LIGHT OF EDUCATION IS LIGHT OF GOD

Our virgin and stable thoughts bring to our life everything that we want. Our sublime thoughts, passion, vision, and exertion are the creators of our fate. The great Yogi Swami Sivananda wrote: “You are the architect of your own fate. You are the master of your own destiny.” The same message is echoed in the lines of William Ernest Henley in his famous poem INVICTUS: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” All the seers and prophets opined that we become what we think. The higher we aim, the greater is our achievement. Lord Buddha aimed at the highest and rose to the highest. Barack Obama, the former President of the USA wrote in his essay on The Aim of Life when he was in Kindergarten (Nursery School) that he wanted to become the President of the USA. He wrote the same thought and passion on the same essay topic when he was in Govt. Primary School. He retained the consistency and stability of his focus and worked accordingly throughout his career and succeeded despite hurdles. When King Solomon was asked by God in his dream what gift he wished to get from God, resisting his temptation for material gifts, he asked for and wisdom whereby he became the wisest and richest king of the world. Lord Buddha said: “Health and wisdom are the greatest wealth.” The legendary woman, Savitri, by virtue or her self-exertion and persistency brought back her dead husband to life.

Our history is replete with such examples from which we learn that one can get anything one wants or can become what one wants. So we should be very careful to make our thoughts and choices of life because they are sure to manifest in our life one day. So higher the aim, the better it is. Anybody and everybody can become a Buddha or a Mahatma. Ratnakar, a highwayman, could soar to become Sage Balmiki, the composer of the great Indian epic, The Ramayana. As one aims and believes in oneself, so he becomes.

Ecstasy of  the glory of pristine nature in Bhutan

Now let me relate some of the small happenings of my life that have testified the above truth. The day before yesterday the thought of my Bhutanese schools where I had worked came to mind and the people of my association in the kingdom. I shared with my wife:  “May be time is not very far when by sitting at our Indian home we will be able to see our schools, homes, friends and students of Bhutan. What a strange coincidence! Being a newly born technology fan and guided by my intuition the next day I made a search in the YouTube for my reformatory centres, the Bhutanese schools, and within seconds I was dazzled by the views of the schools in remote, semi urban and urban Bhutan and the lively images of many of my friends and students. I exploded with joy and excitement and called my wife to watch the heavenly views, and for the entire day we savoured the bliss of our homes away home. I experienced our thoughts and desires sometimes translate into reality instantly and sometimes it takes time. Greater desires needs greater exertion and longer time but sure to manifest into reality.

I have been technophobe till recently. I was at zero in technology though the Royal Government of Bhutan offered ample time and opportunities to learn the skills, and it is because I was negative towards technology. But after my repatriation to India, I have realized the profound need and importance of technology in modern world. I decided to pay and learn the skills from an institute. But last June suddenly I became confined to bed for more than a month due to some illness but my mind and will power burned to explore and learn something new every day. By my intuitive guidance I grabbed the YouTube application with the help of my son and started exploring my new world. I became awestruck by the treasures deposited in the ocean of You Tube and now I am a new man, younger in spirit and zeal.  I am exploring wonders of human creation daily. Passion for learning new things does wonder in our life. This is the principle or law of attraction for our success in every arena of our life.

 Here is another event. For my love and attachment to the Himalayan kingdom Bhutan, last 21 February, birthday of the King of Bhutan, I celebrated as an auspicious day, and in the following April I was invited to Bhutan as a royal guest along with another forty nine Indian teachers to the celebration of historic Teachers’ Day and 50^th Anniversary of Indo-Bhutan Friendship. We rise where our mind rise and vice-versa.

Right from my childhood I have adored women as symbols of sublimity. My mother was my dearest and nearest, and best friend of me. Her smile used to be my rising sun; and tears, my tempests. I always revolted when I had seen a man disgracing a woman in any manner. In 1997 at Nangkor Girls’ hostel, Bhutan, I attempted to lynch a man when he had cast an evil eye on one of our girl students. However I was cooled by my wise headmaster, Mr. Sonam Wangyel and my friend, Mr. Pem Kinley. My thoughts and attitude towards women led me to the responsibility of looking after the Girls’ Hostel at Nangkor H.S. School, Pemagatshel, Bhutan, for more than a decade.

I was a dreamer about my late father’s royal life at the old age, and it did splendidly materialize, and have been dreaming about my wife and son and visualizing their strengths and traits whose translation I can see in their characters and personality. Yes, we can change anything and bring about any positive things simply by our lofty and virgin thoughts. Edington once flatly stated his belief as a physicist that “the stuff of the world is mind stuff.”

In 1997 & 1998 Mr. Sonam Wangyel was my headmaster at Nangkor Jr. High School, Pemegatshel, Bhutan. I felt amazed by the spell of his magnetic personality. Right from the first day of our encounter I found a Dzongda (DM) in him. On the chair of his office at the school I always visualized him as a Dzongda (District Magistrate) and the school office though small, to me, it appeared a Dzongda’s chamber at a Dzong,( District Administration Office) in Bhutan. Accordingly, I shared my thoughts, passion and excitements with my wife and colleagues and friends. My dream about him translated into reality in 2012. In recognition of his multi-faceted traits and talents, he has been promoted to the prestigious post of a Dzongda. Now he is the Dasho Dzongda of Samtse Dzongkhg, Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. I too have been immensely benefitted by his high thought vibration about me and my family and his good will radiation what Norman Vincent Peale term as flash prayer. To his eyes, I was one of the finest teachers, and marvellously in response to his thought vibration I was placed in a noble seat of a guest of honour at the historic Teachers” Day Celebration – 2018, in Bhutan. Beside Dasho Sonam Wangyel, my life has been greatly transformed by the beautiful thought waves of many of my students and friends of Bhutan and India. This is the principle of Law of Attraction as well as Quantum Physics which is known to be the greatest invention of the twentieth century.

 I have been passionate about Yoga since my early childhood though I was born in a non-yogic family culture and did not get a reliable yoga teacher till I went to the remote helmet of Bhutan, Tsebar, Pemagatshel. In the library of Tsebar Primary School through the pages of some Indian magazines my internationally renowned Yoga teacher, late Yogiraj Dr. B.K.S. Iyengar, MICHELANGELO of Yoga, appeared to me. I was blessed to receive yoga training from him at his Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India. My Yoga fire is burning with more effulgent as by virtue of my age and maturity I am loving it more. I realized the truth of the saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” We need burning passion for our positive desire to be into reality.

From my above experiences, and learning from the scriptures and different psychology books I have developed a firm belief that we can gain health, wealth, wisdom or anything else simply by making ourselves ready for that. There is no barrier in the path of our achievement. Barriers are created by lack of focus, our doubts, habits, instability of thought, lack of persistence, alibis, cold feet and many other infirmities. Swami Sivananda wrote: “Overcome tomorrow’s evil by today’s self-exertion. Destroy unholy desires through holy desires. Slay unholy thoughts by holy thoughts and gain victory over your destiny. Do not yield to fatalism.”

We can remake ourselves by sublimating our goal, thoughts, habits and overall personality regardless of our age, gender, past life and narrow domestic walls. Dreamers never become old. As they chronologically grow old, they grow younger in their spirit by virtue of their greater dream and wisdom of age. King Solomon’s life proved wisdom is the greatest wealth. And usually it blossoms in the dreamers in old age. Harry Emerson wrote: It is magnificent to grow old if one keeps young. People like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.K.S. Iyengar, the Michelangelo of Yoga, towered in their performance in old age. Michelangelo was still producing master pieces at eighty nine. Robert Browning in his inspiring poem ‘Rabi ben Ezra’ writes: “Grow old with me/ The best is yet to be.......” Swami Yogananda Baba of Rishikesh, India, is still super active in his Yoga practices at his age of 105 years.

Glories of life unfold during the old age when we are rich in wisdom.  And it comes only when we sublimate and consecrate ourselves with lofty thoughts, imagination, feelings, affirmations, actions, visualization, etc., and make ourselves a vessel of virtues. For this, old age is the best time when one becomes one’s own master, when we are free from all kinds of man-made prisons and when the senses cannot drag the mind towards evils. We must prepare the OASIS of old age by taking care of our health and life for bathing in elixir of old age.

 By mastering the following virtues Bejamin Franklin sublimated his personality and emerged into a super human being:

1.       TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2.       SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3.       ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4.       RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5.       FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6.       INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7.       SINCCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8.       JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9.       MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10.   CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

11.   TRANQUILITY. Be not disturbed at triffles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12.   CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13.   HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus or Socrates.

We need to preserve our health and vitality, and protect the body from all kinds of vices and abuses through promoting our habits and character, for an awesome life is waiting for each of us at our ripe age which is far superior to our raw age. Paramahansa Yogananda wrote: “Man’s body is precious. It has the highest evolutionary value because of the unique brain and the spinal centres.” Whatever may be our age, health or body condition, we can always rebuild it through transforming our attitude, reconditioning our mindset and sublimating our habits and thoughts. We must imagine health, visualize health, walk health, talk health, affirm health, act health, hear health, practice health; and banish the thoughts, talk, expression and behaviour of illness even if they are true and thus we can reconstitute our body. As we believe so is our Biology.

Some more quotes in support of the above philosophy - Yogananda: “...Imagination is the door through which disease as well as healing enters. Disbelief in the reality of sickness even when you are ill; an unrecognized visitor will flee!” Dr. Deepak Chopra: “...The successful patients have learned to motivate their own healing, and the most successful have gone much further than that.  They have found the secret of Quantum Healing. They are the geniuses of body mind connection.” Dr. Joseph Murphy: It is foolish to believe in sickness or in anything that will hurt or harm you. Believe in perfect health, prosperity, peace, wealth, and divine guidance.” Henry David Thoreau: “Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates his fate..... If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

The principles outlined above apply to success in every field of life. Law of attraction is the law of the Universe.

So, howsoever rags or riches we are, ignoring and rising from the trifling and degrading matters of day to day life let us focus on the noblest, envision the healthiest, imagine the highest, visualize the highest, affirm the strongest, speak the holiest, strive the most, read and write the noblest, behave the finest, cultivate the noblest habits, sublimate character to the highest, love the highest best and most, and thereby we are sure to create our highest place as the great ones like Lord Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Sivananda, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobinda, Henery David Thoreau, Dr. BKS Iyengar, Swami Yogananda Baba and many others have created theirs. GOD LOVES GOD AND GOD ATTRACTS GOD. Swami Vivekananda said, “The goal of every human being should be to become ‘god’ himself, then help others to become ‘god’.

Written by: Santosh Chowdhury

Ex-teacher, Royal Govt. Of Bhutan