Where to Begin - And How..

You can really learn what you really want to.  Learning is certainly of great importance to us as individuals or as members of society.  Unfortunately, many of us reach a certain stage of learning, and go through the remainder of lives coasting on the knowledge acquired till then.  But to learn more what you need is right attitude.  Above this, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest, concentration, problem-solving, memory and imagination, are all necessary ingredients for learning.  Curiosity is the started; interest and enthusiasm are low gears; concentration and memory high gears; and accomplishment is the smooth level ride.

***

We are all capable of learning, for the simple reason that none of us know it all - or ever will.  I think that when we stop learning we begin to stagnate - to die.  Everybody knows the cliche, 'we learn something new everyday.'  But do we?  Can you honestly say that you learn something new every day?  There are probably many things you'd like to learn, but haven't yet.

***

This brings us to the crux of the matter.  That is the difference between the wish to learn and the will to learn.  How many times you have said to yourself, "I wish I could do that", or "I wish i had the ability for this?"  Well, you can wish and wish but never really learn anything.  It is the will to learn that creates wonders.  Suppose you have gone through an art museum, or seen some good paintings anywhere, you may have said in an offhand manner, "I wish I understood, or knew, a little bit about art", and that was the end of it.

***

But if the will to learn is present, you can learn to understand art.  I'm sure, if you look around, you'll find many places that teach art appreciation.  If there is no such place near you, you can take a correspondence course.  As a matter of fact, if you look hard enough, you'll find that you can even take some of them free of charge.

***

The important thing here is to begin.  Start learning a subject because you are interested in it, because you want to, and you'll continue to learn.  Do you want to learn how to play golf, or tennis; how to make a speech; write a story; be a better salesman; speak a foreign language or drive a car?  When it comes to acquiring knowledge, you have to be aware that knowledge never goes in vain, nevertheless the acquisition of knowledge with a particular aim is always of a great use.  So if you want to learn anything, Start by looking over the entire field of thing you want to learn and proceed till you master it....  Shri K.V.S. Vijay Kumar, Editor WISDOM

   

Be Careful What You Wish For.. Sri Rameshji

We often think that our wishes and aspirations are the main cause of pain and sorrow in life and thus all spiritual gurus advocate people to be free from them.  For peace, one needs to be free from all kinds of desires and remain content with whatever one has.

***

While it is true that desire can cause pain and sorrow in life, we must also realise that there are certain wishes that bring happiness and joy in life.  We must be able to clearly distinguish between wishes that bring pain and the ones that lead to joy.  It is important that we know as to what kind of desire can cause pain and what kind of desires can give happiness.

***

DESIRES WHICH GIVE PAIN AND SORROW ARE :

•  The desire to acquire more and more materialistic things - wealth, name fame, position, status, reputation, riches, self-respect, etc.  When it is fulfilled, it leads to new desires; when it remains unfulfilled, it leads to disappointment.  One is never satisfied with what one has and never reaches a level of contentment.
• The desire to be free from pain, sorrows, adverse situations, bad luck, troubles and the desire to be away from people who give pain and sorrow.
•  The desire to always get favourable result for all efforts, actions, reactions, activities.

In this creation, there is no rule that every desire will be fulfilled and that too within a given time frame.  That's why there is always a component of disapointment and sorrow in the desire to acquire something or the other in the world.

 

DESIRES WHICH GIVE JOY, PEACE, HAPPINESS AND SALVATION ARE:

• The desire to be "desire-less":  One is content with what one has and does not want to acquire anything more.  In fact, one is greateful to the God for whatever He has given and uses the available resources in helping others, uplifting the downtrodden, serving poor and aged, promoting and protecting nature, religious sentiments etc.
• The desire for everybody's happiness, success, health, wealth, growth, prosperity, harmony.  One does not like even one's enemies to suffer in any way and one is always in a mode of forgiving and seeking forgiveness.  Prayers for everybody's well being is the most important aspect of life.  "Loka Samasta, sukhino bhavantu" means, may all beings in this world live happily.
• The desire for salvation, liberation and enlightenment - to be free from the vicious cycle of karma and from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

 These three desires are godly desires and divine in nature, hence are the givers of peace, happiness and eventually liberation.  Even God helps fulfil these three desires....

 

....."Shri Rameshji is a modern age spiritual guru and founder of Poorna Ananda, a centre for spiritual evolution and joyfil living."