A Heart Simply Beautiful

                  A person’s face reflects his state of mind and the first place where his thoughts are mirrored is his eyes. We all have two identities- one physical and one social. People may recall a person by his face but they always remember him by his endearing speech, reassuring manners and humble presence. If one can successfully manage the flux of thoughts into mind and restrict it with only the positive ones, it endows his face with an enchanting nobility. Like a strong-rooted tree always grows to a great height. A person’s real achievement is not his materialistic gains but a rich hoard of beautiful thoughts in his mind. To enrich this invaluable treasure is a tough challenge amid all the physical debilities and temptations. A truly religious person not only accepts this challenge but emerges out triumphant too.

               

                               It’s always easy to swim with the tide. When a person grows in a protected environment amid the love and support of his people, he doesn’t have much to fret over. We give what we receive. So the mind of such person is nested with rich and noble thoughts that his or her character emanates. When an unforeseen tragedy strikes or someone hurts us callously, our nobility is, beyond doubt  wrenched. The real challenge comes when one has to swim against the tide for survival. If not impossible, it’s not that easy to adhere to positive thinking in such a condition. Life is full of odds. Sometimes, a small log can help us swim out of a deep ocean unscathed and sometimes the roof that gives shelter to us crumbles on us burying us under it. Sometimes, a smile can ease all our worries and enthrall us. Sometimes, a frown can erase all our smiles and upset or enrage us. How easily our physical state reins our mental state! Human mind encloses various latent but potent emotions. Whatever happens to us physically, manifests itself mentally, good or bad, encouraging or discouraging. We reduce to mere puppets to our physical environment and all our happiness comes entirely from it. When we spend some time in our religious community, it enriches our ideas and thoughts and the experience stays with us for quite a time. A frequent occurrence of such experiences gradually turns out thought process into a right direction. A truly religious person is never swayed by the events of his life. He knows how to manage his emotions to maneuver out of difficult situations instead of becoming a slave to them. The journey of life is a pilgrimage to our true essence.

                                                If we take a glass of water and add some soil to it, it makes the water dirty immediately. But if we leave it still and untouched for some time, the soil settles down making the water pellucid again. However, if someone mistakenly shakes or shifts it, the dirt particles float up, making it adulterated again. If the water is grimy again, whose mistake is this? We, of course, can’t blame the hand which had shaken the glass as the grim already existed within the water. Had the water been pure, no slew of shakes could have made it dirty. In the same way, we all carry some negativity in us. A good company or Satsang helps us to gradually purge ourselves of this grim.

                                                                      

                                       Along with good, positive and constructive thoughts, we need the buttress of wisdom too, to steer our lives. A wise person knows how to react with nobility and dignity even in the adverse situations. Wit helps us to strike a balance between impulsiveness and rationality. While extreme sensitivity and materialistic attractions sometimes show the way to sin, extreme pragmatism, on the other hand, can also render a person inconsiderate and insensitive. Wisdom helps a person in attaining just and rational thinking.

                                    Being religious doesn’t only mean ridding ourselves of our inner evil but also to keep our thoughts pure and positive. The real triumph is when our speech and our acts are an outcome of our personal enrichment, not a flat reaction to other’s action. If we reach a state where we can react positively to even a negative remark, we are treading the true path of religion. Our first step to this path is triggered by the right guidance and inspiration. Some may find it in a piece of prose, some may find it in the affectionate scolding of parents, some may find it in the words of a teacher, a friend or a mentor and some may even find it in the real lessons of life. The impact of real experiences is extensively powerful and lasts forever. For a resolute learner, each realm of life has something to teach. Whatever be the means to achieve it but the ultimate goal remains to keep our mind pure, peaceful and teeming with positive thoughts and ideas.  

                                      If we aim to acquire knowledge in a particular field, be it sports, science, music, medicines, arts or law, the best way is to learn from the related experts. It makes the learning more accurate and fruitful. In the same way, if we seek to learn the values of life, the advice of a good philosopher can prove to be the guiding star. The philosophy of life is a complete subject. We require a holistic approach to comprehend it.

                                                                                          

                               

                                Simply reading books on life philosophy won’t have the same effect as reading them under the guidance of an authentic philosopher. Such a guide takes us forward in our journey towards knowledge by helping us to keep vanity at bay and by enabling us to apply our knowledge to a real use. Mere learning is not sufficient, unused knowledge is as good as ignorance. If we start putting our knowledge to use, we can never become puppets of our circumstances. Such people rule their minds. They are the true masters of their lives. True knowledge of life is enlightenment of both mind and heart. Life can’t be more beautiful if our hearts and minds live in harmony. Subtlety and beauty of words and speech beautify a person’s face naturally. Such beautiful people blossom like flowers spreading their sweet scent around. If all of us learn to grow in this way, our earth would become a synonym of paradise.            

K.B.Vyas