Thank you so much to all participants for being part of the dialogue on Sunday 30 January. We missed some of our friends; even so, we were so delighted that we still had 20 participants. And to have participants from cities and towns all over India (Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Allahabad, Santiniketan, Kolkata, Shillong, Chennai) and also from Japan was such a nice experience. All the observations had value and I am sure that as one reflects on them in the coming days, insights and understanding beyond the word may emerge at any time.
As we mentioned, the theme was interesting and was intended to stimulate inquiry. ‘Conditioning is karma’. We had noticed the use of this term by Michael Mendizza in some notes he had sent last year. We asked Mendizza about the term he used and he sent us a few lines.
‘Any action produces an effect. The effect of prior effects is called karma. One effect, like a drop in a still pond, creates ripples, some tiny others, tsunamis. Each is related. Life is a relationship. One cannot separate conditioning from cause and effect. They are two sides of the same movement.
Psychological conditioning is about self-image. The image prevents clarity, right action and this builds up as ego. Negating ego frees the mind from prejudgments. Gathering the energy and attention wasted in prejudgments increases the energy and attention to respond fully, completely, and hopefully with empathy and compassion to the next moment or challenge.
Karma is a waste of energy. Psychological conditioning is Karma.’
The flow of discussion was so interesting and the time (all of one hour 45 minutes) passed too quickly! Some participants provided some interesting feedback.
“I could also see more people this time being very authentic about the discussion rather than merely repeating K’s teachings. That was a good aspect as many times, I see people stuck with teachings rather than experimenting or living them.”
“One request. Want to hear from Prabir da (Bengali translator) about how tough it is to translate K. It is not just language but the challenge is to keep the originality of the teachings”.
“Wonderful exploration if we all come forward and learn from each other”.
“So good to meet different people. Their varied viewpoints gave me an opportunity to watch my reactions. I liked the space given to every participant. Some spoke from previous knowledge of religious philosophy. We should try and focus on what is happening during the dialogue. We should practise giving some gap between two speakers”.
“I feel we must explore the word truth (as K expresses it) in greater depth.”
“Can we share actual life situations and crises and see how we have dealt with them in the light of K’s teachings”.
“One small suggestion. While someone is talking, others need not rush in to intervene. They should speak after the person speaking has ended.”
We are sharing with you the youtube link of the above sharing and learning, participative dialogue. The duration of the video is 52 minutes. It is a shortened version of the full dialogue.
Sirs
I have already read many of his books and again rereading those for better understanding. Please include my mail. in your list
With regards
Sirs
I have already read many of his books and rereading again for better understanding
Thanks