Title : Life lessons : Five minutes to wisdom 3

Title : Life lessons : Five minutes to wisdom 3

Small miracles to change ourselves and our surroundings.

The King & a Human Skull 

How do the eyes of the wise see through the ears?

A king was once presented with a human skull as a gift. He assembled his political advisers — whom he paid exorbitantly — and enquired from them whether the person whom the skull belonged to, was a fool or an intellectual. If they could not give a suitable answer he would have them killed. How does one tell based only on bodily remains? However the most intelligent of his cabinet spoke up. He took a piece of string and treaded it from the left ear hole of the skull to the right. He then told the king that clearly this person was a fool. Just see how this string enters the left ear and is out the right. 

Similarly, when we read books and or assimilate knowledge does it enter the cranial cavity and make a hasty escape. When knowledge is received for it to have a significant impact upon an individual it needs to enter through the ears and penetrate to the heart. When the heart is touched our world view is altered. Knowledge then goes from words to wisdom as it becomes a lived experience. In this way, when applied to our daily trials and triumphs it has the potential for enlightenment. The true light of knowledge is the illumination of reality. By applying knowledge into our life it becomes tangible and something mystical happens. Knowledge becomes wisdom. Wisdom is the way the wise interact with their environment.

A tomato is a fruit = Knowledge 

To not put a tomato into a fruit salad = WISDOM 

Its is said that the furthest point in this universe is the distance between the human head and the heart. When knowledge enters the head, it permeates into the heart by actively applying to your life. This is how the eyes of the wise see through the ears.

 Alexander the great: Mind over Matter 

How to make matter not matter so much?

Upon arriving in India, leaving numerous kingdoms conquered in his wake, Alexander came across a yogi in a cave. His troops informed him that the yogi would not venture out of the cave to offer respects and homage unto him. Infuriated by such disrespectful behaviour Alexander stormed into the hermitage with sword raised ready to slay the infidel. The yogi loudly shouted  AAAHHH! Servant of my servant how nice to finally meet your acquittance. 

Alexander was bewildered. He stood before this emaciated yogi, who lived in a cave, was covered in one piece of tattered cloth and he dared call the king of the ancient world not just a servant, but the servant of his servant. What did he mean by this, Alexander wondered and so inquired from the yogi. The yogi explained that even though Alexander was the conqueror of untold fortunes, lands, woman and wine, he had not conquered his mind. Whereas the simple mendicant after a lifetime dedicated to self-control, truth and study of spiritual text had developed real wealth. He was the true king for he was no longer a servant to unbridled senses and not emancipated from the trappings of a contaminated mind. 

Alexander the Great conquered the world, but he could not conquer himself. In his conquests, he lay siege to almost every great city of the ancient world. Yet he was not able to subdue that most important city, to conquer which is the greatest of all achievements, the citadel of his mind.

This pastime should make us thoughtful. What is real wealth? Is it the perpetual drive for the accumulation of things? Or is real wealth to concur the self? When our mind is subdued and tranquil then matter will not matter. When we have too many things in our life what results is anxiety fuelled by weapons of mass distraction. A progressive society treasures people and uses things. If we are using people simply to acquire things then at the core of our mentality resides a malady, fostered by the hole we have torn into our heart.  

The Buddha’s plate

Once the Buddha was having a meal on a clay plate. Upon completion of the meal, he handed the plate to a disciple who was to wash the eating utensil. On the way to the river the plate slipped from his clutches and fell to the ground in pieces. The disciple gathered up the pieces to show to his master. After he told the enlightened one about his accident, he apologised for the calamity caused. The Buddha told him to now apologize to the broken plate and the disciple duly did so. Then the Buddha asked his disciple if the apology in any way helped the condition of the plate. The disciple responded in the negative. The Buddha asked if the disciple understood the lesson. The disciple responded affirmatively. 

When we fracture and shatter relationships simply uttering an apology — no matter how sincere — is not sufficient to mend the damaged done. The best apology a person may make is a change of behaviour, the destructive behaviour that causes traumatic emotional upheavals. All too often we feel that once an apology is given in words, then that is the end. Rather, that point is but the beginning. Closure regarding explosive interpersonal relationships requires rehabilitation of hurt inflicted upon the other.   

The Myth of Sisyphus 

Sisyphus was the king of Corant. He was punished horribly in the afterlife, some say for chaining death so that humans would no longer have to die. Others maintain  that he leaked secrets of the Gods for personal gain. He was sentenced to rolling a massive boulder up a hill for all of eternity. As he reached the top the boulder would roll back down and he would have to start over again. 

This struggle of mundane endeavour not leading anywhere is emblematic of the toils and struggles in the sojourn of contemporary materialistic civilisation. Toiling in repetitive, fruitless and meaningless tasks for a few scraps off the table of life, all the while obvious to the temporal nature of this none spiritual realm. 

What's required is a reprieve from this meaningless cycle of mundanity. Chained to a job which not only lacks lustre but tarnishes our soul. A slave to the establishment that perceives us as just another number, a bar code on the isle of human resources. A dear price shall we pay for lugging the burden of the dualities which saturate this world. 

To escape this existence is the goal of life. Money, fame and fashion won’t satiate the yearning of the soul. Crying for a meaningful existence all the while being force feed materialistic propaganda. Don’t build your home and heart on a foundation of sand. Look within, find your true self and live a lie no longer. Let your pain drive you. Take a walk on the path less travelled and traverse your inner discord. The first step on the path of self-realisation starts with you. Or like Sisyphus, we will become chained to the boulder of suffering in the rat race of repetitive consumerism.

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