Wednesday 25 December 2013

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 19 - We 'create' UNHAPPINESS for us all the time

We 'create' UNHAPPINESS for us all the time

The stance of my posts in this blog has been that the basic human condition for almost all of us is that of a lingering dissatisfaction, emptiness, meaninglessness, despair, depression and anxiety at the very core. We may successfully deflect our attention from this condition and deny it, but that is the truth. Many of you may be wondering, why the basic human condition is so unhappy. Other living forms that we see around us, notably animals that are close to human beings, like dogs and cats, do not appear fundamentally unhappy. Why are human beings mostly stuck at the level of FUNDAMENTAL UNHAPPINESS? From where did so much unhappiness arise? Was this intended to be the natural state of human existence? This appears to be at odds with most natural phenomenona, which tend to be more self healing in nature.

The reason for this is also part of our human existence. Like many animals, we humans too have emotions. Although it may look so, but our deep inner unhappiness is NOT AN EMOTIONAL MANIFESTATION. It is a manifestation of spirit. But, why are we so disturbed, at the level of spirit?

We humans are endowed with a computer like brain. We are far too intelligent compared to other life forms, even those closest to us. With our brains, we can strategize, plan, scheme, plot, forecast, project, be philanthropic or take revenge, wage war and do a number of similar  things. Our mind is an extraordinary tool available to us. We have the power to either create wonderful things that have benefited mankind, or we can cause untold misery to fellow human beings. 

Unfortunately, due to the very computer like nature of our brain, we have become the mind. We human beings are too mind identified. The combination with our ego, makes the mind even more devastating. This mind-ego combination has taken a stranglehold of the collective human existence. 

We think we are very smart, and can cause pain and misery only to others. But whenever we do that, we accumulate some pain in our spirits. It keeps adding up. This pain builds up not only when we commit ghastly acts to shame or blame others, or when we knowingly inflict pain on others, it accumulates every time that we do small things that are prompted by this mind-ego combination. 

Take the example of jealousy, a common phenomenon among us, humans. We rarely admit that we are jealous; we keep hiding it from others, especially from the person we are jealous of, and make a mess of it. Jealousy peeps out from our beings - it is visible to most people. What is worse is that we keep burning from within. Imagine the pain we are causing to ourselves. What causes jealousy? The same mind-ego combination. 

Every time we indulge in even a bit of jealousy, we create some pain for us. We do not realize it. Small doses of such pain keep accumulating in our system. Every time we scheme or plot unfairly against somebody, we similarly act from the mind-ego combination. The entire humanity has been doing it for thousands of years. The result is the accumulated pain in the entire human consciousness, which is reflected as the collective human suffering.

You will find many such examples from our daily life - seemingly insignificant acts that spring from our ego. I have given more examples in my book, "ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?". We keep creating pain for ourselves through such acts. I have also described how we can, at least, recognize and notice such acts prompted by the mind-ego combination. Even admitting to yourself that you have been jealous or mean or petty creates that space between you and the mind, and the ego gets humbled a bit. That could be the start of a wonderful journey.

Keep reading.

Cheers!

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com
www.facebook/deepak.chatterjee.944
@Deepak33C


Views are personal


Monday 16 December 2013

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 18 - Acknowledging your lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status is also a sign of spiritual growth.

Acknowledging your lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status is also a sign of spiritual growth. It requires both courage and authenticity and leads to self discovery.

Those of you following events in India may be reading about the existence of an outdated Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code (which dates back to 1860!) that makes carnal intercourse 'against the order of nature' between consenting adults a criminal act. In other words, gay sex has been historically considered 'unnatural' by law. The LGBT community and the liberal segments of society have been struggling to get gay sex decriminalized. In a historic judgement delivered in Jul 2009, Delhi High Court overturned the 150 year old section. On 11 December 2013, the Supreme Court of India reaffirmed homosexuality to be a criminal offence setting aside the 2009 judgement given by the Delhi High Court. The Court has ruled that it is for the law makers to amend the law to decriminalize gay sex. This has been unfortunate not only for the LGTB community in India, but also for free, independent thinking. 

Anyone following my blog may have observed that the starting point of a spiritual journey towards FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS is acknowledging your entire existence truthfully. The basic stance of joyful existence is authenticity  or truthfulness about yourself. It leads to self discovery and acceptance of self. If you do not do this, you are in denial. Sadly most of us are in denial as far as the state of happiness/unhappiness is concerned. We may live our entire lives pretending we are happy. The first step is to honestly acknowledge the basic unhappiness within. That could pave the way for lasting real HAPPINESS.

I recall my own plight for many years. I was feeling my inner dissatisfied self; it was painful. Yet, I thought it was 'correct' to pretend to be like other 'normal' people. This pressure to be 'normal' could also be societal. Normative behavior is considered safe. Falling into a predetermined, accepted norm is often considered to be the safest thing to do. In effect we are constraining ourselves like prisoners. "So what? I have the comfort of being accepted as normal" some would say. Not being able to give up our comfort zones is the biggest hurdle in the way towards FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS.

Now imagine the plight of a gay person. If you have the courage to acknowledge your orientation and come out openly with it, you risk social rejection in some segments of society and, worse, you may also invite legal action! Yet, these are the persons who have done a big service to themselves. They have been authentic. Unknowingly, they have brought spirit into their lives. Leave aside their frustrations with society, they could be joyful and peaceful persons, having accepted a major aspect of their existence. That is a mighty starting point.

In contrast, those who are still not out in the open are often forced to lead an artificial, fake life, and are likely to be miserable. Much like the fake life many of us are leading on the happiness-unhappiness scale.

Cheers!

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com
www.facebook/deepak.chatterjee.944
@Deepak33C


Views are personal




Tuesday 3 December 2013

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 17 - Where, within yourself, do you exactly feel the pain, the discomfort, the fundamental UNhappiness?

Where, within yourself, do you exactly feel the pain, the discomfort, the fundamental UNhappiness? Where, within your body? If you can clearly identify it, you can transcend it to reach the state of real HAPPINESS.

Hi Friends,

As you struggle to find the correct posture of surrender and submission by focusing your attention on that basic human unease, it will help to devote this post on where exactly you notice it.

Before I go further, I am happy to share with you all a review of ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY? that has appeared in another blog titled, "SUBLIMATION" by G S Subramanian. Here is the link:

  http://subbusg.blogspot.in/2013/11/are-you-really-happy-by-deepak.html


Coming back to the question at the head of this post, I can share my experience of where within me I have felt the pain of despair, depression and meaninglessness. If you have the courage (not the kind of courage you need for mountaineering or bungee jumping!) and some truthfulness (authenticity), you can see this uneasiness dissolve and make way for bouts of joy. You add spirit to your lives; everything changes. You get a deeper, richer insight of things, problems appear less acute, peace descends, you actually become a more powerful person - not based on power that you derive from a position of authority, but just innate power that arises from within. If you are in a leadership position, people will look up to you, holding you in high esteem. You will be able to paint a compelling vision for your team members. More than anything else, you contribute towards creating a joyful workplace. So the benefits are huge. Do you want more?

My long years in depression and despair have helped me locate where inside you it is felt the most. Incidentally, I suffered for many years because I was fighting my pain; I did not know that submitting to it, observing it, was the way out. If you strike the correct posture, it can be a matter of weeks or months. Even those who do not feel the human despair deep within them, never mind; focus on whatever unhappiness you notice within yourself. Remember, the bad day example that I took in Series 16?

I felt most of my depression as a psychic ache in the chest region. It was like carrying a heavy chest around with you. The discomfort was mostly in the chest region. Since I honestly did not attribute any external reason for my depression (thank God!) I felt it almost like a physical pain. This is why truthfulness is important. For, had I unfairly blamed someone or something for this suffering, the problem would most likely have shifted from the chest region to the mind! The mind just loves to cling to problems. And, I would have lost this wonderful opportunity of facing my pain and moving towards lasting HAPPINESS.

At times, when my despair and depression were acute, I would also feel them like a lump inside my throat. It was a tragic irony. I would look fine externally, but I could feel as if my soul was weeping! So you can imagine how relieved I feel today as I sense that durable HAPPINESS within.

Similarly, much of the anxiety was felt throughout the body like a restlessness, often even a very mild uneasiness in the heart. While going to sleep, I would often feel this restlessness in the legs. I had to keep shifting my legs. Even at work, I would have this urge to keep swinging my legs. Many people do it.

Interestingly there is a medical phenomenon called Restless Legs Syndrome, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease or Wittmaack-Ekbom syndrome, which is supposed to be a neurological disorder!

Just as psychiatrists do not recognize the problem of depression or anxiety being at the level of spirit or a sign of early growth, I have serious doubts whether this urge to move our limbs is a neurological problem or a sign of deep restlessness - a sign of the basic human unease? However, involuntary muscular movement or twitching is certainly a medical condition and needs professional treatment.

I have given my experiences of how I felt my pain. Others may have had their own unique experiences that they can share.

Now that you have some clear indications of the physical manifestations of the deep unhappiness, it will be easier for you to connect with the practices that I have mentioned in my earlier posts, about taking your attention to different parts of your body, observing your heart beat and following your breathing. If you can hold your attention, without any mental analysis, just being a passive observer, the discomfort can dissolve. You would have taken a giant step towards spiritual growth!

Cheers!

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com
www.facebook/deepak.chatterjee.944
@Deepak33C

Views are personal