What is true knowledge?

Anything that cannot go beyond mind is not TRUE knowledge. Everything we learn in school, college, graduate school are mere routines and methods that help us use our brain as a tool to solve daily problems. To go beyond mind, one has to be able to tame the mind, let the thoughts calm down, and be able to realize without thinking. Yes, this might sound a little beyond imagination. But, the whole point is to not let brain do the work but let the brain, thoughts, and imaginations subside.

Does that mean that we need to stop thinking? Or not use are brain at all? No. We have to still think and use our brain, a wonderful tool, to solve our daily problems, make our living, and make our and others' life efficient. However, everything happening  in or around the periphery of mind cannot be taken as TRUE knowledge. If we take them as true knowledge, all we end up with is stress and so many other mental problems like ego problem; unbalanced amount of love, hate, enthusiasm, passion; jealousy, obsession, compulsion; excessive seeking of status and power etc to name a few.

Does this mean that all professors, GPA heroes (straight A students), people who perform beyond chart at work are all ignorant? Yes, they are, if they think that what they have achieved is the ultimate metric for knowledge and success or if they fail to realize that what they have achieved is merely an efficient and elegant use of their brain for practical purposes. If their ultimate yearning is only such achievement that they tie it with status, power, and ego; then they have no TRUE knowledge.

TRUE knowledge makes smart people wise, lessens their ego, moves them away from status and power. Happiness rushes into their heart and kindness is always abundant in them, if they have TRUE knowledge. This doesn't mean that people who have TRUE knowledge have to be poor, material less, and be like hermits. It just means that they KNOW that wealth, material, status or power is just like thoughts in brain that are not TRUE source of fulfillment and contentment. Knowing and acting according to that, is TRUE knowledge!

Why do we exist?

Ask about a million dollar question, this is one of them. I wish I knew the answer for sure.

I believe we exist even before we realize that we exist. The realization or perceiving of our existence happens to us because of consciousness. We get the ability to think, choose, decide after we have consciousness. The consciousness itself happens to us, we did not decide or choose it. We do not choose in which body, family, city, or country we want the consciousness to manifest upon us. We are able to create an identity for us, differentiate among things, and create a history of ourselves in our brain only after consciousness manifests upon us, the perceiving one.

So, trying to figure out why do we exist, is just like a computer software trying to figure out a procedure that the programmer has never coded in the answer for. At least with normal sensing mechanisms in us, I think we will not be able to figure it out. May be there is way to know the answer by activating the sixth sense or third eye or whatever the extra power is called; through science, meditation, self-inquiry, enlightenment...etc. I for sure do not have any of them, except my full attention to this present moment.

My logic is that, if we existed even before were able to realize that we exist, we will exist even after we are no longer able to perceive our existence. Therefore, we were always there and will always be. The question of why comes only when thoughts dance on brain and only during the perceiving phase. Anything that is only relevant on one phase cannot be a TRUE thing. Thus, asking the question why we exist is like computer program trying to figure out a procedure that is not defined in the program. The outcome will be that the computer will freeze and there will be no resolution. Alas, the poor computer will never be able to figure out the reality beyond the program because it does not have any extra ability to perceive any other dimension. So is the case with us trying to figure out why we exist.

In grand scheme of things, I believe, this question, although not trivial, is not relevant. However, it will help us get near our own TRUTH, which if we all derive carefully, must be the same.

Will the ego ever die?

The short answer is NO.

The long answer is, no, it won't. However, one can manage to have almost no ego. Ego is like a stretchable translucent material that can be slowly stretched to the point that the material actually becomes transparent. The more we feel secure about ourselves, the more we can stretch our ego so that it can easily accept criticisms, handle inferiority or superiority complexes, and let lamentations go away.

It is very easy to feel secure. No manifestation in this world that we can perceive can be complete without our presence. In order for any reality to be complete, the presence of you, I, or whoever is perceiving must be there. That is why, everyone who can feel the present moment, and perceive the reality is equally important for the manifestation to fully present itself. No matter what anyone says or thinks, that is TRUE.

The ego is there because we fail to realize this. Even if we realize it, we often forget. Yes, we may not be to always remember this and let the ego rest in peace. But if we remember this very often, we can let the ego rest in peace most of the time. :)

Why volunteer?

Many times, I have asked this question to myself, not knowing the answer, not even having a clue. The more younger I was, the more clueless I was. Then suddenly when I finished college; graduate school; I became more inquisitive, and my time too allowed me to get involved in community service. At this phase of life, I find that getting involved in community service and volunteering, for good social causes that increase common happiness, gives us immense contentment.

Not that I had no idea what entails to be involved in community service when I was in early twenties; but as I started to ponder more about why is it so important and self gratifying to volunteer, I realized a few things. First, I realized that each and every success of ours can be linked back to special help or service from someone who made an effort from heart and out of kindness. Such a kindness we receive cannot be contained, it wants to flow out of us, so it becomes necessary for us to pass it on.

However, we cannot pass kindness by sitting idle, as it will not be very effective. Just like an action is much more effective than just an intention, volunteering is a very effective means to pass on kindness. In addition, if we want kindness to return back to us, we must pass it on, we cannot keep it suffocated within us. Therefore, we must volunteer and serve the community if we want to improve the quality of our lives.

Lastly, it is very easy to find people who want to work for money or material. But, it is difficult to find volunteers? Why? Because, it is easy to make a buck but it is a much more difficult to volunteer. Genuine volunteers cannot be paid, not because they are worthless, but because what they offer is priceless. Priceless because when kindness flows and touches lives, everything becomes beautiful, the case is not same or sometimes even exactly opposite with money or material.

My conclusion from all this is, those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer.

Witness

Cliff of feelings whirl,
Around the abyss of mind.
And then, in the fields of desire,
Drudgery starts.

Rulers hide their emptiness
And have their mask put on with their hands folded.
Then, an actor starts a life.

Landslides are eager
To turn the base over.
Earthquakes are ready to raise a foot
To shake the earth.
Floods rustle
To inundate the creation.

A stage gets decorated
With ribbons and accessories.
Songs get written;
Music gets composed.
Gradually,
A dead becomes alive.
Dream seems like a reality.
Audience get confused.
Whistles are blown.
Applause is heard.

Universities become meaningless.
Professors kneel down and beg for knowledge.
Statues of God get decorated by footsteps.
Intellectuals end up in ditches.
Laureates get incarcerated.

Cacophony is off.
Brain is asleep.
Fearless, unexcited;
One Witness,
Just watches and listens.
Whether eyes open or closed,
The witness is always awake;
The witness always awakens.
The witness is always awake;
The witness always awakens!

पिंजडामा झिलिमिली छ

पिंजडाभित्र
कैदीहरुको अटसमटस पेट छ

पिंजडाभित्रै बिलाशाको ताजमहल वरिपरी
फुलबारी अनि माहुरीको घार छ

वार पार गर्न
गाडीहरुकोमात्र  होइन
पुष्पक बिमानहरुको संकलन छ

कैदीहरु पिठीउँमा लिस्नो लिएर
झिलिमिलीमा लालटिन सल्काउँन खोजिरहेछन्

पागलहरु त झन्
लाइटहाउसनै  बनाउन खोजिरहेछन्

त्यहि पिंजडामा
लुटेराहरु लुछाचुंडी गरिरहेछन्

लुटपाट हुँदै गर्दा
उतार चढावको लुकामारी भइरहेछ

पिंजडाक लिखाहरु
लाठेहरुलाई लिखुरे बनाइरहेछन्

कैदीहरु लालटिन सल्काउन नसक्नाले
लाइटर खोज्दै भौतारिहीरहेछन्

हार खानेहरु लाखा पाखा लागिरहेछन्
लाखौँ  कैदीहरु लागुपदार्थ सेवन गरेर
लमतन्न लठ्ठीहिरहेछन्

पिंजडाबाट फुत्कन खोज्नेहरुभने
आत्मालाई सत्कर्मले लोटाइरहेछन्

तर जे सुकै होस्
पिंजडामा झिलिमिली छ
तर जे सुकै होस्
पिंजडामा झिलिमिली छ

हामी र हाम्रो वातावरण

मेरो वरिपरि
घनघोर जंगलबाट आउने
शित्तल हावाहरू
गर्मीका पंखा हुने गर्थे

चराका चिर्चिरसँगै
धर्ती अनि आकाश
खोलाका सुसाइमा
संगीत सिर्जना गर्थे

गहेन्द्र सम्सेरका बन्दुक बोकेका जंगबहादुरहरू
मेरै चारकोसे झाडीहरू अनि
बाँसका झाङहरूमा
वनक्रिडा गर्थे

शान्तिका साधना गर्ने बुद्धहरू
‘ॐ शान्ति शान्ति’ भन्दै
मेरै छहरा अनि पहरा गुञ्जाउँथे
वेदध्वनिहरू संखका धूनमा समाहित भएर
गीता र त्रिपिटक उराल्थे

तर आज
मेरा वागमती र विष्णुमतीहरू
नालीको गन्धले टाइफाईड र जण्डिसका रोगी भएका छन्
मेरा आफन्तहरू
अनेकौं रोगले च्यापेर
मृत्युशैयामा सिकिस्त छन्

वातावरणको विनाशले
मेरा डाँफे नाँच्ने गुँरासे पाखाहरू नाङिएका छन्
हरिया वन अनि केराका घारीहरू
ऐंसेलुका बोट अनि बयरका बुट्यानहरू
फाँडिएर उजाड मरुभूमिझैं भएका छन्
अनि मेरो माटो
बाढी पिडित भएर तप्प तप्प आँसु चुहाइरहेछ

यसरी वातावरण मबाट भाग्न खोजेको छ
मबाट भाग्न खोजेको छ ।