Do You Ask It Right, Santosh Jha [best reads .txt] 📗

of squandering the precious resources and wealth we have; we always leave it for others to be wise and honest with good and right. Individually; we all believe in and dexterously practice the ingenious artistry of ‘pragmatism of reality’ and hang a costly and adorable portrait of ‘Idealism’ on the walls of our homes. We love to do good business with Devil and pray God; never missing a visit to holy shrines and reserving a brilliantly decorated space for God in home. Most questions and answers of humanity are no Causalities; they are rather consequences of scammed consciousnesses of humanity. This is also the most prolific business! As they say; money begets moneys; probably similarly; business begets businesses. Wastefulness begets resourcefulness for more squandering. Business begets businesses. It is good and right sense! A very common; common sense!

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Optimism, without logical and objective foundation of factuality, is not only flawed; it is dangerous. Pessimism, well investigated with highest benchmarks of veracity of actual pervasiveness of reality, is not undesirable. It may rather be preferred positioning and choice. Somehow, as experience with life-living tells us, very often, in many people, optimism comes not as natural actualization of reality; rather a culturally induced, subconsciously constructed façade to ward off the consistent feel of pessimistic situations. It is more or less like – Nobody wants to be poor and pessimistic, as they do not make good purchase in societal-cultural supermarkets. Somehow, as the human mind consciousness has evolved over millions of years; Denial and Deception comes natural and as first choice to most people, as they are easier than bracing up and standing tall to actuality of reality. Reality; in its objectivity, can be too brutal for easy acceptance.

Culture and its populist benchmarks of righteousness and appropriateness are very powerful and deeply rooted realities for an average person’s mind consciousness to negate and go against. But then; it is probably the most appropriate and righteous thing to doubt, logically investigate and objectively analyze every speck of an installed reality, before its acceptance and subsequent transcription into thoughts, actions and behaviors. Anyways, we all know, reality for us is always contextual to a specific situation. Gold and diamond have worth not because of their chemical composition! You may not like them to be served in silver plates for your hard-earned lunch! Even if the whole world tells you to be Optimistic about reality of lunch!

Why we are talking about all this? We are doing this to bring home a very simple and easy to be accepted reality that two factors are very critical to the wellness of our life-living and we seldom think a good deal about them. We talk about them, within a certain context, to arrive at a possibility, which may prove game changer for us. We are talking about the twin factors of – Culturally Embossed Subconscious Acceptance of Reality and Willful Denial of Testing its Veracity-Validity. We also then talk about how altering the situation and positioning of these twin factors, with our conscious awareness can usher in major paradigm shift in our wellness and success. Why?

There has to be honest, amiable, hearty but logically simple and straightforward deliberations about our contemporary life-living situation. If and only if we accept with full force of objective investigation about our current reality; then only we can talk of what is required to better things. If we accept that everything is fine and perfect, there is then no need for a change and enterprise. Rather, all endeavors may have to be focused on maintaining the perfection of contemporaneousness of life-living. However, if we accept; there is something fundamentally and intrinsically wrong and bad in our contemporary life-living and the ‘Presentness’ of the ambient milieus; we definitively shall need to talk about change and an alternative out of the contemporaneousness. In fact, even if things are good and right; there is always this lurking potential for better and greater.

This seed-talk about the core idea of optimism and pessimism is aimed at it. We need to be definitive about the actual and truly real situation and position of our contemporaneousness. It alone shall decide what we need to do. Therefore, primary investigation is about actuality of the basis or grassroots foundation of the realities of Optimism and Pessimism. We shall come back to it, later in our journey.

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There is an old wisdom, which is reflected in a question of a unique nature. It asks, ‘Which side of the question you are?’ As you know it well, since over 3000 years back, ancient Oriental philosophy and spiritualism insisted that one must be very aware about the question he or she has in mind or asks. It was warned that if you do not have your question right, you may never find the right answer. Contemporary science also insists that reality may very well be ‘contextual’ to how and which way you formulate your question about a possible reality. That is probably why it is of very critical importance that you know your questions right and also position yourself vis-à-vis the question in a way, which serves your needs right.

Now, what we may ask, in our current deliberations, is a seemingly innocuous question; yet of huge potential – ‘Why do we all like stories?’ Since childhood we love a good story and lifelong, we have a keen interest in stories. Why? In fact, we may not even consciously remember it, but almost every day, in our routine life-living, as we encounter different realities and incidents, we are always curious and ask ourselves, ‘What’s going on? What’s the story behind it?

So, the valid and probable question is – Why do we all love stories; especially a good one? Somehow, it is great to have a good question but as we talked above, it is far more crucial to ascertain, which side of the question we are! Naturally; the supplementary or associational question is, ‘What does it mean to be on a ‘side’ of a question and how to decide, which side of the question is best to be?’ It is very right and appropriate progression of logicality and objectivity. Knowing is at the core of all wellness. Ignorance can be huge bliss; but only in the short run! So, we must know…

This is what we are intending here, in these pages, as you journey along. Journeying is witnessing but also doubting and investigating. You are journeying information landscapes, which essentially is a part of you too. Therefore, you are journeying your own landscape. The good thing about journeying is to first witness, observe, absorb and imbibe. If there is a novelty; if there is something different than what you are used to; it is worth witnessing and imbibing. If there is known and usual; still, you need to absorb how differently or alternatively they are placed in the landscape you are journeying.

Novelty is not only in reality but also in its positioning and alignment with new and alternative dimensions. You need to witness and absorb it all. We shall also examine and investigate; as you stay with the journeying. Often, journeying is beset with one usual trouble and that is; instinctively, when we are on a journey, we insist to see as many new things as possible in shortest possible time. Journeying is not only seeing and witnessing. It is only one part. Journeying in its entirety and holism also includes ‘enjoying’ whatever is being witnessed and then, later on absorbing and imbibing the details on every witnessed novelty of reality. As you journey the current landscape in these pages, you are currently witnessing. Enjoy it! Later, we shall come back to the witnessed things and imbibe its details.

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There is a very powerful message in ancient Oriental philosophy and spiritualism, which sort of warns humanity in general. It says, ‘Those who dump the certain to embrace the uncertain, shall end up losing the definite; the precarious is anyway lost.’ The piece of philosophical hypothesis wants to convey that life-living enterprise and its energy must always be invested in attainment of certain, definite and something that lasts. The trouble however, is not only that of the interpretation of the word certain and uncertain but also the fact that when life itself is neither certain nor a ‘lasting’ reality, what must then be construed as certain and lasting purpose? When everything is so fragile, precarious and nothing seems lasting forever, how can definitiveness and permanency be accepted as benchmarks of life-living righteousness? So, what is the right and true benchmark for good and right life-living purpose?

Another aspect of reality, which comes out of the above deliberation, is; what we can accept as methods and techniques to weed out uncertainties from our life-living and seed up elements of definitiveness and permanency to enhance the quantum of certainty in as many domains of life-living as possible? It somehow seems a reasonable inquisition; given that life is precarious and short, therefore it is always good and right to invest ourselves in those elements of reality, which instill and install some sort of certainty and permanency in overall situation of precariousness.

Finally, the larger picture that emerges from this all is the hypothesis that an overall physical and psychological ambience of settled and poised elements of life-living is primary and basic requisite, as it alone can catalyze whatever purposes or choices one may like to pursue in life. Even if someone finds thrill, joy and utility in embracing something uncertain and ephemeral in his or her life, the outcomes can be optimized only when he or she has larger poise and settled physical as well as mental landscape of mind and external milieus.

We all know of the term Homeostasis. Homeostasis is a body-mind process, subconsciously handled by brain states to ensure that the internal milieu is consistently in equilibrium and settled poise. The body has to maintain optimal Homeostasis for sound health and optimal body-mind performances. Also; we all know our metabolism and mind milieu need a certain and specific rhythm for optimum functionality. If both go haywire, we all land in huge troubles.

Therefore, it seems, certainty or definitiveness can be interpreted in a way, which is essentially the holism of the meaning of the word or term. It seems; as the progression of our step-by-step logical journey suggests; richness, brilliance and worthiness is in holism of a reality; even when at the face value, or only a ‘part’ of it may seem offending and precarious.

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There is an interesting, yet very provocative proposition, which is offered to ascertain something, which is supposed to be deeply embedded and entrenched in mind consciousness as well as in life-living. The supposition is – What would you do, if you are left all alone on earth; with no humans and nothing humanly created, which you so unconsciously accept as essential and inevitable part and parcel of your contemporary life-living? There is vast stretch of land, trees, birds, animals; rivers, mountains, everything accruing naturally but nothing man made and of course no human. What would you do? How would you react? And ultimately, ‘How would you not only survive but live happily?

Somehow, someone can ask very innocently, ‘Why these questions? What is the need for such complicated and perplexing questions? What if I do not ask them, find no answers and still live happily, enjoying whatever life offers me?’ It is of course a valid assertion. One can say; we probably do not need such questions. Life-living can still be good and happy if we remain with our normal and routine questions and invest ourselves finding the straightforward and normal answers. We have these customary questions – What are you doing this weekend? What you want to do after your graduation? Do you still love me? What the hell is going on? Who do you think you are? Is everything right with our neighbors? What do my dreams