Hari OM.
After our first short session on Sep 22, 2013, members of the Kindle Life study group reconvened today, inspired to be inquisitive and introspective. We started our session offering salutations to Ganesha and our Gurus. We had few new friends joining us today in our learning pursuit.
Our first discussion was on Freedom!
Given the freedom to read 9 pages from the book, Kindle Life, and reflect upon it for today's session, few of us had in fact chosen to read the words of GuruDev. Well, that is the spirit of this group! Quite Exemplary!
We talked about why Freedom is so crucial to a human being: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of expression, etc. When not given the freedom to act according to one's will, one rebels and fights for one's freedom, at any cost! We see this time and again in kids, teenagers, adults, communities and nations. Having recognized that we are free spirits, we then reflected upon the other extreme: freedom abused. We discussed the meaning of the word License, as used in this chapter, to describe freedom that is exercised without regard or concern for others, and, rules laid out for harmonious existence.
Few of us, in the shoes of parents, discussed how it is necessary to give freedom to our kids but also ensure that it does not hurt or harm them. While freedom is denied, some succumb to the authority, while others do not. Based on some of our own experiences, we reflected that when you are given the freedom to make your choices and decisions, you are committed to the decision or action and you hold yourself fully responsible for the outcome.
One of the members, read aloud the example provided in the book, an instance of overeating a sweet, which is detrimental to one's health.
Being aware of the risk and responsibility that freedom comes with, and having the discipline and self-restraint to not abuse one's freedom is the real challenge we face in our everyday lives.
Our religious textbooks, or scriptures, serve the same purpose to us: humans, as manuals supplied with a machine for its efficient use.
"Man is given the liberty, either to eke out the maximum happiness for him by following these instructions and harnessing his equipment, or to disregard them, inviting sorrow and suffering for himself." - Page# 3
With that we concluded our discussion on Freedom. The following quote summarizes this essence beautifully:
We then moved on to our next topic of discussion: Art of Right Contact.
Summarized by,
Anjana
After our first short session on Sep 22, 2013, members of the Kindle Life study group reconvened today, inspired to be inquisitive and introspective. We started our session offering salutations to Ganesha and our Gurus. We had few new friends joining us today in our learning pursuit.
Our first discussion was on Freedom!
Given the freedom to read 9 pages from the book, Kindle Life, and reflect upon it for today's session, few of us had in fact chosen to read the words of GuruDev. Well, that is the spirit of this group! Quite Exemplary!
We talked about why Freedom is so crucial to a human being: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of expression, etc. When not given the freedom to act according to one's will, one rebels and fights for one's freedom, at any cost! We see this time and again in kids, teenagers, adults, communities and nations. Having recognized that we are free spirits, we then reflected upon the other extreme: freedom abused. We discussed the meaning of the word License, as used in this chapter, to describe freedom that is exercised without regard or concern for others, and, rules laid out for harmonious existence.
Few of us, in the shoes of parents, discussed how it is necessary to give freedom to our kids but also ensure that it does not hurt or harm them. While freedom is denied, some succumb to the authority, while others do not. Based on some of our own experiences, we reflected that when you are given the freedom to make your choices and decisions, you are committed to the decision or action and you hold yourself fully responsible for the outcome.
One of the members, read aloud the example provided in the book, an instance of overeating a sweet, which is detrimental to one's health.
Being aware of the risk and responsibility that freedom comes with, and having the discipline and self-restraint to not abuse one's freedom is the real challenge we face in our everyday lives.
Our religious textbooks, or scriptures, serve the same purpose to us: humans, as manuals supplied with a machine for its efficient use.
"Man is given the liberty, either to eke out the maximum happiness for him by following these instructions and harnessing his equipment, or to disregard them, inviting sorrow and suffering for himself." - Page# 3
With that we concluded our discussion on Freedom. The following quote summarizes this essence beautifully:
Summarized by,
Anjana
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