Adherents in 2020
| Religion | Adherents | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 2.382 billion | 31.11% |
| Islam | 1.907 billion | 24.9% |
| Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist | 1.193 billion | 15.58% |
| Hinduism | 1.161 billion | 15.16% |
The eight elephants guarding the eight directions
1. Airavatham
(East)
2. Pundarikan
(S.East)
3. Pushpadanthan
(N.West)
4. Vamanan
(South)
5. Supradikan
(N.East)
6. Anjanan (West)
7. Sarvabhouman
(North)
8. Kunudan
(S.West)
Swami Paramarthananda:
You can write down, ‘Swamiji makes this statement, I don’t
accept.’ You can up to maximum, if you feel bad, you can put a comma and say,
‘with due respects to Swamiji ,’; respect does not mean that you should accept
whatever I say, you can respectfully disagree with me and the teacher will
encourage, teacher will say bravo, because teacher is at least sure that he is listening,
because to disagree you should listen. Listening is the most difficult task in
the world.”
Stoicism
A comment by a friend made me look for ‘what is stoicism’
more intimately. Googling got me a good link – appended. I also give a gist.
After reading it, I find that I am not a stoic either in
principle (I do not believe that human beings are rational – I am a fine
example), or in practice (I get perturbed easily as my FB posts betray). But, I
am a stoic in a way because I believe that knowledge is supreme, not faith.
Knowledge in my sense of reckoning, does not accrue just by reasoning and
analysis, often that clouds thinking by trying to be logical against the inner
urge and experience, but more by tuning ourselves to nature and its subtle
messages received intuitively. Knowledge must lead to assurance in self and
reticence, as each person has a valid experience and we cannot summate them
under a formula. Just as my experience is my guide, so is it for anyone else.
We must accept each other.
Gist
Stoicism was a school founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium
around 301 BC.
Three Stoic principal leaders: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus,
Seneca
“Stoicism teaches how to keep a calm and rational mind no
matter what happens to you and it helps you understand and focus on what you
can control and not worry about and accept what you can't control.”
A. 10 principles
1.Live in Agreement with Nature – The Stoic Goal of Life
The ultimate goal of life was agreed by all ancient schools
of philosophy to be ‘Eudaimonia’. Eudaimonia – is a bit tricky to translate.
Think of it as the supreme happiness or fulfilment attainable by human beings.
‘Living in agreement with nature’ is about behaving
rationally like a human instead of randomly (and out of passion) like a beast.
2 Live by Virtue – It Is the Highest of All Goods
What the Stoics meant with ‘virtue’ was excelling or
flourishing in terms of our rational human nature. .. ‘Virtue’ really refers to
excelling at one’s own character and applying reason in a manner that’s healthy
and praiseworthy. .. The Stoics classified these different forms of virtue
under four broad headings, the four cardinal virtues:
Wisdom or Prudence (vidya, gnanam)
Justice or Fairness (samatvam)
Courage or Fortitude (dhairyam)
Self-Discipline or Temperance (yama and niyama)
Virtue must be its own reward. You do something because it
is the right thing to do. Doing the right thing is enough, it’s your nature and
it’s your job. (Cf. Buddha’s teaching).
3 Focus on What You Can Control, Accept What You Can’t
(This message comes like a refrain in Swami
Paramrthananda’s discourse on Gita.)
Some things are up to us and some things are not up to us.
‘Up to us’ are our voluntary choices, namely our actions and judgements.
Thoughts, judgements, actions are up to us; everything else like body, health
and death, job, wealth and reputation, outside events and other people’s
actions, are not up to us.
“It makes us completely and utterly responsible for the
single most important thing in life, depriving us of any excuses for not
flourishing and attaining the best possible life, because this is always within
our grasp.” Donald Robertson
“We can control our behavior but not their outcomes – let
alone the outcomes of other people’s behaviours.” Massimo Pigliucci (Cf.
karmanyevadhikaraste).
4 Distinguish Between Good, Bad, and (‘Preferred’)
Indifferent Things
The good things include the cardinal virtues; the bad
things include the opposites of these virtues (folly, injustice, cowardice, and
indulgence). Indifferent things include all the rest, but mainly health,
wealth, and reputation.
We should learn to be ‘indifferent towards indifferent
things’ and learn to be satisfied with whatever nature puts on our plates.
Stoics differentiated between ‘preferred’ and ‘dispreferred’
indifferent things. Indifferent things such as good health, friendship, wealth,
and good looks were classified as preferred indifferents, while their opposites
were dispreferred indifferents.
People will always prefer joy over pain, wealth over poverty,
and good health over sickness – so go ahead and look for those things, but in
accord with virtue.
It is not what you have or don’t have but what you do with
it that matters.
5 Take Action – The True Philosopher Is a Warrior of the
Mind
Donald Robertson, “Events are not determined to happen in a
particular way, regardless of what you do, but rather along with what you do…
The outcome of events still often depends on your actions.” (ma
sangostvakarmani.)
Stoics were doers. .. A stoic goes out in the world and
practises his ideas.
6 Practise Misfortune – Ask “What Could Go Wrong?”
The Stoics vaccinated themselves for misfortune. (Tapas is
perhaps the Indian equivalent. Sri Ramana simulating death is perhaps a case in
point.)
Be ready for things to go differently than planned. Have a
backup plan.
Seneca is saying that we’d be crazy to want to face
difficulty in life. But we’d be equally crazy to think that it isn’t going to
happen.
7 Add a Reserve Clause to Your Planned Actions
8 Amor Fati – Love Everything that Happens
“Seek not for events to happen as you wish but rather wish
for events to happen as they do and your life will go smoothly.” – Epictetus
Imagine a dog leashed to a moving cart. The leash is long
enough that the dog has two options: (1) either he can smoothly follow the
direction of the cart, over which he has no control, and at the same time enjoy
the ride and explore the surroundings, (2) or he can stubbornly resist the cart
with all his force and end up being dragged for the rest of the trip anyway.
Ryan Holiday, “To get upset by things is to wrongly assume
that they will last… To resent change is to wrongly assume that you have a
choice in the matter.”
Accepting whatever happens, has nothing to do with giving
up.
9 Turn Obstacles into Opportunities – Perception Is Key
Do not get carried away by initial impression about
external, but (1) look at the events objectively and (2) choose to use them for
their best.
10 Be Mindful – Stoic Mindfulness Is Where it All Begins
We basically give up being philosophers, and Stoics, when
we are not mindful, when we act on autopilot and forget about what we’re doing.
Take 5 minutes each night and go through your day and find
opportunities where you could improve.
B. What Does a Stoic Look Like?
The Classic Misconception – Stoics Are Unemotional. The
feelings are normal. But the Stoic tries to not act out of feeling but out of
reason. The Stoic is not a man of stone without any feelings. He does have
feelings but he is not enslaved by them.
Donald Robertson:
“A brave man isn’t someone who doesn’t experience any trace
of fear whatsoever but someone who acts courageously despite feeling anxiety. A
man who has great self-discipline or restraint isn’t someone who feels no
inkling of desire but someone who overcomes his cravings, by abstaining from
acting upon them.”
Stoic Ryan Holidays:
“Real strength lies in the control or, as Nassim Taleb put
it, the domestication of one’s emotions, not in pretending they don’t exist.”
“A good person ‘displays love for all his fellow human
beings, as well as goodness, justice, kindness and concern for his neighbour’,
and for the welfare of his home city.” – Donald Robertson
We live in accord with virtue and therefore benefit
ourselves when we act for the common welfare. Also, the better a person has
developed himself, the better he can serve mankind. As Rudolf Steiner said, “If
the rose adorns itself, it adorns the garden.”
Do good for the sake of doing good. Expect nothing in
return.
Don’t hate the wrongdoer, he does not know any better.
True Beauty Lies in Character. .. The true value of a
person lies in their core, their character or personality, and it does not
matter if it’s a banker or baker.
https://www.njlifehacks.com/what-is-stoicism-overview-defi…/
THE INFLUENCE OF VEDIC PHILOSOPHY ON NIKOLA TESLA'S UNDERSTANDING OF FREE ENERGY
http://arizonaenergy.org/CommunityEnergy/INFLUENCE%20OF%20VEDIC%20ON%20TESLA%27S%20UNDERSTANDING%20OF%20FREE%20ENERGY.htm
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https://psyche.co/ideas/spirituality-is-a-brain-state-we-can-all-reach-religious-or-not?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=210f6509d5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_08_25_02_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-210f6509d5-70807295
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