Self-talk to get to the Truth

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Talk your way to Freedom
by: venu (1)

Item Size: 1.59 KB Created: 4:36am on 01-05-2007 Modified: 4:36am on 01-05-2007
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I had written a short piece, my first writing in Writing.Com, (Writing to get to the Truth) on the art of soliloquy and left it at that, waiting for a kind reviewer to prod me for more. I had written that it is our restless mind that causes all our problems (not the other way round - problems causing our mind to be restless.) and suggested that talking to ourselves without a break – which technique I’ve called CONTINUUM – leads to a restful mind and a consequent ceasing of all our problems. Brave-heart reviewer Stephen has encouraged me and as promised, I am going to test the patience of my readers with more on this business of talking to oneself. What is this new concoction of self-help technique that is been offered? What I am striving to put across is quite modest. Talk to yourself. The natural question would be, but who does not talk to himself (or herself)? I say, of course, yes – and who does not breath? Nevertheless, a whole science of the art of breathing has been espoused. Breath we all do, but what about the art of breathing? This is famous in Hinduism as Pranayama. The practitioners say that if you know how to breath properly, you would be able to transcend yourself and become a higher being, no less. I don’t claim as much for the art of talking to oneself but, nevertheless, with CONTINUUM, one would be able to still one’s mind. Isn’t it said in the Bible, “Still your mind and see God?”. Well, that’s no minor promise.I hope to continue in Chapter III if someone thinks what I've written is less than nonsense!
© Copyright 2007 venu (UN: venu1005 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved

Writing to get to the Truth

Can we, as we type a train of thoughts, have the train rattle forward on its own surge?
by: venu (1)

Created: 12:47pm on 12-08-2006 Modified: 1:04pm on 12-08-2006


All of us have a life to live! This writer may inadvertently be complicating matters. But patient reader that you are, dear reader, you would realise as you go on, that I am seeking to simplify our living by asking you to meditate with me on a single thought - THERE IS NOTHING TO DO. Well, it's that simple. We are free. Free to do or not to do, with doing not impinging on our freedom. Dear reader, I believe that all our problems are in effect experienced by us by the restlessness of our mind. If we can get our mind to be restful, hey presto, all our problems shall vanish. So the question of all questions is, how do we make our mind restful? I would like to share a technique with you.All you have to do, to make your mind restful, is to talk to yourself. Well, not just in bits and pieces, which we do anyway, filled up, mostly, with fantasies. No, we have to seek, without any effort, to simply keep talking to ourself without a break. The most amazing thing is that whenever we are at it, this talking to ourself (silently, of course), we right away touch the ultimate. It is not that you talk and talk for ages and then you get some results. The moment you start talking to yourself till the moment there is a break, even if it was only a minute, you have actually touched eternity. You will before long realise that there is nothing else to do except talk to yourself (can anything be easier and more effortless?) and you would seek to talk without there ever being a break! I have called this process CONTINUUM. The key points to note are that we should speak using impeccable language. Our language should be calm and soothing. You will realise too, before long, that CONTINUUM helps you to become detached. You know that you can simply be a witness to all that is going on and be in a grandstand watching the spectacle of life. And greatest of all, your life starts becoming spontaneous.I end here not because I do not have more to write but because I think my dear reader should soak in what I have written (if he finds it sensible, of course) and favour this humble writer with a feedback. Then, we can continue.

Review By: Taarash (1) Date and Time: 07-03-07 @ 7:20am
well written

Review By: Victor Gamon (1) Date and Time: 01-19-07 @ 2:54am

I agree with what you write here with one exception, you should also detach from yourself, to view your own actions from a third perspective.

Review By: Stephan (7) Date and Time: 12-16-06 @ 9:36pm

This is an interesting soliloquy in praise of soliloquies, which alone is enough to make one think. Whereas most existential essays tend to end once the issues of freedom and epistemology are adressed, I like how this one goes on to offer a sort of westernized-zen meditation as a solution to all of this "anguish."The only real problems with it seem to be making assumptions (i.e., why are all problems in effect caused by the restlessness of the mind?) and the over-use of repetition and stale language. However, these flaws only add to the overall feel of riding someone elses train of thought, and as short as this is, I am enthralled by it. I can't wait to read more!

Difference between Hinduism and Islam

When you believe that God is separate from you, you have the relationship of Master-slave or King-subject with God. You are then only called upon to express loyalty to God and your religion begins and ends with this testimony in this sort of believe. In effect, this leads to religion ending up as an activity of aggrandizement to establish political power for one’s own religion. When you believe that you and God are one, your religion becomes a journey of meditation to realize the God within oneself. External power does not interest you.In short, if you believe that God and you are one, then your religion is an individual affair between you and God. If you believe that God and you are separate, then your religion is political in nature. This is the difference between Hinduism and, say, Islam.

I think this is ill-founded and borders on plain ignorgance, with all due respect of course. You're effectively saying that Hinduism has never been political - this is wrong, I mean, the changing of Islamic 'Bombay' to the Hindi 'Mumbai' is a very simple but relevant example. And arn't the Tamils mostly Hindi? But obviously they don't represent Hinuism. Don't judge a religion by its practicioners. Politics and earthly ambitions can infect all religions.

Dear Winston Smith, Thank you for commenting on my little paragraph about Islam being political and Hinduism not. Islam cannot function ideally unless the Government is constituted under the laws of Shariat and the constitution is the Shariat. Therefore being political is the very nature of Islam. Islam does not believe in individual salvation. Whereas Hinduism has no goal other than individual salvation (or moksha, in Hindu parlance). Hinduism teaches the individual to discover his innate divinity. In Islam, speaking of discovering our divinity is taboo. Allah is outside us and we shall meet Him only to hear the verdict of eternal fire or eternal pleasure. As Jesus said, a tree is known by its fruits and similarly, a religion is known by its practitioners. Muslims (except Sufis) are intolerant of other faiths, whereas Hindus accept all faiths as ways to divinity. This difference is due to Islam teaching its adherents to be slaves of an intolerant Allah and Hinduism teaching its adherents to discover divinity within themselves.

Thank you for the respone. I shall don my debating hat now, because I feel you have been misinformed on Islam. Islam not only tolerates other religions, it validates their existance in a way uncommon to others (I cannot speak of Hinduism). As the Prophet himself said of pagans "Respect even their gods, or they won't respect yours" and in regard to conversion "there is no compulsion in faith". The first comment I think is an amazing example of tolerance. And of course there is the Surat Al-Kafiroon ('The unbelievers') in the Qu'ran which dictates: "Say to the the unbelievers; you will never believe what I believe and I will never believe what you believe and say to you your way, and to me mine" This, I hope demonstrates to you the tolerance of Islam and most Muslims. Also, I think Islam can function fine out of Sharia - think about the ammount of Muslims that live in nations sans sharia law - these even include countries that are mostly Muslim, like Turkey. Granted Islam does not have a complete focus on individual spirituality like Hinuism, but spirituality has its place within the religion. And in fact Islam does believe in individual salvation. One is answerable to his or her own deeds alone. Because Muslims are not guarenteed paradise - they must work for it, conversely it is said by the Muhammed that there will be non-muslims who achieve paradise. Kind regards WS

Dear Winston Smith,

I am sorry for this delayed reply. Actually I read your response sometime back but I had the dreaded writer's-block. Now I feel freed from the block and am having a go at responding to your interesting comments. All the verses you've quoted indeed prove that Islam is a religion of peace and understanding. But I must point out that there are many oft-quoted verses that call upon slaying of disbelievers or promising them hell-fire. Such verses must surely be an interpolation to the peaceful spirit of Islam. Alas, there is no scope for editing the Quran. So Islam is stuck with such verses also.

About communities being well-off without the Shariat, this logic could be extended to point to communities who are well-off without the Quran itself. The point is, the Quran includes the Shariat and because it needs to be implemented upon society, it requires a 'government' for the purpose. In the absence of such a government, Quran is not implemented fully and thereby Islam is not practiced completely.

Just this much. Too much at one time would be biting more than we can chew!