Invitation for Dialogue
Life is relationship. I am related one way or the other, intimately or remotely, to nature and to all human beings. The state of my physical, mental and spiritual health depends to a large extent on the quality of my relationship with nature and fellow human beings. A sane world implies a world in which there is right relationship. Right relationship means to respond accurately, which means to respond with love and care. Unfortunately human beings do not live that way. There is conflict at all levels of human relationship. Any type of conflict brings about pain, misery and sorrow. There is conflict between husband and wife, between parent and child, between one group and another. There is enormous confusion, violence, brutalities, the wars, terrorism and endless division of religion and nationality. The predicament in which human beings were caught centuries ago continues to this day.
For most of us, life as we actually live remains unexamined. For example, there is blind and mechanical pursuit of ‘progress’ and ‘success’. Achievement of power, position, prestige and status is considered the main aim of life. The struggle for personal pleasure, competition in all spheres of life and the system of reward and punishment are part and parcel of present day existence. Faith and belief in God and god men and reliance on some or the other authority are never questioned. It has been assumed that rules and regulations, imposed discipline, ideals and gospels will solve the problem. Attitudes and habits formed as a result of various influences are taken for granted.
Our problems continue because we do not see them clearly. We do not see clearly because our minds are befogged with ideas, opinions, beliefs and influences. The deteriorating situation demands that we must take a fresh look at the whole situation. Fresh look implies that the mind is free from any prejudice, conclusion or ideation. The mind must be free from self-interest and self-concern. These also distort perception. Our primary concern should be to look at the problem objectively paying attention to facts only. Seeing things as they actually are brings clarity of perception. Clarity facilitates intelligence which is the only instrument that can take us out of the mess that we have created.
We very strongly feel that throughout the world, sensitive persons must involve themselves passionately in first hand encounter with life and its problems, exposing themselves unreservedly to facts. We invite all such persons for a dialogue on each and every issue concerning life.
Art of Dialogue
A dialogue is very much different from a discussion. The participants in a discussion are usually committed to certain ideas, opinions and beliefs and they argue from their respective points of view. In a dialogue, however, the participants realize that our knowledge, beliefs and points of view divide us. They, therefore, set aside all these and explore the issues of life with a fresh and objective mind. In a dialogue the participants are not trying to convince each other of anything, rather the mind is in the state of inquiry for the love of understanding, not for a result or a conclusion. Discernment of what is true from what is false is the primary focus in a dialogue.
Religious minded people think that taking sanyasa and renouncing the world is a sure way of attaining liberation.But when one lives alone, there is no relationship with people, no reaction to any type of emotions and how does he know whether he change himself or not? Only by living in a society and interaction can one observe his reaction to a particular situation or emotion and thereby know and understand himself, which may be called self-knowledge in vedantic terms.
“Discernment of what is true from what is false is the primary focus in a dialogue.” If we discern, that is judge, we compare things and when we compare things, we need to have two things and our attention is divided into two things. Truth is not a problem as a flowing river is not a problem. The problem is the dam, the false which prevents truth from free flow. Life, as a beautiful garden or house, is by default, very clean and beautiful. It becomes bad, polluted, dirty when we throw garbage and let dirt accumulate in the garden or house. When we are in a dirty house, the dirt is important because as soon as we see the dirt and remove the dirt, as soon as we understand the cause of thinking, which is the not understanding of the situation fully so that it comes again and again, our house becomes clean, our mind removes the dam of thought and we can see the free flow of energy.
We think because we haven’t understood the situation or the thing that we are thinking. If we can sit and give some time to see what is that thought and what is that i haven’t understood. While understanding one thought, the power of observation and understanding comes out and then understanding happens for other thoughts without much effort. Anger, violence, fear,.. are are interrelated, understanding one helps to understand the other.
We can’t try to analyse the thought that we haven’t understood by thinking about it but , we have to use the observation of the present mind to look at the thought and understand it as thought it were a situation at present.
As we need to give full attention to that thought which was not understood, we need to be free of other routine tasks for that 5 minutes or 50 minutes or 5 hours, whatever is required for understanding that thought.
Correction: Second last paragraph
We can’t try to analyse the thought that we haven’t understood by thinking about it but , we have to use the observation of the present mind to look at the thought and understand it as *though* it were a situation at present.
“Discernment of what is true from what is false is the primary focus in a dialogue.” is possible when we pay attention to what is happening, the false that is happening, so well that we remove it and then the true takes place automatically. It is by paying complete attention to only false and see the danger of it as you see the danger from tiger.