All Comments By Hareshwar
On May 27, 2023 Hareshwar Singh wrote on Irony Of Marriage, by Neale Donald Walsch:
In order to really explore the subject of ‘love and marriage’ OR ‘love vs. marriage’ in all its subtle nuances of meaning and implication, we must first ask some fundamental questions:
i) Is love a search of happiness or basically sharing of one’s happiness with others?
ii) If it is a search of happiness, doesn’t this mean that one is unhappy right now and hopes to become happy or happier in a relationship?
iii) An unhappy person seeking happiness is like a beggar begging for something. Can a beggar love? Or is it the privilege (gift) of an ‘affluent’ person blessed with ‘abundance’? To my mind, a person with a mind or heart brimming with joy is an ‘affluent’ person—living in a state of perennial ‘abundance’.
iv) Isn’t freedom simply one of the dimensions of this joy—or isn’t joy simply one of the expressions of freedom? (Not freedom FROM something but freedom per se, meaning freedom that is the culmination of self–discovery. Not the assertive and egoistic ‘self’ but ‘authentic self’.)
v) Thus, is love ‘a relationship’ or is it essentially a state of ‘relatedness’? Feeling ‘related’ to every expression and movement of life around oneself—a bird in its flight, a smile on a face, tearful eyes of a grieving person, the western sky turning red, orange and purple at sunset, the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze, and so on.
Now, marriage! Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and a few others are believed to have discovered Truth but when this Truth was organized, a religion was born and the fragrance of that Truth was gone. Marriage is an act of organization, and like any organisation or institution, it is bound to have certain rules, restraints and constraints implying fidelity, reciprocation, expectation, etc. If someone feels stifled by such factors, why marry at all? Why not move along the course of life like a breeze with no commitments to a particular individual?
On Mar 12, 2023 Hareshwar wrote on Money is a Lot Like Water, by Lynne Twist:
One day while in my senior high school, I was walking with a classmate in my sleepy little town. We stopped at a coconut water seller's stand on the roadside to quench our thirst. Bargaining over the price with such humble little sellers is quite commonplace in India. Having finished our organic drink, Anticipating the inevitable bargaining in the offing, the seller quoted a rather inflated price but surprisingly enough, my friend paid the amount in inexplicable haste despite my protest. On resuming our walk, he said, "Look, while teaching Pascal’s principle our science teacher said: water always flows down seeking its own level. Money is like water; it should always flow down: from the rich to those who are less rich. I said to my friend, ‘But you are also quite poor.’ He quipped in the same vein: …money should flow from the poor to the poorer.
On Mar 6, 2023 Hareshwar wrote on Four Types Of Listening, by Otto Scharmer:
The first story inspires us to challenge ourselves to come out of the rut of our habitual mechanical robotic 'reactions' rather than the 'appropriate response'.
The second one exhorts us to aspire for the mystical / religoious experience that might have transformed Gautam Siddharth into the Buddha.
The extract on listening teaches us the art of living rightly as life is all about interacting and relating with our fellow humans on a daily basis.
On Jan 30, 2023 Hareshwar wrote on Truth is a Pathless Land, by J. Krishnamurti:
Krishnamurti 's statement of 'Truth is a pathless land and you can not reach it by following any path' may be a matter of debate. I think his most revolutionary affirmation is: 'Religions are divisive in nature,; they divide humanity. What is required is cultivating a religious mind, which rejects all organized religions at one stroke and questions every belief. To him a religious mind is naturally disciplined and has virtues like integrity, love, affection and compassion--without having to consciously practise them.'
On May 27, 2023 Hareshwar wrote on Irony Of Marriage, by Neale Donald Walsch:
i) Is love a search of happiness or basically sharing of one’s happiness with others?
ii) If it is a search for happiness, doesn’t this mean that one is unhappy right now and hopes to become happy or happier in a relationship?
ii) An unhappy person seeking happiness is like a beggar begging for something. Can a beggar love? Or is it the privilege or gift of an ‘affluent’ person blessed with ‘abundance’? To my mind, a person with a mind or heart brimming with joy is an ‘affluent’ person—living in a state of perennial ‘abundance’.
iv) Isn’t freedom actually one of the dimensions of this joy—or isn’t joy simply one of the expressions of freedom? (Not freedom FROM something but freedom per se, meaning freedom that is the culmination of self–discovery. Not the assertive and egoistic ‘self’ but ‘authentic self’.)
v) Thus, is love ‘a relationship’ or is it essentially a state of ‘relatedness’? Feeling ‘related’ to every expression and movement of life around oneself—a bird in its flight, a smile on a face, tearful eyes of a grieving person, the western sky turning red, orange and purple at sunset, the sound of trees rustling in the breeze, and so on. This love knows no jealousy or hatred. Now, marriage! Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and a few others are believed to have discovered Truth but when this Truth was organized, a religion was born and the fragrance of that Truth was gone. Marriage is an act of organization, and like any organization or institution, it is bound to have certain rules, restraints and constraints implying commitment, fidelity, reciprocation, expectation, etc. If someone feels stifled by such factors, why marry at all? Why not move along the course of life like a breeze with commitments to none in particular.
To fall in love with somebody is a beautiful human experience but that is not love. Love is not lust or attachment. Love between parents and their children or between siblings has different nuances and flavors but there is some commonality. It is up to them to find out if that is sheer love or different shades of attachment. You can discharge all your duties and responsibilities towards any `member` of your family without having the flame of love burning in your heart. The essence of love is the feeling that the other is more important than myself. It is altruism but you don’t consciously practice altruism.[Hide Full Comment]