Ajay0

Full-fledged individuality will result in anarchy and chaos, with people doing as they fit without consideration for the other. External morality, brought about by well-thought and defined laws helps to ensure order and prevent the impinging of individual rights and liberty. As Martin Luther King stated, “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also”. Obviously love, and compassion as a state of consciousness manifesting as non-violence would amount to inner morality. If inner morality is lacking, external morality would have to obviously come in place through fear of law and punishment. Morality, external and internal, also enables better self-discipline, focus and impulse control, necessary for curbing the natural inertia and restlesness of the mind, creating external and internal environments conducive to peace and coherent thought. The mind thus becomes an ideal instrument for philosophical enquiry and attaining self-knowledge. Ethical discipline or morality , as per eastern philosophy,thus plays the role of exercises in disciplining the mind and calming it. It is a calm and equanimous mind that has the best possibility of thinking coherently and correctly, and for gaining Self-knowlege and enlightenment. When someone has good virtue, or sīla, they have better behavioral discipline. The Buddha taught that sīla is the foundation of all wholesome qualities. That means that if we develop good sīla, then it will be easy to develop other good qualities like samādhi (concentration) and paññā (wisdom). Thus moral conduct has value in reducing psychological suffering and increasing happiness and peace through wisdom.

Ethical conduct in the form of right speech, right livelihood and right effort are considered to be vital practices leading to enlightenment in Buddhism or Buddhahood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path https://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-buddhism/about-buddhism/buddha-s-basic-message/a-full-buddhist-life-the-eightfold-path/the-three-trainings Ethical conduct is also emphasized in the religious philosophies of Hinduism, Jainism and Sufism for attaining enlightenment. This itself is a refutation of the nihilist and existentialist premise that life is meaningless and all values and virtues are but abstract mental contrivances without any relevance of their own.

Yeah, I suppose nihilism may have been a byproduct of the intellectual wave of scientific materialism and utilitarianism in the west in the past two centuries, which subjected everything including morals and ethics to the narrow analytic frameworks of scientific scrutiny and utility value.

'Wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost.' - Buddha AN 10.1 Western philosophy and psychology, which is of recent origin, has not yet touched upon the phenomenon of enlightenment or Buddhahood , and this is why nihilism and other lopsided philosophies like existentialism were prominent in the west leading to an erroneous thought process and corresponding actions, considering all moral values to be abstractly contrived. Nihilism is considered to be a philosophical cause for the world wars. Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor and famous psychiatrist had this to say regarding the influence of nihilism... In eastern philosophy on the other hand, moral values and virtues are considered to be valuable in expansion of consciousness (and destruction of karma) alongside meditation, awareness or total love and instrumental in attainment of enlightenment or Buddhahood.

True indeed. The nihilist however, ignorant of the phenomenon of enlightenment, would consider truth to be a mental abstraction as well, considering chaos and randomness to be the essential feature of the multiverse or existence in general. Rajini Menon is a modern enlightened sage who attained enlightenment by adhering to virtuous conduct and following her conscience. I had created a thread on her in this regard over here... https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/54125-female-enlightened-master-rajini-menon-on-attaining-enlightenment-by-virtuous-conduct/#comment-711667 The enlightened sage Anandamayi Ma had stated that atheists are capable of spiritual development and enlightenment provided there is adherence to ethical conduct.

The International Day of Diplomats is celebrated every year on October 24 since 2017, honouring the invaluable role that diplomats play in maintaining international relations, fostering peace, and promoting dialogue between countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomat https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!international/international-day-of-diplomats-2024-enn24102400601 War is a failure of diplomacy and it is said that the world wars could have been avoided if there were quality diplomats and diplomatic processes in place which would have prevented the botched negotiations then. The nations of the world make substantial investments in their military and only a fraction of that goes to creating a top-notch diplomatic corps. I am hoping that this day can help people remember the value of diplomacy and dialogue in fostering peace and preventing conflicts, and place renewed emphasis on it again.

Sister Shivani, a Brahmakumari spiritual teacher, advises taking a 5-second pause before drinking water or eating food to say positive affirmations. She believes this simple practice can lead to inner peace and prosperity by allowing the water to absorb and reflect positive intentions, fostering a healthier mindset and overall well-being. The affirmations can help orient the thought process to a positive one, and gratitude expressed can attract more positives to life. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/soul-search/sister-shivanis-5-second-rule-before-drinking-water-can-help-achieve-your-goals/articleshow/113211086.cms

Thank you for pointing it out. I have corrected it.

I have stated this in my post as well. Since our attention unconsciously and automatically goes to what's wrong and negative, we need to consciously focus on the positives. This obviously requires some effort but will build up your mental and emotional strength in the process. You gain the strength of that which you overcome, and you will find yourself overcoming other problems easily as well due to the increased strength. Nothing good in this world will come without effort. If you need a good healthy body or mind, you will have to expend the necessary effort for it. B.K.S.Iyengar, whom doctors had forecast would die before 20 due to the multiple diseases he had, overcame his problems with his diligent study and practice of hatha yoga. He lived a rich, fulfilled and successful life and finally died at the age of 95 . In his own words, “Health is not a commodity to be bargained for. It has to be earned through sweat.”

One has to practice wisdom through living in the present. ~ Nirmala Devi ( founder of Sahaja Yoga ) If there is no wisdom, rationality can be very dangerous. ~ Nirmala Devi When scientific or rational thinking is grounded in presence it has a completely different outcome. It can never be monstrous. ~ Dr. Jean Klein Thought alone, when it is no longer connected with the much vaster realm of consciousness, quickly becomes barren, insane, destructive. ~ Eckhart Tolle Once you are corrupted by thought you have no sense of life, simply your own psychological process is more important than the whole cosmic dimension of the existence. ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

To get rid of the negativity, focus on all the positives in your life, no matter how trivial it may be, and write them down in a notebook for easy reference when you need it. This worked a lot for me when I was in dire straits at one point in my life , and now I do not have any need for this at present. It does serve as a morale-booster at times. In the Mahabharatha, when Arjuna became suicidal at a certain time, Krishna exhorted him to focus on his positives alone in solitude for a span of time. This helped him to get rid of his depression. Hence some Swamis at present recommend this technique for suicidal people which has been helpful as well. In the book 'The power of positive thinking', Norman Vincent Peale similarly exhorts a depressed man to write down his positives ( Peale writes them down himself after questioning the man), and after studying all the positives, the man gets a new perspective and realizes that his situation was not that bad after all. Realizing the positives in life generates contentment and gratitude which is said to attract even more positives to life. Focussing on the negatives similarly generates discontentment and negativity which can attract more negative to life. So I would ask you to first practice mental hygiene by getting rid of negative thoughts and emotions as well as systematically and diligently focussing on the positives. I have had toxic relatives in my life, but I keep it a policy to keep a distance from them. I also try to focus on the positives they have , as well as the positives of having them in life. In case you do not have a family, life can be very rough and hard and I know of some orphans who suffered a lot, had to earn their own livelihood and had to work harder and endure more privations and hardships than those who had the safety net of a family. When I get angry with my own toxic relatives, I direct my thought process to such thoughts which helps in reducing the steam and emotivity. Meditation has been a useful tool to me in regulating my mind, thinking and emoting. Imho, mind management is the ultimate management tool, and if you can manage your own mind, you can manage anything else well.

Teachings of the Masters on Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity.... Act. Do not react. --Sri Ravi Shankar Sin is never in action. It is always in reaction. -- Swami Chinmayananda Virtuous ( proactive) action increases intelligence, while sinful ( reactive ) acts decreases intelligence. --Vidura Neeti ( Mahabharatha ) If you want to progress in your life and grow, act not to react. --Harbhajan Yogi Bhajan Respond. Do not react. --Osho Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it. --Swami Chidanand Saraswati Be proactive. Do not be reactive. --Stephen Covey ( Author of 7 habits of highly effective people ) Habitually we react to external stimuli, that is we are generally overwhelmed by retaliatory emotional forces within us demanding appropriate action. But surely this cannot be called 'action' , it is in fact ' re-action' . Discipline of the reasoning mind controls the reactive forces and results in appropriate 'action' rather than 're-action', one should endeavour to establish control and avoid retaliatory behaviour. --Acharya Mahaprajna Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response. -- Stephen Covey Because of the space between stimulus and response, people have the power of choice; therefore,leaders are neither born nor made meaning environmentally trained and nurtured. They are self-made through chosen responses, and if they choose based on principles and develop increasingly greater discipline, their freedom to choose increases. -- Stephen Covey Reaction is unconscious. You do not know exactly that you are being manipulated. You are not aware that you are behaving like a slave, not like a master. Action out of consciousness is response. -- Osho You can act in two ways -- one is reaction, another is response. Reaction comes out of your past conditionings; it is mechanical. Response comes out of your presence, awareness, consciousness; it is non-mechanical. The ability to respond is one of the greatest principles of growth. You are not following any order, any commandment; you are simply following your awareness. You are functioning like a mirror, reflecting the situation and responding to it -- not out of your memory from past experiences of similar situations, not repeating your reactions, but acting fresh, new, in this very moment. Neither the situation is old, nor your response -- both are new. -- Osho One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give in to impulsiveness. Those who react are the ones who are living mindlessly. So in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation. -- Anandmurti Gurumaa So action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. Most of our thoughts are the result of the past, of time. A mind that is not built on the past, that has totally understood this whole process of reaction, can act every minute totally, completely, wholly. J. Krishnamurti Action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. J. Krishnamurti

Yes. To respond consciously or unconsciously is a choice available to any human being. The general population opt for the latter as the mind's tendency is to perceive the negative in any situation. So it takes a bit of effort and practice to be aware and mindfully respond rather than unconsciously react, and this is a quality of a trained mind as opposed to an untrained mind. It is said that the gift of wisdom is the most sacred gift of all. Hopefully this message will come across to all human beings .

A similar thread I have created in this regard...

The terrorism is not in the bombs, in your hands; the terrorism is in your unconscious. ~ Osho If love is not conscious it remains lust, and lust can never have anything of prayer in it. Lust is unconscious, love is conscious. ~ Osho “The conscious mind is only one-tenth, and the unconscious mind is nine times bigger than the conscious.” ~ Osho The unconscious mind behaves in wrong ways; the conscious mind behaves in right ways. And the only religion there is, is the art of changing the unconscious mind into consciousness, so that you don't have the duality of unconscious and conscious but you have only one…a pure light, a pure consciousness. And out of that consciousness, everytrhing is divine. ~ Osho

Dr. Frederick Lenz on prana and Kundalini... https://www.ramaquotes.com/html/kundalini.html

Higher prana levels equate to high joy and bliss levels as per Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. https://wisdomfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/2010/01/ I had created a thread on prana by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar earlier...

I have mentioned ways to increase prana in the op. Yes, the mudras are good for increasing prana/chi. There are many forms of prana, like solar prana( moderate exposure to sunlight ) , wind prana, soil prana (walking barefoot) , deep breathing in fresh air, sitting in padmasana and so on. Prana is high in natural environments like forests or beach or parks. You can see yourself getting energized in such regions. Eating fresh food as in fruits and keeping away from negative prana foods like packaged foods with preservatives also helps. I have noticed my meditation is better after eating fruits, possibly due to the high prana in them. Emotional peaks and emotional contentment are said to be ways to increase and store prana without leakage.

Indian Army in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) watches closely as Israel-Hezbollah hostilities intensify. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/israel-hezbollah-lebanon-conflict-indian-army-united-nations-peacekeeping-force-war-2605186-2024-09-23

If you have a phobia for India,which comprise one-fifth of humanity and is the fifth largest economy and fourth strongest military power in the world, that's not my problem. I am also not a prolific poster like yourself and just post once in a while. Compare my 357 posts to your 4766 posts. You can put me in ignore mode if you wish. Also you have not given any data on your country's contribution to UNIFIL, which is the subject of this thread.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/un-peacekeepers-on-israel-lebanon-border-fundamental-says-chief/articleshow/112321171.cms War is a failure of diplomacy and it is said that the world wars could have been avoided if there were quality diplomats and diplomatic processes in place which would have prevented the botched negotiations then. The nations of the world make substantial investments in their military and only a fraction of that goes to creating a top-notch diplomatic corps. I am glad that UNAFIL has created a certain space for diplomacy and dialogue between belligerent adversaries Israel and Lebanon as noted by Lacroix. It struck me that a similar body of UN peace-keepers can come up in a buffer zone between NATO and Russia in eastern europe which can help to de-escalate tensions between the nuclear-armed foes. As neutral entities, UN peace-keepers can also create space for dialogue and diplomatic channels between the two. Two years have passed in the ongoing war creating widows, orphans and plenty of dead young men and civilians. Unfortunately there are no attempts at diplomatic negotiations and dialogue between the two. Imo, the war in Ukraine is a similar failure of diplomacy and the diplomatic process, and I am hoping that UN diplomats and peace-keepers can somehow bring this ludicrous war to an end, by reopening channels for dialogue and negotiation.

India has the second largest army on earth which is a battle-hardened one as well. It is the largest contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping operations ( over 275,000 to 51 missions ) and has also suffered the largest casualties at around 179. I had created a thread over here in this regard of 3 deceased Indian peacekeepers of the UN who were honored with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal this year. Not many people know about these facts. Hence I felt the need to highlight Indian peace-keeping contributions to UNAFIL in the Middle East. India is also seeking a permanent seat in the UN security council. If your country has contributed to UNAFIL, please feel free to state that over here. My salutes in advance to the brave peacekeeping soldiers who are fighting for the cause of peace and stability in the volatile Middle East alongside their Indian brethren..

Well, they are the second largest provider of soldiers at the moment over there. UN Chief Antonio Guterres has commended India For Troop Contributions To Lebanon Peacekeeping. https://www.newsonair.gov.in/un-chief-antonio-guterres-commends-india-for-troop-contributions-to-lebanon-peacekeeping-amid-rising-conflict/

https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/politics/unifil-changes-its-role-on-the-lebanese-israeli-border-from-monitoring-to-patrolling/20240916131446205205.html As neutral entities , the presence of the peacekeepers can possibly help to de-escalate the issues to some degree, bring clarity and allow a platform for dialogue and communication between the Israelis and Lebanese.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on mudras and prana... https://www.srisri.com/p45/