SAIEN

Teaching has over the years been written off as a profession adopted only by the rejects of the corporate world, the so-called “failures” in life. It is not surprising then that seven years ago, when I stepped out of Thadomal Sahani Engineering College with a B. E. (Biomedical) degree and chose to teach mathematics and science at the middle school level, many clucked their tongues sympathetically. Over the years, I have come to esteem teaching as one of the most high-risk professions entailing a great deal of responsibility. High risk because it is not just money with its erratic ebb and flow that is at stake, but vulnerable little lives that are entrusted to our care. As a teacher, I have come to understand what a tremendous responsibility lies on my shoulders, the moment I step into a class. To those forty pairs of eyes looking up at me, I am a demi-God and they will take every word I say literally without questioning it at all. Not only my words, even my facial expressions and gesti...

A central key to attaining peace lies in achieving the poise of non-attachment. Non-attachment is sometimes confused with avoidance of action, or some kind of renunciation. But non-attachment can develop even among those who are active in the world. King Janaka was known as being non-attached while still ruling a kingdom and living amidst the luxuries that were part of his position. Buddha achieved non-attachment through overcoming the force of desire. Non-attachment is an underlying basis for refocusing the concentration of the being on the Eternal. Energy flows where it is directed. If we are attached to the life in the world, then our entire focus goes towards achieving what is considered to be success in the world, whether through development of family, wealth, fame, or other emoluments. When we determine to refocus the energy towards the Divine, or towards the principle of peace, then we set up an energetic relationship with those objects and thus can achieve the result of that co...

Silence – a state of being in quietude, calmness or stillness in solitude. This silence has two manifestations, one at the superficial level and the second at the level of the inner self. Let’s see a few instances of the state of silence at the superficial level. A man in total confusion in life, things not happening as per his wishes, is depressed and dejected, sits in silence. His mind is filled with negative thoughts of losing everything in life. A student in exam hall, upon seeing the question paper goes blank, feels he has forgotten everything, he is going to fail in exam and sits in total silence!! This is the silence at the level of the intellect. A person having problems at the job front, on the verge of losing or not getting promoted is downhearted and a fear grips his emotions as to how he will run his family. A still silence engulfs him. Bereavement of close family or friend or rift in family ties leading to separation and divorce is an important cause leading a man to utter...

Sri Aurobindo wrote: "I don’t know whether dwelling on the defects and weaknesses is very wholesome. To know that they are there is one thing, to keep them always before the eye may be depressing and retard the progress." Yet we have been told over and over by both Mother and Sri Aurobindo that it is absolutely necessary to be aware of our defects. How do we balance this with what Sri Aurobindo wrote above? One of my favorite writings from the Mother, from "Words of Long Ago”, speaks of the need for a LIFELONG effort to balance consecration with becoming conscious of one's defects. There's also a statement in  Bases of Yoga  where Sri Aurobindo writes to a disciple, it's not enough to have a general sense of your defects; you need have a precise detailed knowledge. And of course, there's that absolutely wonderful list of all our stupidities: "rejection of the movements of the lower nature ― rejection of the mind‘s ideas, opinions, preferences, habits...