Is Ignorance a bliss or a pain?

After seeing my last post on Instagram about ignorance. My friend messaged me saying, “I thought ignorance is bliss.”

Yes, she is right that’s what I also thought and heard since my childhood. But then I learned and realized that everything has 2 sides of it and depending on which side we are standing we decide on the outcome. Our actions and experiences will never be the same in similar looking situations. Word “Ignorance” also has two sides of it. Depending on the context of the situation, it can be a bliss or a pain. 

Ignorance is a bliss if it is not about convenience. Ignorance is bliss if we are not getting involved in any kind of unnecessary information such as gossip, false news, back-biting, etc. Ignorance is bliss if we are not comparing our journey with others. We should be ignorant of what others think of us. It is not important, important is what we think of ourselves. 

If we are ignorant about our own self then we feel discomfort. It is going to be painful if we are ignorant about our potentiality. Life is going to be full of miseries if we are ignorant of our thought process and state of mind. We will be attacked by several diseases if we are ignorant with our breath. It’s not the problem, but it’s our nature of being ignorant makes us suffer most of the time. Our breath has a direct connection with our mind and body. Our awareness of our breath can heal and solve most of our problems and diseases. Knowing our breath pattern is the first step of knowing our own self and our mind. 

Here is the post for people who didn’t get a chance to see it on Instagram. “Ignorance is the mother of all diseases, discomfort, pain and misery. A purified, quiet, and serene mind is positive and healthy. The process of meditation helps the mind remain a useful and constructive instrument.”

Here is the link of my Instagram where I posted it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRDoOSaAEs4/?taken-by=vaibsss&hl=en 

आप न होते तो मैं न होता

आप न होते तो मैं न होता

सोते जागते हर समय मुझे इस का एहसास है होता, 

आप न होते तो मैं न होता, ये ज़मीन न होती ये आस्मां न होता.

इन झूलों का, खिलोनो का, परियों की कहानीयो का कोई मोल न होता, कोइ कदरदान न होता. 

मुझे सपने दिखने वाले आप, अपना सपना बनाने वाले आप.

आप हो इस संसार में, जो मेरा पूरा संसार हो. 

ज़मीन से लेकर आस्मां तक प्यार की भरमार हो.  

मेरे संस्कारों में आप का ही आशीर्वाद और आपका ही प्यार है, 

उम्र मेरी बचपन हो या पचपन, मेरे लिए उतना ही दुलार है, 

बहुत कुछ सहा है आपने मेरे खुशियों के लिए, 

अब मेरी बारी है, देना आपको खुशियों का त्यौहार है, 

त्योहारों का मतलब आपने ही समझाया था,

जब मैं नया नया इस धरती पे आया था.

आने की ख़ुशी मैं तब मनाता हूँ, जब आपका जन्म दिन होता है.

क्योंकि आपकी ही वजह से, आपका बच्चा चैन की नींद सोता है.

सोते जागते हर समय मुझे इस का एहसास है होता, 

की आप न होते तो मैं न होता, ये ज़मीन न होती आसमान न होता. 

इन झूलों का, खिलोनो का,परियों की कहानीयो का कोई मोल न होता, कोइ कदरदान न होता. 

For my special mom: Vishnukanta Parashar

Truth is always evenly balanced

In the above picture, there is only one original bird and the rest are copies of the original. It is very difficult to spot the original. I know that if you don't figure it out, you will get bored, ignore it, and move on. However, if you look closely you can figure it out. I can tell the difference because I have made that change but if someone else had made the edit besides me, it would be difficult for me to figure out the original but not impossible. 

Similarly in life, it is difficult to find the truth because the truth is surrounded by similar looking lies. But it is possible to differentiate between the truth and the lie. Look at the picture again and without judging, try to see which bird is evenly balanced or close to that and makes perfect sense. That bird is the original one, and the rest are just copies of it. This exercise can be used in life to help us in similar situation. The truth is always evenly balanced and if we look at a situation without making any judgements, we will definitely recognise the truth. When we click a picture, we keep our object at the centre of the frame but its upto an individual what they want to see in the picture. Likewise, God gave us a simple life but we tend to look otherwise. 

Who doesn’t drink coffee?

Who doesn’t drink coffee? The increasingly, rapid growth in coffee shops is the answer to my own question. Coffee shops are in fashion. It’s a place to meet and greet, a place for your first date, a place to prepare for your exams and for some, it’s a place to hang out. For me, it’s a place to read and de-stress my brain from everyday chaos with every sip of a coffee. I prefer having white mocha or regular coffee with lots of sugar. I often visit this one particular café, which is next to my house.

The other day I was at this same coffee shop, having my coffee and a bagel while reading a book. Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that I go to this particular café to see somebody who is beautiful, pretty innocent and pure, who always gave peace to my soul. She is full of energy, excitement and a bundle of joy. I have this feeling that I am in love with her but she doesn’t know about it and I am very afraid to tell her that.

One thing I don’t like about her is that she is not attached to anybody. I have seen her passing her smile to everybody, giving joy and comfort to all but the moment they get use to her she disappears and leave people wondering behind her. Sometimes I feel she doesn’t have a heart. I think that is the reason I haven’t told her yet that I am attracted to her. My day is made when I get her glimpse. I literally don’t have enough words to describe her beauty and presence.

That day I was eagerly waiting for her to come because I had few questions on my mind for her. I was very nervous and didn’t know how I will face her but I had made up my mind to ask her. My eyes were at the entrance, looking at it without a blink. My coffee had become cold and I haven’t even touched my bagel. Suddenly I got tapped at my back and a voice came “are you looking for me?” I turned around and got stunned because she was standing in front of me and more importantly how does she know that I am waiting for her. I was very embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. She pulled a chair and sat next to me. She was smiling and looking at me constantly. On the other hand, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t think of any words to say. My mind just blanked out.

“I want to tell you something, if you don’t mind?” She said. I was in shock and didn’t know what to say but I nodded my head without realizing it. I am not attached to anybody because I don’t want to choke anybody. My duty is to celebrate with people and I cannot be the reason of celebration. Most people call me heartless, which is true because I don’t have a heart, in fact I don’t have a physical existence and I think that’s why people don’t value me. I am not here to complain. Instead I am here to tell you and everybody that you don’t have to look for me. I am always available for you, in every situation, condition and circumstances. I don’t disappear from anybody’s life but I guess people look over me leave me alone.

It was too much for me. I couldn’t take it anymore so I asked her “who are you? And why are you saying all of this? You are so pretty and peaceful then why will people leave you alone? In fact I wanted to be with you forever, even though I don’t know your name and where you are from?”

“That is so sweet of you to say and, I must tell you that I am always with you, you just need to recognize it.” She told me. I had no idea what she was saying. “Can I know your name at least?” I asked. She smiled and replied, “I am what a father feels after seeing his new born daughter. I am what people feel when they genuinely help somebody. I am what people feel when the cold wind blows on their face on a hot summer day. I am what you feel when you do your best. I am who is always waiting to meet you at anytime of the day or night. You will see me every time only if you stop worrying, stop frowning and if you do only one simple thing, which is ‘live your life and feel every moment of it’. Enjoy till your last sip.”

“I am happiness”

What can happen in a second?

What can happen in a second?

I had never thought about it until I read this question on a book called "642 Things to write about" by- The san francisco writers' Grotto.

In my opinion its a very good and deep question and the answer to it will be each to their own. I took around 2 months to pen down my answer because I really wanted to think about it. I wanted myself to understand this question and then answer it in very simple words. 

My answer to this question might not match to the answers of others but if it matches then kudos buddy, we have something in common:)

What can happen in a second?

1. Our dream can become a reality.

2. A thought can become a thing.

3. A life can find its meaning.

4. A question can become an answer.

5. Wind can turn into a storm.

People work hard to reach to their goals, destinations or success. They wait and wait for that particular second which can deliver their gift of hard work. 

We all have that one special second waiting for us. Keep at it, because a second can change everything.

One last thing before I sign off, it was a second when I decided to write the answer, it was a second when I marked the full stop, and it was a second when you clicked to read my blog. 

Every second counts!

Decide the kind of an example you want to be – a good one or a bad one. :)

In reality, we regret our past and focus intensely on our future. A past that was not created by us alone, but also by several other individuals. So the question is, who are these people? And why were they involved in our past? Before I tell you about the people in my life, I must say that these people left a huge impression on me. I more or less think like them now and to be more precise, I do not have my "own" identity. Yes, most of us don't have our own identities. As a child, I remember that my father was my super hero—his actions were the best decisions, I used to imitate him, his way of talking, his way of shaving even though I didn't have a beard. Coming back to my point, as children we were like clay and were molded according to our family and society, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Today what we consider right and wrong is quite influenced by our family's and society's understanding. At least that’s the case with me. I have learnt so many good and bad things from my family in the past. And by the time I realized that my thoughts are not necessarily my own, but are an amalgamation of what I have seen and learnt through my past, these thoughts have already become my ingredients. I want to keep whatever good I have learnt from my past, but I definitely want to dilute whatever bad I have learnt from my past as well. If I don’t do that, then I will pass the same thing onto the new generation and this circle will never get over, and instead will get bigger and bigger. 

Don’t get me wrong; I always tell my close friends that I am very lucky to have such fabulous family and friends. But everything has two sides, and similarly I don’t like some of the things that I have learned from my family. My friends love me and my family a lot, so they asked me, “What is it that you learned from your family but do not like?” [Side note: they are very biased towards my family and I, and cannot hear anything against us, even if it comes from our mouths :)]. But I am not similarly biased. In response to their question, I am very particular about certain things, for which people may call me orthodox. People also consider my protection of this behaviour as anger or aggression. But do you know why I behave like this? I behave like this because I have grown up seeing my family behave in this manner, and family doesn’t only mean my dad, mom, or sister, but includes whoever was close to my heart as a child.

However, it is very important for me to better myself and eliminate my flaws as far as possible before it is too late. I am not married and I do not have kids, but soon I will, and I would like to give my family a better me. I am happy to say that I am better than before, because I have realized that what I have seen and learned was not the only way to see a situation- I just needed to broaden my mind set and things could look different. One of my teachers always said that you are an example for people all the time, and it is up to you to decide the kind of an example you want to be – a good one or a bad one. :)

Inner vision is the most powerful vision to bring about a change in society. 

Dont look at your Shadow, You will trip

Problems are here, problems are there, problems are in and problems are out. The causes of these problems are many and if we call them infinite, I dont think that's wrong. The only thing which is wrong, is us and and our life which we say sucks. ;-). It is strange though that we all have problems; who ever we meet, whenever, is complaining about their problems. The question is, where are these problems coming from? And who is creating them and why do we have them?  We don't know the exact answers but we know whom to blame. Often we blame God, others, and if we can't find anybody else to blame, then it's ourselves. 

Is there some kind of a trend which makes having problems a necessity? There was a time where people were judged by their income, talent, position, etc., but now people are judged by the amount of problems they have (the more, the merrier). From dusk to dawn, we use the word "problem" as many times as we breathe in a day. These problems are constantly with us, like our shadows, and the only difference is that they are ahead of us in front of our eyes.  How can we ignore them?  Do you agree with me? We can't ignore our problems because they really exist. We all can swear on God that we can prove that our problems exist. And I know people believe that we all have problems that don't have solutions. I agree that some problems really don't have a solution but they have a cure. 

I want to ask a question: do we all believe that we have a shadow? I am sure that we do. The reason we have a shadow is that a shadow is what happens when light gets blocked! I think all of us know this since most of us are literate. But how many times in a day do we think about our shadow, or want to get proof of its existence? Not very often because we know that it will be there whenever there is light. This is physical, but what about our mental shadow which we call  a "problem". I call problems mental shadows, which exist because our mind is blocked from the light of wisdom. Problems occur when we believe that our mind can't find an easy solution for a situation. As humans, it is possible that some things are not in our hands, which can lead to feelings of uneasiness. In my point of view, this is natural. But when we constantly think about our uneasiness, then it turns into a problem, because we focus on the uneasiness and not on how to resolve it. People will say, "but that is natural!". I will say, "no it is not natural, we are just used to reacting in this way". 

We all know that when we block light we will have a shadow, but if we focus on our shadow instead of looking forward and walking, I am sure that we would trip or fall. But if we are not looking at our shadow, it doesn't mean that we are not believing in its existence. Similarly, when we take a step to gain an experience, we will encounter some uneasiness or things against our wishes. If we focus on this uneasiness, it will become our problem. And when we focus on our mental Shadow (problem), then we will fall more and won't be able to find a solution, because we are looking back at our shadow while walking forward. 

Sometimes we don't have to see a particular to believe its existence (like God) and sometimes we have to see beyond a particular (Problem) to see the reality (Solution).

I didn't write this to preach, but for the sake of my own mind. I have heard that we can be the best teachers for ourselves, as we know ourselves inside out, and it is only when you know yourself properly that you can bring a change in yourself.

Be the origin of a ripple effect.

Vaibhav