Creating the perfect Symphony

“We often use the expression, “strike a chord in one’s heart.” The heart is like an instrument. It is the richness of the heart that determines the richness of our life experiences. Given the same circumstances, a person with a single-stringed heart might only produce and experience a monotonous music of life, while a person with a hundred-stringed heart can create and enjoy an immensely rich and deep symphony of life.” – Dr. Daisaku Ikeda

I was moved by the truth in these lines and began to enjoy my life that much more once I focused on creating the ‘hundred-stringed heart’. As a result, I am richer with a huge circle of friends I have been able to strike a chord with. We often wait for another to strike a chord in our heart. While it is impossible to create the symphony all alone, it isn’t required to wait for another to initiate it either. Pull the right chords within your heart and hear the music reverberate out into the universe. That will in turn attract what will eventually lead to the perfect symphony in your life. It boils down to the strength of the signals you send out into the universe. The greater and richer they are, the greater the frequency returned.

It is only when we focus on cultivating the inner richness of our heart that life becomes truly purposeful and full of joy. There is newness to living life this way. I say this because ‘focus on the self’ gives us a refreshing perspective to address troublesome situations. Blame and anger directed at the outside world is futile at the end of the day. It doesn’t change anything.

Focus on self improvement on the other hand is the surest path to happiness. As we build the treasures of the heart, turning anger to compassion, hatred to love and fear into courage…these very treasures become the foundation for leading a life full of rich experiences. And these are the very virtues that help us strike the perfect chord. Fine tune your heart and mind to do that and enjoy the ripple effect – a richer life experience enjoyed with an increased circle of friends; because interaction with others is what creates the perfect symphony.

From Inner Peace to World Peace

(The title of this blog is borrowed from Mr. Kawada’s lecture series for want of being able to come up with a more appropriate one.)

“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.” - Confucius

More than ever the human desire is turning towards peace and happiness and harmonious coexistence with fellow humans. And these are some of the current solutions floating in the minds of people to achieve everlasting peace - Hang Ajmal Kasabs and Afzal Gurus, Gun Down all the terrorists living on the face of the earth; bomb the militant outfits springing in different parts of the world. Ban the use of weapons, arms and ammunitions, nuclear bombs. Arrange a dialogue between the nation heads which most often prove futile; Any more ideas that you can come up with?

To my mind none of these mentioned above is a plausible solution to achieving world peace. It is far more complex and deep rooted than these simplistic ones. It requires an ideological change and a fundamental reform in the human heart because that is where the seed of hatred and war originates. Only when we are at peace with ourselves and one another, can we inch closer to the dream of creating a peaceful world. Therefore inner peace is the roadmap to achieving world peace.

To begin with, the whole idea of ‘World Peace’ sounds a distant dream, elusive and unattainable.  So it would be helpful to narrow it down to something more achievable and realistic.  Let’s look at it this way –  world peace begins at home. If each one of us makes efforts to create peace and happiness at home and then extend it to our neighborhoods, through ripple effect we will have many more happy households and soon a happier world.

Even in order to create a peaceful environment at home, we first need to be happy and peaceful within. That inner joy will radiate outward and create an amicable environment. On the contrary, if we ourselves feel gloomy and unhappy within then there is very little that we can do to enliven the environment around us.

It is natural to encounter people in our environment with whom we will have differences of opinion. But it is respect for another human life transcending and rising above any differences that will help us look beyond the differences. We need to base our actions on this fundamental principle of respect for the other person. And yet this simple act of respecting another human life is the most difficult problem before humanity.

And till we have inculcated this as a habit in our daily lives, a peaceful world will remain merely but a wish.

Kindness pays back

Our present circumstances are by no means accidental. As the Buddhist sage Nichiren Daishonin wrote, quoting a sutra: ‘If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.’

I have been immensely encouraged and motivated by these words to pursue the path of goodness even amidst unpleasant situations. The urge to give up has crept in every now and then but these lines have served as a constant reminder to persevere and not give up.  What the above lines try to convey is very simple – that our present is a result of the causes made in the past and that our future is determined by our actions or the causes we create through our thoughts, words and actions in the present.  While I have little control over my past actions, the future is very much in my control. This is an absolutely delightful and empowering thought for me. So for the sake of a brighter future, I have to be cautious about the causes I create in my present existence.

This simple awareness has been a deterrent to many negative causes that I could have created along the way. Not only does a good cause made in the present have a positive effect in the future but the effect is manifested right here and now. We all know deep within our hearts when we go wrong. When we are able to suppress that urge to do wrong and convert it to a positive cause, the feeling is one of tremendous joy. So the present becomes happy and is a bonus for the future too so a win-win situation in all cases.

This is not to say in the least that I have never faltered but the magnitude has definitely reduced with this understanding. While we have little control over the reaction of others, our responses are very much our own choice. So the key really is changing ‘oneself’ and not waiting for others to change.  Sometimes people are unreasonable, mean and rude for no reason. And to be kind to them in return is probably the most difficult thing under the sun. It is easier to ‘give it back to them’.  Having tried and tested both, I realize the first option is the better of the two. This is not the conventional route, so don’t fall into the trap of viewing it as a sign of weakness because being good to someone who is hurting you is actually a sign of tremendous strength. To choose to remain calm while someone else is instigating to bring out the devil in you is a sign of victory and the immediate benefit one derives is a sense of triumph over ones weaker self.

It is definitely a difficult task to persevere in the act of kindness to others but I am totally convinced that kindness pays back in our lives in a way greater than we imagined. It is just a matter of when. So I will strive to be patient until then and continue my acts of kindness towards others with complete sincerity in my heart. Will you?

The Two Worlds

We suffer more in imagination than in reality - I happened to read this profound statement somewhere on Facebook and it instantly triggered a thought process in my head. The above line is true because sometimes the cause of our suffering lies solely in our mind. We imagine our problems to be bigger than they actually are causing much distress to ourselves. If we were to replace ‘suffer’ with the word ‘live’ in the opening sentence, then that holds true as well because sometimes we live more freely in our imagination than in the real world. The point is that all of us live in these two worlds – the real and the imaginary and we keep moving from one to another with effortless ease.

The real world is the physical space and the actual events and circumstances that transpire in our life. The imaginary world is the magical world that we create inside our head. It is our thoughts that spin around to create this magical web. It is the creative space. So depending on the quality of our thoughts we can be happy or stressed in this imaginary space.  And that after all is what influences the real world.

I call the imaginary space the magical world because here we are free to dream the forbidden, the less thought of and be true in the expression of our feelings. The imagination is far more powerful and dangerous than we think.  It allows access to things not permitted in the real world. But also allows us to shed inhibitions and discover our true selves.  Not always does the imaginary turn into real but that is where the ‘magic’ lies – in just experiencing things in our physical being. And the best part is that no one can take away this experience from us. So turn around your imagination into your creative playfield and use it a lot more than you already do and you will discover that the ‘magic’ I talk about follows silently but surely.

Human Flowers

Sunflowers bloom into beautiful and bright flowers as the first ray of sunlight falls on their closed bud. Bright, cheerful and soothing, they instantly give pleasure to the eyes that see this wonder.  Humans are just like flowers. Sometimes we choose to live our lives closed up in the little shell of the self. We lock ourselves in a world of our own and ignore the ‘knocks knocks’ that come by on the door to our hearts every now and then. We think that shutting out the world from us means putting an end to all the problems and worries that come as part of being in it. Yet they continue to haunt, even more perhaps. Can there be any joy in this kind of lonely existence?

President Ikeda, a prolific peace activist says “There is no true joy in a life lived closed up in the little shell of the self. When you take one step to reach out to people, when you meet with others and share their thoughts and sufferings, infinite compassion and wisdom well up within your heart. Your life is transformed.”

Have you experienced this transformation in your life? My own experience allows me to substantiate president Ikeda’s viewpoint. From a closed bud I have flowered into a happier, confident and joyful person. The reason for this? - My circle of friends has grown dramatically in the last few years. I have begun to enjoy human interaction, something I shied away from for a good part of my life. This has led to my individual growth as well.

I have learnt that it is only through our interaction with others that we can bloom to our fullest potential. Like flowers, we derive nourishment for the soul, heart, mind and body from all that is around us and fellow humans are an integral part of it. Just as the spring sunshine warms the frozen earth back to life, so vibrant dialogue fills people’s lives with fresh energy and nurtures the flowering of human potential. No matter what position or where we belong. The human heart desires soulful conversation to keep it alive. Keep the door to your heart open and allow people to walk in and help you discover things about yourself. And give to others the same joy. It is only through this two way exchange that we will be able to work towards the flowering of all of humanity.

A new beginning

I’ve been seeing her at the park for almost 2 years now. Just like the other days, we smiled at each other as our paths crossed on the newly refurbished walking track. It didn’t end there. She paused for a moment, took out the earphones carefully tucked in her ears and said something (which I cannot recall). Our conversation thereafter lasted almost an hour in which time we shared many aspects of our lives. One of the things that I brought up in our conversation was my practice of Buddhism.  She listened with keen interest and curiosity. Even so, not wanting to sound too assertive I decided to cut short my discussion on the subject.

I turned the conversation around to children and asked if she had any. To which she said that she has a teenage son, who is autistic and incidentally his name is Siddhartha. She said that with a twinkle in her eye sensing my keen interest in Buddhism. (Siddhartha was the name of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.) A day of coincidences or what I thought to myself. She continued that I must have seen him around. He usually rides the bicycle in the evening. I paused and thought for a moment – “Oh yes, offcourse I’ve seen him. He resembles you quite a bit.” I paused again and then blurted out “But he doesn’t look autistic.” almost ashamed at myself for saying that. She smiled back politely and said “You will know once you begin to talk to him. That is why he doesn’t have friends.” My heart ached to hear that. I could feel her agony and pain even though she said it in a casual manner. Silent I wondered why we were so insensitive.

I decided to resume my discussion on Buddhism at this point. I told her how she could overcome this agony and help Siddhartha live a fulfilling life through faith. She interrupted, “So what you are saying is that he will be cured if he practices Buddhism? That is almost impossible. He is born with this.” I explained patiently that while I couldn’t guarantee that he would be fully cured, what I am convinced about is that he will be able to lead a happy and fulfilling life in spite of his limitations. That he would grow into a beautiful human being and have his circle of friends. That he neither be ashamed of it because he has his own unique mission in life. She nodded in agreement and remarked “That is what is important.”  I could see her face light up; sparks of hope arise in her. And then she asked – “So what exactly do you do?” To begin with, I told her about the chant that we recite and recorded it for her in her mobile. She promised to give it a try.

This was on New Year’s eve. We asked about each others plans for the evening which didn’t turn out to be much. It was already dark by now. We sat silently for a few minutes. Siddhartha passed by on his bicycle ringing the bell to draw our attention. His mother briefly introduced us and he turned around to wave at me. I waved and smiled back at him. I had made a new friend. Silence returned and I gestured to make a move. She looked at me and said “we have met for a reason today. The past year has been very difficult for me. I hope the new year is better. I am going to start it on a fresh note.” I smiled and reassured her that it would be a good year.

As I walked back home the words ‘met for a reason’ rung loud and clear in my ears. The reason and purpose will gradually unfold in successive years but for now I pray that the New Year is a new beginning in their lives; that my little friend Siddhartha finds many friends and becomes truly happy in life. This is the prayer that I nurture in my heart and wish to be fulfilled in the coming year.