A Wisdom Archive on long life

Years ago when I first saw Hrishikesh Mukherjee's timeless classic Anand, I was deeply affected by this line spoken by the protagonist: “ Babumoshai, zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin !”.
 
The words have lived with me ever since. They echo Oscar Wilde's words: “It doesn't matter how long, but how you live!”

 
(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Life and Death: Put Life and Death In Perspective

What is a human being’s dharma?
 
Every entity and idea has its own distinct characteristic which differentiates it from another. Water has the property of making things wet. As long as it has this property, people will call it water. Similarly, as long as fire has the property of burning things, it will be called fire. When it loses this property, it will no longer be called fire.
 
Human beings also have a dharma, which marks them as human. The corporeal body is not the limit of our consciousness.

 
(See also: Bhagavata Dharma, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Bhagavata Dharma: Limitless Pleasure - Bhagavata Dharma  

Quetzo-Cohuatl (Mex.). The serpent-god in the Mexican Scriptures and legends. His wand and other "land-marks" show him to be some great Initiate of antiquity, who received the name of "Serpent" on account of his wisdom, long life and powers. To this day the aboriginal tribes of Mexico call themselves by the names of various reptiles, animals and birds.

 
(See also: QuetzoCohuatl, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

We need to find truth, love and forgiveness even in the midst of hatred, destruction and pride. Napoleon said: "What astonishes me most in this world is the inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit". In so saying Napoleon touched upon an important principle of forgiveness. That forgiveness is creative and it springs from love. It is the ability to embrace the pain of injury to oneself, while extending one's hands in love.

 
(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Creative Forgiveness Springs from Love

On his release from prison, the great Nelson Mandela said: "Together we live in a global neighbourhood and it is not to the long-term benefit of any if there are islands of wealth in a sea of poverty. We need a globalisation of responsibility as well.
 
Above all that is the challenge of the new century." Mandela was absolutely right. The evolution of technology down the linear, reductionist path, which defines only that which is physically quantifiable, has jeopardised our eco-system, if not human civilisation.

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Greed Is a Threat to Civilisation

The recent killings in the land of the Mahatma, the apostle of peace and non- violence, raises a very serious question. Is human consciousness being governed by the tenets of a few religious texts or is it capable of transcending all barriers for the sake of universal brotherhood?
 
Christians have killed Jews. Jews and Muslims are fighting all the time. Hindus have a long history of wars going back to the time of the Mahabharata. Despite the advancement of science, people continue to fight on national, religious or racial criteria.
 

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Channel Destructive

Yod-heva, Yodh-heva, Yod-hewa, Yod-havvah (Hebrew) [from yod a Hebrew letter, the number 10, and the masculine generative power + heva from the verbal root hawah to have life, breathe, desire or long for, signifying the feminine generative power]
 
A Qabbalistic phallic term used by Blavatsky to allow theosophy to represent the androgynous aspect of the Hebrew creative deity Jehovah (Yehovah). It also in a sense represents the Tetragrammaton.
 
See also YOD

 
(See also: Yod-heva, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul )

Trishna trisna (Sanskrit) Thirst, longing; equivalent to the Pali tanha (thirst for life); the thirst or desire which draws the intermediate nature or human ego back into incarnation in earth-life.
 
"After death has released the intermediate nature, and during long ages has given to it its period of bliss and rest and psychical recuperation -- much as a quiet and reposeful night''s sleep is to the tired physical body -- then, just as a man reawakens by degrees, so does this intermediate nature or human ego by degrees recede or awaken from that state of rest and bliss called Devachan. And the seeds of thoughts, the seeds of actions which it had done in former lives, are now laid by the fabric of itself -- seeds whose natural energy is still unexpended and unexhausted -- and inhere in that inner psychical fabric, for they have nowhere else in which to inhere, since the man produced them there and they are a part of him. These seeds of former thoughts and acts, of former emotions, desires, loves, hates, yearnings, and aspirations, each one of such begins to make itself felt as an urge earthwards, towards the spheres and planes in which they are native, and where they naturally grow and expand and develop" (OG 175-6).
 
Also the fifth of the twelve nidanas; because every human faculty has its nobler aspect, trishna can likewise mean love, signifying pure devotion. The pure love and desire that a bodhisattva expresses when becoming a nirmanakaya is the spiritual aspect of trishna.

 
(See also: Trishna, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul )

The computer era has popularised the term "solution". All metros now display advertisements and posters that offer a variety of solutions.
 
The names are equally enterprising: "Ideal Solutions", "Smart Solutions", "Party Solutions", "Curtain Solutions", "Critical Solutions"... the list is long. When the question is of one's well being, a superficial solution will not work.
 
Non-apprehension of Reality is the cause for all misapprehensions. A deluded mind creates misunderstandings. One who broods over the past mars the present which is what shapes the future.

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: The Solution For Eternal Peace