Sunday, November 15, 2009

Why i disagree with the 'LAW OF ATTRACTION' ?

Hi,

I received an email from a friend today asking me to check out videos on You Tube based on Rhonda Byrne's bestseller 'THE SECRET'.               I had heard a lot about this book before and a lot of friends have read it and recommended it, claiming that following the practices mentioned in the book has helped them in 'feeling good'. So, i decided to check out the link and watched the entire video of the first part in which the inheritors of the so called 'secret' talked about the 'law of attraction'. 'The Law of Attraction'  according to the proponents of this belief is basically a fundamental law which governs everything in this universe. So, if we were to orient our lifestyles in accordance with this law, we would be much happier and lead more satisfied lives. This is how it works : If you really want to acquire something, you can do so by merely thinking about it because as per this law 'thoughts become things' . 

Here is what i replied in my email to my dear friend who had recommended the link : -

I completely disagree with the theory being preached through this series of videos or through the book - 'the secret'.
Sorry to disappoint you, but i think these bunch of people are under a gross misconception. I shall try to explain why i feel so in the following way. I would be grateful if you have the patience to read through it :-
 
If you recall some lines from the geeta, lord krishna clearly tells arjuna -- 'करम किये जा, फल की इच्छा मत कर'  which means keep your focus on the task at hand and remove the desire for any rewards.  What a wonderful people we can be, if we adopt this teaching from the geeta, we can be so much happier in our lives,and so much more content with what we have.
 
The so called 'secret - the law of attraction' completely contradicts what shri krishna is trying to tell us through the geeta because it asks people to focus on the goal/the object of desire instead of focussing on the process.
 
However, i think i understand the state of mind of those like you who are trying to incorporate 'the law of attraction' in their daily lives and why you think this formula called 'the secret' which says "thoughts become things" works and hence everyone must think about only those things which they want to acquire and not about those things that they dont want to acquire or that they want to get rid of.
 
Lets analyse this point wise :-
1. I agree with you that by constantly thinking about negative elements that we want to get rid of, we actually end up being more sad and cant get rid of those negative elements. Thats why its important not to think of "what you dont want /what you dont want to be " !!
2. Coming to what you want, i agree that by thinking about our goal/desire , we feel more energised to work towards achieving it and hence there is a greater possibility of achieving the same.
 
Having said that, i would now like to come to what in my view is the solution :
If you recall lines from the hanuman chalisa ,lord hanuman is trying to give us this message :                                                           'महावीर विक्रम बजरंगी, कुमित निवार सुमित के संगी'   which means that throw away all negative energy and inherit all positive energy from the universe. What a wonderful people we can be if we adopt this teaching of hanumanji, we can feel so much happier in our lives by thinking positive, by being positive , by just having a positive attitude.

Hence, what you do in life is a result of the energy that propels you. That energy comes from within you, and the more positive energy you are able to generate, the more successful you can be.

In sum, when we meditate/recite hanuman chalisa/recite hymns from the geeta what we are essentially doing is inheriting positive energy which empowers us to be better equipped to achieve our goals.

Hope that helped !!

Thanks.

Posted via web from ankurk's posterous

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Why force yourself into a life of bonded labour ?

Wikipedia  defines "bonded labour" as an arrangement whereby a person is forced to pay off a loan with direct labor in place of currency, over an agreed or obscure period of time. When the debtor is then tricked or trapped into working for very little or no pay, or when the value of their work is significantly greater than the original sum of money borrowed, some consider the arrangement to be a form of unfree labour.

My experience of the last two months as a systems engineer trainee have helped me better understand the meaning of the aforementioned lines.  This led me to wonder about other people? are they really satisfied with what they are doing to earn a living or do they fall under the category of "unfree labour" ?

After surveying ( informally) a large segment of my acquaintances, the results reinforced my long held view which, to be put in simple terms is the following :

People often compromise their true interests for leading conventional lives, earning a conventional living, or achieving professional growth etc.. , since this appears more rewarding to them or atleast it makes life more convenient for them, however the truth which they all ignore is that they were not strong enough to resist these temporary pleasures and wanted to make a quick buck.

 

My question to you is : Why chose a conventional way of life just because that is the norm ? Why force yourself into a life of bonded labour when god has given you some precious gift which you are refusing to explore ?? 

Posted via web from ankurk's posterous