SimplyJITH Blog

Today, I wish to speak on a topic which is often discussed…and yet there is much left unsaid and for us to learn…Love.

I have always believed emotions are very powerful and it is beyond human capacity to truly describe  them. With this said, I wish to make a humble attempt to speak of love… Love is an emotion….emotion that shall bring value to our existence…emotion, thought of which gives us the strength to seek beyond what is humanly possible.Thoughts that will never seize to bring a smile on our faces…an emotion, essential to grow with, live on and to rest in peace…love…

Today, I wish to tell an untold story…a story that had everything but time, time to allow love to blossom into its full strength…a story, about the perfect love we all seek, the imperfect love we all live with…a story, with emotions that must be kept in cages, forever now…a story, full of hope, but tethered down…a story, dignity and love do not blend well, nor do they continue long together…a story, with fears that are gathered in the darkest corners, unspoken and hidden away forever…

– Abhijith Jayanthi

 P.S. : This is the prologue for my book with the same title (not yet published). This work has taken a long time (from being just a draft)….7 Months. Emotions occupy a special space in my heart…so does this post.

It is indeed an honor and a privilege to stand before you today. I am asked to talk on ‘How non-Islamic youth see Islam and its influence on the present day world ?’  Before I proceed to share with you, the influence of Islam to provide the rationale for individual and social behavioral patterns in the present day world, I wish to draw your attention to an important, and rather unnoticed aspect of our life… the divide between all external factors including society (you) and you as a person, your consciousness (me)….

One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, in one of his works said, and I quote; “If all the words were joined together, they wouldn’t make sense, or, at the very least, they’d be extremely hard to decipher. The spaces are crucial” It is important that one understands the space between the social setup we have all put together for ourselves and the true and innocent consciousness of our own. In living our lives, we are always through a constant struggle to learn, understand and live by various rules of society. In our attempt to be an acceptable social being, we never really explored the basis for all these so called rules. Sea  happens to be a collection of drops of water, and is nothing if we try to see it without understanding the value of  every individual drop. Similarly, society is a set of people.. a set of individuals like us. When we see society as a collection of such individuals, we start to recognize that all the social patterns are nothing but opinion of various individuals…To understand and respect the power or the consciousness of a society…we need to understand and respect the individuality of every being. 

The belief that each and everyone of us are an essential part and a manifestation of the universal light (Allah – may His name be praised) is seen through the five pillars of  Islam. The first of the five, speak of how Allah – may His name be praised has chosen  Prophet Muhammad to lead others to understand the beauty around them. The second, speaks of recognizing the power of collective worship..to understand that each and everyone of us are a part of the Universal light and respecting everyone’s role in the act of worship is recognizing the marvels of Universal Light (Allah – may His name be praised). The act of charity and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan speak of our respect for each other…to understand that each and everyone  of us are here with a purpose and that we all are manifestations of the Universal Light…it becomes important for us to consider and understand the various aspects of life…to truly understand how we are spaced in our lives…and to respect in complete honesty …dignity and individuality of everything around us. The act of pilgrimage speaks of our acceptance of Universal Light (Allah – may His name be praised) as the sole authority and that this society…a set of individuals who are a part of the Universal Light and that their opinion (rules of society) are all in a way…acts of guiding us by Universal Light (Allah – may His name be praised)

 

Friends, no lamp is lit in order to hide it behind the door….each and everyone here is a manifestation of the divine light …with a purpose, to reveal the beauty, happiness and joy around. I invite you to explore this thought, understand your purpose and lead others…Let there be light!

Eid Mubarak!

I have been a firm believer that status quo is not a pleasant option and that dialogue helps us find a solution. In regard to any issue, my primary approach was always to establish dialogue and understand the objectives of both the parties involved. It is important that we initiate a dialogue and arrive at a consensus.

Friends, from my experiences…I have understood, to initiate a dialogue will show a sign of weakness and people do not seem to respect your interest to seek a possible solution, but you might well be subjected to false accusations. and any ensuing dialogue…your attempt to bring out the reality will be seen as an attempt to

It is even tougher when you wish to initiate a dialogue with parties that believe in double standards…different rules for self and others. The dialogue will always leave you with a taste of grief. It is always a tough choice to make..whether to  initiate a dialogue with a possibility that you might lose your respect (be falsely accused or seen as a sign of weakness) or do nothing and live in pain….

 

Please Note: This is an open letter dedicated to all Lousy Souls…The letter has enough suggestive description, if you are wondering who is such a soul… If you happen to know any lousy soul, do not allow them to miss this dedicated letter of mine….

Only if you could have told me about things honestly (I understand you do not have the habit of speaking the truth ever and nothing about you is true)… things would have been just the same as they are now… but more at  peace and I would have not felt as being used at least…

I am not writing this letter  to vent my emotions, threaten you or to ask you to consider anything. I feel it was not your fault..but mine.. I lost sight of reality and the real you…and when I think of it…it definitely was not worth my struggle… For you as a person, I have nothing against you now…let god alone judge you…

For the stories you have told me, I understand they have no significance anymore but even then … I am not really sure if any of them is indeed true… but I understand my story was painfully true and I am put through it for a reason… and you happen to be a mere instrument to make me learn something…

I want to thank you for it…I am not really sure if you will read this letter ever….but even if you do…you will never change from being a lousy soul… will you?

peace..
abhijith

I wish to call this phase of my life as “Cleansing Self” . Anecdotes often influence the decisions we make in life. Today, I happen to read the commentaries by Adi Sankaracharya (an Indian Philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta) According to legend, while on his way to the Vishwanath Temple, Sankara came upon an untouchable (people who were traditionally regarded as low caste in those days) accompanied by four dogs. When asked to move aside by Shankara’s disciples, the untouchable replied: “Do you wish that I move my ever lasting Self (Soul) or this body made of flesh?” 

This incident made Shankara realize the meaning of life. He went on to write a commentary on Arishadvarga — the six passions of mind (desires),  which are kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (pride) and matsarya (jealousy), the negative characteristics which prevent man from realizing his destiny. Lust and anger are responsible for all kinds of difficult experiences which we have in our lives.With the false ego up and active, all our acting in the world becomes selfish and evil. Hence there is no other factor causing the illusory duality and the repeated pain and delusion it entails than the psychological ego-sense. When the materially identified ego has sided with the materialistic forces of creation, it is said to showcase evil passions, man’s spiritual heritage constantly gets looted by these internal influences (and their numerous variations), causing him to lose knowledge of his true self.  

I have come to understand more about what I am as a person, and where I stand at present. Since past few years, situations and events in my life transformed me from being a purer soul to someone I don’t identify myself with. I have had people in my life who have taken advantage of me and my emotions. I have myself to blame, for I was weak and factors of trust, doubt, hatred, anger, pride, jealousy and delusion controlled my emotions, thoughts and hence my decisions. All these negative emotions have made me weak as a person, susceptible to others. Through this years, I always thought why others were behaving the way they did and I was trying to correct them. This resulted in a lot of negative thoughts being build up within me which include frustration, sympathy for self, helplessness, rejection of self. I was not able to forgive others, holding them responsible for the actions. 

I now realize that I was wrong. It is not for them to change, but that I need to change. I have allowed myself to be used, abused (mentally and emotionally) because I was driven by the thoughts of deceit, hatred, self pity and no self dignity. I have given away my power and allowed others to destroy my entity because of these negative thoughts. 

I wish to learn from my experiences….But, before I proceed, it is important that I make a conscious attempt to forgive those, who have had the opportunity to hurt me.  I realize that it is not their fault but mine. I understand from what I learnt, I do not wish to hold anyone else responsible, I wish to take responsibility for my actions and my life. I want to work on growing over my negative influences and seek purity of thought. 

Friends…wish me luck!

When do we decide it is about time to seek change? Before we get there, we should probably be discussing the issue of reality. Only when we understand what reality is, we can do justice in regard what needs to change. Friends, what is reality? It is important to understand that what we see/hear is not reality…fools and fanatics are always certain of themselves/ their beliefs, but wiser people question what is presented to them and then evaluate. I invite you to take part in this social experiment…evaluate people/issues in your life to understand this idea.

Let me elaborate further, before you proceed to understand people in your life…it is important to notice how the factor of trust is intertwined with respect for our own mental faculties. We tend to create a bubble of comfort around every relationship in our lives. We tend to believe in…trust the other person… respect what is told to us on its face value and believe that it is true…or strictly avoid a certain person depending on the kind of bubble we have created for our relationship with that person…There will be instances when people whom you had faith in…give you enough reasons…not to trust them anymore…thus, breaking the bubble…Now, please look into your own lives and evaluate your bubbles of comfort with people around you…people who matter to you….

Do you find every bubble is what it is truly worth ? I appreciate your faculties of judgment…Do you find few bubbles have a scar or two …and then you wish to work on them ..to restore them, back to normal?  Are you responsible for the scar ? Are you willing to change? It is possible…and this is the change you need to seek… If you are not responsible for the scar…are you ready to forgive? This is the change you need to seek…All the Best…

Did few bubbles get burst? Did someone repeatedly puncture your bubble of trust ? This is not reason enough to be harsh on your own self and question your faculties of judgment…it is an indication to let go…this is the change you need seek…Intelligent people learn from their mistakes…never to do it again…and  last but not the least…if you happen to be someone who can never be trusted , you have  lived a life of deceit hurting others and your attitude is beyond repair…then it is time you do some serious introspection…this is the change you need to seek …and I invite you to read one of my other posts here which might be of some help to understand my reasons to a possible question of why you need to change?

All the Best!