tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post5772507931525523229..comments2024-03-19T03:24:12.491-07:00Comments on CYBER DIARY: Ageing with Grace and Dignity: Thoughts triggered in the seminar by the Lundbeck Institutesibihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-40415938745760836642015-10-01T09:06:19.249-07:002015-10-01T09:06:19.249-07:00Thanks a lot dear Joymanik Savio for your wonderfu...Thanks a lot dear Joymanik Savio for your wonderful feedback and valuable inputs. I am glad that you have a clear perspective on the issue. Thanks for sharing.sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-44949429408623539462015-10-01T08:57:05.608-07:002015-10-01T08:57:05.608-07:00Its a very beautiful reading sir! It requires cour...Its a very beautiful reading sir! It requires courage to age with grace and dignity. A lot of younger generations like me sometimes dread at living too long for fear of loneliness, diseases and depression out of old age. For fear of living without anything else much to do post retirement. Hoewver, aftear reading your article, it makes me feel that age is not a factor to stop doing what you love. It could be developing a hobby that you have always loved but couldn't pursue during the working years. Like getting your hands to train into clicking those beautiful landscape pictures that you've always wanted but couldn't due to work pressure during the working years. And doing what you love to do in your free time is what gives us immense pleasure and energy to keep going. A lot of people nowdays end up having to love what they do. Maybe post retirement is a perfect opportunity to do what we love. And that, maybe, is what will make our years go by just like the flip of a page. Just like that. Thank you for this article. And I am definitely going to share it in my facebook wall. Joymanik Saviohttps://www.facebook.com/joyman.xavionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-38544403842403856542014-10-26T04:19:07.589-07:002014-10-26T04:19:07.589-07:00Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan: I see the greatest...Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan: I see the greatest lesson from Kathopanishad..as this . Those who fear death and bolt and hide and pray and try to cajole destiny to avoid the Yamaraja atop his black buffalo are chased and finished off with clinical precision well in time..<br />Nachiketa was an exception.. Just because he was offered as a present to Yama by his father in a fit of rage, he pursued Yama to the latter's abode, to find that Yama was on duty elsewhere.. <br />And when Yama realizes when he returns home that he has kept his noble guest waiting for three days, it is the turn of the God of death to atone for the disrespect to the young but bold boy but also to send him back to live a full life.. <br />See the irony.. the bold man with a sense of purpose and dedication could keep even the toughest taskmaster that was Yama on the defensive.. Death runs away from one who has come to offer himself to be taken by it..<br />Another lesson is that Yama was ready to offer all material wealth and comforts to the boy, but when it came to imparting of the most secretive knowledge about death, <br />Yama tried to test the boy's mettle to the full by offering all the allurements which would have trapped any normal human being , and the knowledge was imparted only when the student was found to be absolutely free from temptations and completely fit to receive the knowledge.. So at the end of the day, determination, courage and sincerity triumph..<br />sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-57619924230740406522014-10-26T04:18:02.245-07:002014-10-26T04:18:02.245-07:00Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan: Personally I do no...Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan: Personally I do not believe in death or even ageing.. Compared to the vast continuum of infinite magnitude that is time, the life of any being, be it thousand years or a few seconds, is just too trifle.. <br />Maybe some chemical rearrangement of the One who possesses infinite wisdom-- that is our lifespan..<br />The concept stands proved to my mind judged by the very fact that the living beings or organisms of varied species, as also being born in the same species, posses different levels of fitness and knowledge even at the moment they are born or are introduced to this arena by that Master..<br />The different levels could have in all probability, stemmed out of the prior existence of the being in some other form..Hindus believe in rebirth... <br />Hinduism in general would appear to subscribe to the idea of some inherited Karma, inherited intelligence etc, and also the Karma and intelligence or knowledge acquired during the lifetime.. <br />Some believe that we are given each life to live off and compensate for the bad Karmas.. or alternately good Karmas practiced by us in earlier lives.. <br />And it is something like a balancing of centripetal and centrifugal forces that is keeping the beings in the orbit of Karma, and it is also believed that the Supreme Being of Infinite wisdom can, if It pleases to do so, give us some small push, which can provide us escape velocity from this cycle..cycle of birth and death, and the orbit of Karma --unto emancipation, which we call Moksha.. <br />He is never born in reality, nor He is dying, He had no origin,<br />He is eternal.. goes on Gita describing the Atma, and in advaitam the life force inside us is nothing but that atma..or paramatma..Na jayate mriyate vaa kadaachit.naayam bhootwa bhavitaa na bhooyaH ajo nityaH saashvatoyam purano, na hanyate hanyamane shareerey..<br /><br />Sannyasam is only a state of mind.. the four Ashramas of Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa are deviced by the Lawmakers to give some orderliness to life.<br />In Mahabharatham Bheeshma's seven elder brothers were thrown away into river Ganga even as they were born to Her by Ganga herself, almost for this reason <br />Shankara could graduate to sannyasam at the age of seven, without entering the other ashrams..<br />sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-67231562197503986952014-10-26T04:16:55.084-07:002014-10-26T04:16:55.084-07:00Sibichen Mathew:
Let me reproduce Brahma Prakash...Sibichen Mathew: <br /> Let me reproduce Brahma Prakash Gaur sir's views: (quoting from his message)<br /> Dear Sibichen! As usual you have written extremely well and have raised some wonderful points. I may, however, not be the right person to give a view on ageing. From within I do not feel that I have aged. Yet, I can see my physical self being placed under limitation (a knee problem has restricted my movements). This does not bother me. At some level I do not feel that I need to achieve or acquire anything anymore. At another, I would love to expand my horizons through reading and meditation. There is a readiness to accept ageing, and its eventual culmination - death. If the angel of Death were to knock at my door this moment, I hope, I would be ready to go with him, as if leaving for a walk on the street. You have referred to Kathopanishad. It is one of my favourites. It is the story of Nachiketa, who goes to Yamaraja (the Lord of Death) for instruction into the secret of life. There is immense wisdom here. Nachiketa is investigating death. Who can be a better teacher than Yama. However, when Nachiketa reaches Yama's door, to his surprise he discovers that the Lord of Death is away and is not to be found. Nachiketa waits for 3 days before Yama appears. There is great symbolism here. The world fears death and is constantly running away from it. Those who seek higher wisdom investigate death. And, then they find that death is not real. It is just a figment of imagination. Body will wither away, when the time comes. But, there is no death ever for the spirit. So, in my own view, ageing need not be discussed, when one wishes to unlock the riddle of existence. Death must be! Because, if and when experienced consciously, death alone holds the answers to all our queries about our existence. I hope, I am not torpedoing a structured discussion that was going somewhere.Ageing is irrelevant, when we look at maturity. Maturity is an affair of the mind and soul. It has little to do with the body that is going to follow the laws of nature and wither away one day. It is the mind and soul that brings beauty to and ageing and aged body. Lots of love, Gaur<br />sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-42998417787319449262014-10-26T04:15:41.086-07:002014-10-26T04:15:41.086-07:00Comments in my Facebook page
Ananthanarayanan Vai...Comments in my Facebook page<br /><br />Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan <br />My idea was that age is nothing more than a number.. and for a man with some passion when there are no more targets and action plans to be attended whether he likes it or not,<br />Old age means freedom, coupled with knowledge fortified with experience..<br />In Gita Krishna says that for this body, childhood, youth, old age and departure from this body are all too natural and a man who is brave never get affected by it.. देहिनोस्मिनयथापार्थकौमारं यौवनं जरा तदा देहान्तरप्राप्तिः धीरःतत्र न मुह्यति <br />and Krishna again described births were akin to man just throwing away his old and faded clothes and wearing new ones.. <br />Indian tradition was always to respect age, and knowledge at old age was just a bonus..<br />So old age is full of grace and happiness, or it should be..<br />It was some thing to this effect that I posted.. Sibichen Mathew sir.<br />October 24 <br /><br />Rolee Agarwal: Sibi I love these thoughts esp Hinohara! Keep them coming!<br /><br /><br />Sibichen Mathew:You are right AnanthanarayananJi, we tend to get liberated a bit in the old age. But I am not sure whether the bonds get loosened. Till that time we don't enjoy real freedom. We are used to get attached with this world. That is why I felt that one should experience the four ashramas not chronologically but simultaneously at the right proportions (with priority as per ashramas) . In that case one would be used to all aspects of life and detachment would be easy at the later stage of life, while we give priority to Sanyasa.<br />sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-37379425977918713492014-10-26T04:13:19.658-07:002014-10-26T04:13:19.658-07:00Following are some comments posted in my Facebook ...Following are some comments posted in my Facebook page on the article:<br /><br />Ashok Shahapur The need to age gracefully, since the beginning has provided has provided a receptive audience for social scientists , psychologists , writers governments, NGOs and experts of every persuasion. There is never shortage of the experts ready to find explanations for the observed phenomena to provide solutions/advice for the improvement or 'how to' aspect of the 'issue' . Yet there are many unforeseen events/circumstances , way of ones living ,even our common sense, may some times let us down. Old age need not be sterile or uneventful as many think. You article reflects and shows how old age can be quite interesting and enjoyable : if one has enjoyable creative hobbies and pursuits and if one learns something new everyday. The problem is people seldom think or plan about living 'aging gracefully' phase. Many just live till the time to say good bye to 'life' comes . Many are of the attitude that 'let me think of crossing the bridge when i come to it .' There is a generation gap which is widening. Old persons loose their cool, sparks fly with son and daughter in law. Both the parties need to look /perceive and think from other persons point of view. With the understanding lacking in both aging gracefully is becoming difficult in many cases. The 'X' generation do not think from elders point of view and the elders from the point of view of today's youth. Whether old or young many are not open to change. The need is 'to increase the capacity to change' , though positive aspects of change may be less obvious at first than the negative one.<br />October 18 <br /><br />Shikhar Sahai A relevant and thought-provoking piece on a topical subject.<br />October 21 <br /><br />Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan I read the post and made some comment on the above.. was not approved.. hope you did not think it was worth.. Or is it some electronic glitch?<br />October 24 <br /><br />sibihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06419580767377767200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4634764830409899124.post-18359207642828622222014-10-18T15:00:22.137-07:002014-10-18T15:00:22.137-07:00Worth reading it sibichacha....good one..Worth reading it sibichacha....good one..alexnoreply@blogger.com