mind of an average person. Various forces keep acting on the mind that vibrates it and damages its capability to perceive reality. Emotional forces create waves in the mind. For example, death of a loved one pushes one to an extreme negative end of the spectrum and there is a force created on the opposite end of the spectrum and the person is naturally inclined to move to the other end (by looking for emotional support from people/environment) and over time, crosses over to the positive end of the spectrum. The movement to the positive end of the spectrum, creates a force that pulls the person to the negative end of the spectrum over time. So, there is always an oscillation with the amplitude dependent on the magnitude of the force. Buddha said that by wiring a circuit in the brain (that has the capability to understand the truth and pass orders to rest of the brain to trim this wave to zero), one can attain eternal peace.
      Let us move on to the second concept : "Wave-particle duality". Nature as we perceive it, is an illusion. If we observe the properties of light, it said to behave as a wave when unobserved and when observed, behaves as a particle. A particle is something that has a defined shape and exists as a separable entity whereas a wave exists in space as a continuous entity and no one can separate a part of the wave and claim that it is an independent entity. Imagine a basketball put under light. When observed by the human eye, it appears to have a definite shape and color but when light is switched off, it exists as a wave spread throughout space. This is the most important finding in quantum physics. Buddha realized this concept at the point of enlightenment without any physical experiments but by focusing the mind. This had the most important influence on his teachings that humans should start behaving as waves and not as particles. No one is separable from any other entity. The universe as we know it, exists as one continuous wave. Realizing this concept sometimes helps us overcome personality weaknesses like arrogance. If ever you feel superior to someone else, as yourself the following question : "Do I have the power to predict the location and velocity of a tiny particle like an electron simultaneously ? ". The answer is "No". By trying to observe the speed of the electron, we have already affected its position. This is the famous Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Please take a look at the following link for details : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle
     "Emptiness" refers to the concept that the space around us is empty. Atoms are 99% empty space. The solids we see around us is because of the nature of arrangement of atoms in a way that repel each other. If we have to imagine the world around us, the best example I could think of is a computer image. When there are many pixels, you do not see the individual pixels rather an image but when you reduce the resolution, you start seeing the pixels that make up the image. Imagine the world as those tiny pixels (called atoms) that make you, me, the table, the chair, the star etc. Now, we understand how empty the universe is. Silence mirrors the concept of emptiness. An empty book can hold all types of images, colors, writings, poems etc. An empty computer memory can hold all sorts of web applications, compilers, operating systems etc. Emptiness is the highest truth. So, empty your mind if you want to learn.
     "Interconnectivity" is a concept that follows directly from wave-particle duality. If we start doing actions thinking that everyone is distinct, then we do not fully understand interconnectivity. Person X does an action that affects person Y, this has the potential to result in the same action with the roles of X and Y interchanged. No one is distinct. We are all part of the same wave.
     Conclusion :  Mindfulness is essential to remain in the present and filter out thoughts/emotions that drive you to a different tangent. Meditation helps in promoting mindfulness. Think of all elements (living / non-living) as part of a single wave. What we observe is an illusion, reality is the unobserved phenomena that exists as a wave. Understanding emptiness and interconnectivity helps in defining the true nature of karma. Isolating oneself from the environment for a short period of time and thinking about the process of thinking can impact a positive change in you and the environment.

On "Fearless"

I had always wanted to capture my thoughts on the movie "Fearless" but never got to it. This was one movie which resonated with my opinions on art, depth in life, friendship and beyond. There are also some key takeaways which cannot be ignored and worth a share. If you have not watched the movie, see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446059/ to understand the plot. The rest of the blog is divided into lessons and an associated context in the movie that explains it. The main character "Huo Yuanjia" is played by Jet Li.

(1) "Never use art to build your ego."

- Huo Yuanjia gets defeated as a child in a fight and decides to win over everyone else in his town when he grows up. His quest to become a champion blinds his sense of seeing through things. He becomes a champion in his town but his ego pushes him into a personal tragedy. It makes him impatient and angry. Acquiring depth in a skill must make a person more humble. If it builds the ego, that means the mind is being influenced by materialistic influences in the system. These influences are created in the first place to weaken the current state of the skill. So, the real strength or motivation does not come from outside. It comes from the inside. The core principles must originate from the soul within and a deep connection with something like the arts helps build them.

(2) "Fame will bring shallow connections and relationships with it. Always maintain a safe distance"

- As Huo attains fame he is surrounded by disciples who are not motivated by the passion to learn the skill, but by fame. They eventually end up incurring huge expenses for him. Huo thinks that these people have a deep connection with him and does not mind it. In a tragic turn of events, he realizes that these people have caused irreparable damage to him. A strong leader is one who does not buy what others say, instantly. Instead, he must be able to look through manipulations and work a way around it to promote what is good. The leader must be a change agent and make way for propagating his agenda. Once again, the agenda in itself can be selfish which must be avoided. Creating a solid agenda is the leader's responsibility. When Huo decides to come back and start a school for strengthening the nation, his vision has a deeper meaning.

(3) "When in doubt, always trust a close friend's opinion"

- When Huo is asked to leave without a fight by his close friend, his anger blinds his senses. He does not pay attention to his friend's words. This costs him heavily in the next sequence of events. It is important to seek the help of a close friend when important decisions have to be made. The act of listening in itself helps build patience and removes desperation.

(4) "Real happiness is all about enjoying a deep connection in any activity. Rewards that come from finishing an activity cannot replace that happiness"

- Huo tries to plant faster than the rest of the group on the fields so he can finish faster and satisfy his thirst of being superior to others. When there is a cool breeze, the rest of the group stand still to enjoy it while Huo keeps planting. In the end, he realizes that he has planted it too close and it had to be replanted. Completing an activity with a deep connection always yields the best results. No reward can replace the happiness that comes from that connection. In order to form the connection, the mind has to be calm and ready to take on that activity.

(5) "Treat an opponent as you would treat your friend, with respect."

- When the japanese fighter meets Huo for tea, he starts respecting Huo for his words. A true martial artist needs to understand that victory against an opponent in the battle is shallow.

(6) "There is great honor in accepting the fact that you lost when you did not actually win."

- During the last fight, Huo withholds himself from delivering a blow that would have killed the japanese fighter. When he falls because of the poisoned tea, the fighter realizes that and declares that Huo won the fight and walks out. A true artist is one who respects the art and does not fake something to earn a name that does not mean anything. Not living a fake life in itself helps promote happiness and inner peace. Do not yield to pressures around you and forget who you are.

(7) "Even in death, stand up for what you loved.Never fear anyone even if you knew you were alone in what you propagated"

- Catch the movie on netflix to realize this for yourself. Grab a cup of tea and spend 104 minutes usefully.

The ideal path

Have you ever wondered why your life took a certain path when there were
alternate (maybe better) paths possible ? Do you think you are in control of this path ?
Well, the answer is subjective. Each individual might have a different answer for this
question. Some think that fate is the supreme controller, others might feel it is the
individual. There might be a number of other answers too. In this blog, I would be sharing
my perspective.

I personally feel that the design of a path is guided by operations and events. Actions of an individual are responsible for forming the path. Also, there are many external factors that influence the actions like other people's influence, geographical conditions, desires etc. The beauty of this design is that, you cannot go back and change the path you have already taken.
When an individual hits a problem due to his/her actions, I think it requires careful analysis before the mistake is repeated or another big one is made. Given that you cannot change the past, most people (including me at one point), keep thinking about changing some action in the past and start wondering how life would have been much better if the alternate path was taken. This is where the problem starts. If we understood the design rightly, we would not waste time
on thinking about carving an alternate path. Instead, let us focus on the present and be positive.
Being positive, means a number of things. If you want to know whether you have a positive/negative attitude, try doing this. Go to your neighbour's place, take a look at his car.
What is the first thing that strikes your mind ? Do you think about the beautiful headlights first or that small dust particle on the rear mirror ? If you are positive, you would first look at the beauty and then move your attention to less important things. This is the fundamental thought that will help you perform operations that change the course of the path in the present and the future. Another important aspect of being positive, is to know that the path you had already taken was the best possible path chosen from a million other paths. This is an important thought that can change your life. Know that this path offered you the least number of obstacles. This was nicely captured in "The Butterfly Effect".

The best way to deal with a problem (emotional/financial etc..) is to welcome it in the first
place. It is an opportunity for you to become stronger than your peer who never faced this
problem in the first place. In finding a solution to this problem, you will find a deeper meaning
in life. A handicapped person is definitely stronger than a person who has no physical disabilities because the latter always fears (in the subconscious mind) about what would happen to him/her
in case such a disability occurs. The "fear" is the key here.

Every single moment in life teaches you something. Listen to what it is telling you. Well, then, change the course of the ship.

Focusing on what you really want

The answer to the following question is quite critical in understanding if you are leading a fulfilling life: "Are you doing things in life which you really wanted to do ? " I find that many people (including myself) get caught between two kinds of pressures :

p1: External pressures forcing them to take alternate paths
p2: Internal pressures forcing them to take the path that gives fulfillment

Most of the times, the external pressures succeed in forming the path for the individual. However,
in some of the cases, people who yielded to internal pressures made it big in life. I am writing this blog to help me and others (reading this blog) to figure out a solution. What can we do to carve a path that is guided by internal pressures ?

Well, I have been thinking about this question for a while now, especially after I landed up in my first job. I am going to focus more on the professional life in this blog because I feel that most of us spend about 30% of the time available to us in a week on work. So, let us refine the question a bit. Is your profession your passion ? If not, we need to analyze certain things here.

First, we need to understand what our passion is. The definition is subjective and may vary from one individual to another. My definition is : "when you engage yourself in an activity that draws your full attention and you enjoy every second of the time spent on the activity". I do not think anyone of us would disagree that cricket is Sachin's passion or dance is Michael Jackson's passion. When you follow your passions, you put your heart into it and forget everything else around you. You keep practicing it and at one point, you would suddenly realize that you have become extremely skilled in the activity. Other accolades would follow naturally. There is a common misconception among people that one activity is superior to another. If people around you ask you to take up another activity which might not be your passion (but you may like/dislike it), be prepared to convince them that it is not what you want. If someone takes you to a river and asks you to drown yourself, would you do it ? or would you convince them that it is a stupid act and move away from it ? Based on my experience, there are some factors that force people not to follow passions :

- financial stability
- competition and comparison
- Societal pressures
- Prestige in society

People who may be reading this blog may have more factors which they might have experienced.
Feel free to comment on those. These external pressures need to be handled by you by practicing a mind transformation. Think about it this way. The whole system around you was build upon constraints and everyone is striving hard to maximize gains within these constraints.
Break free from these constraints and dare to think differently. If you wanted to live in the wild and follow your passion, do it. Do not wait for approval from the society because you are never going to get it.

We need to first liberate the mind from the prison it is currently in. The prison is the design around you. If you cared to find the deeper meaning of "The Matrix", you can understand that the current system was imposed on you. They never took your approval to be a part of this system. You were born and then you were taken into this system. The system created a survival scheme for you. You were constantly thinking about surviving in this system and leading a comfortable life. Although you cannot do much about changing the system, what you can still do, is atleast follow your passions by listening to your inner self.


How do you liberate your mind ?