21- The Reset Button

 "Those who worship ignorance enter into darkness,

and they who worship knowledge enter into greater darkness".

- Isha Upanishad ( part of Vedas )

( describes the state of mind necessary to  know god )

The reset button is a standard
button on desktop computers

I remember a time when i used to work ( play? ) on the early version of personal computers. In those days, the computer used to freeze or start behaving strangely on a regular basis.  All I had to do was press the Reset button and the computer would cease all activity and  reboot again.

Reminds me of maths tutor
laughing at maths and me.

Little did I realise the importance of the reset button in real life till my tutor  pressed the reset button in my mind with regard to Maths. I still remember the first thing that he had said to me was ' how come you find maths tough?. Its one of the easiest subjects'. He began making fun of maths and indirectly of me. I remember this cause when you hear something shocking and at the same time are made fun of, it tends to reset your mind easily...trust me!!.From that day on, I pleasantly began to find  maths to be a very enjoyable and easy subject. I guess years of listening to friends and teachers with regard to maths being tough had programmed my mind. Somebody needed to reset it.

As the years went by, the awesomeness of  resetting the mind continued to  amaze me.  I was lucky in finding friends, books and having different experiences which time to time reminded me to challenge long standing assumptions and to reset my thought patterns. I had found a way to continously improve and evolve myself by pressing the reset button. Having gained knowledge of the reset button, I felt superior and wise somehow... as I saw myself free and others as prisoners of their own thoughts patterns.

However, it was only later that I realised that the thought of thinking myself as free was another thought pattern in which  I had got stuck in. I realised this as I dwelt and read the meaning of the above mentioned verse in the upanishads ( part of vedas )

The laughing Buddha.
A symbol of happiness  or
laughing at people who
think they are wise??

The above verse basically said that all knowledge is only a memory and as such is basically a logical thought. As long as a person has a thought, he cannot experience thoughtlessness and without experiencing thoughtlessness, one cannot realise that this universe is just another dream of the mind. No knowledge can even begin to give you a hint about the true nature of your being unless and until you experience thoughtlessness for extended periods of time. Infact, according to ancient texts of India, Once a person experiences thoughtlessness through meditation, he becomes aware of all past, present and future. As such, he begins to possess all the knowledge that is ever required. In a nutshell, the ancients said that  Knowledge cannot make you know god, but by knowing god, one can have access to all knowledge.


As the explanation sunk into me, I was reminded of the statue of the laughing Buddha I had in my office which I use as a paper weight. He began to look more and more like my laughing Maths tutor..prodding me to press the reset button again...

20 - The Brief History of the World

" There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is 

a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

The seed expresses itself into a whole
tree and ultimately gives birth to a
seed again...the cycle completes.

" Where does apple come from ?"...my son asked me innocently. Initially taken aback, I hesitatingly answered "From the apple tree which grows from the seed".

I was hoping that he would not ask me the next question as to 'where does the apple seed comes from?'. That would have opened a pandora's box and I would have been left looking dumb had I said that the seed again comes from the apple. Thankfully, he just accepted my explanation and went back to doing his homework.


While he left, I began to wonder at the amazing design and history of this dream world.  The apple tree, like any other fruit tree is there for you to eat the fruit and replenish the body. All we have to do is enjoy the fruit and throw the seed on the ground and nature begins to take care of it by watering it ( rain ) and some unknown process or energy starts to grow a new tree from it to take care of our needs in future. We are left free to enjoy and have new experiences.

Initially tribes controlled regions

Unfortunately, too much 'Enjoyment', among other things, led to increase in population which resulted in fighting for the available  food supply. To solve it, people formed themselves in tribes and divided the land  and the enjoyment once again resumed.

As the 'Enjoyment' continued and the population began to further increase, food shortage again became an issue. To resolve it once again, some smart person then realised that we need to grow our own food so that we can adequately feed ourselves and continue to Enjoy.  However who would sacrifice their 'Enjoyment' time by devoting time to growing food??? To seduce people to grow food for others, money was created which promised increased 'Enjoyment' at a later time.

Once the idea that 'Enjoyment' can be bought and sold through the medium of money took root, the imaginative humans began to think of imaginative ways to buy and sell 'Enjoyment' in all its forms and thus the modern economy was born. To govern the economy, people decided to make a system and called it ' Government ' who would look after them and ensure their 'Enjoyment'.

However, as the act of growing food became separated  from the majority of the people, people started forgetting the Miracle of nature and began equating money with 'enjoyment'. As such, the entire focus of people and the government turned to  how to earn more and more money forgetting the fact the money is only a medium which was created for the benefit of the people at large.

Money only matters in this
 Age.

Now Initially, people focussed on earning money to fulfill their needs. However, as greed creeped in the human psyche,  focus shifted on borrowing money instead of only earning it. Complicated systems began to be put in place for enabling borrowing and lending. Soon however, unchecked growth of borrowing and lending led to the institutions getting bankrupt and the entire world economy collapsed  in 2008.

The people thought that the only solution to all this problem was ..u guessed it... MORE MONEY. As such, more money was printed to save the Banks and other institutions and presently all seems normal again.

But is it really normal? I mean 'normal' was what got us into the financial mess in the first place?  Everybody knows that something is wrong with the system yet nobody  knows how to change it. Maybe the answer lies with the kids and our education system? Maybe the kids should be taught more about where the apple and other fruits and vegetables comes from and how to grow them rather than just learning some tables and poems.?

If the kids are taught how to grow food, maybe then they would  realise that food is a miracle of nature and is free and that money is only a creation of man and as such unnecessary. A new age will begin and then maybe one day.. a child would ask his father as to what is money and where did it come from...:)

Links

1. British Town grows own food - reduces crime and improves community relations.
2. This woman is living her life without money for 16+ years now.