BEHAVIOUR
Read the following passage carefully:
1 Detachment is not physically renouncing our possessions, profession, home and family as many of us think. It is the ability to let go of all the desires, habits, emotions, thoughts, speech and behaviour patterns that are negative or detrimental to our well being in any way. Detachment and discrimination are inter-dependent, they mutually strengthen each other and empower us. The more we are able to discriminate, the more we are able to segregate our harmful desires and discard them. The more mental trash we discard this way, the more we empower our faculty of discrimination.
2 There is a simple technique we can all practice to strengthen our discrimination and detachment and get rid of unnecessary desires. This will generate the awareness we need to control our senses and mind and make them stop churning out desires every moment. To practice this technique, we should select a quiet place when we have some leisure time.
3 Sit down with a few sheets of paper and pen or a computer and make two lists. In the first list, understand and write down your most important goal or agenda in this life. Then meticulously add all the other goals that you would like to achieve. While you make this list, you shouldn’t think only about yourself. Include what you would like to contribute to the welfare of your dependents, children and their forthcoming generations.
4 Once you complete this, set it aside and begin the second list. List all your desires here. They may be big or small, important or insignificant, right or wrong, demonic or divine. Just remove the lid on Pandora’s Box and allow them all to spill out freely. Don’t try to censor or edit the list of desires at this stage. Complete the list first. After you have made an exhaustive list, go over it to see which of these desires are truly necessary, conducive to your meditation, helpful and favourable to you and beneficial to others. If you have been serious and honest in doing this exercise, you will have long lists of goals and desires and many of them may be selfish or detrimental to your goal of meditation, visualisation, self-realisation, peace, happiness and bliss. This exercise will help you develop frankness and honesty with yourself. You will touch your true feelings and bring many of your hidden ambitions and desires into the open.
2.1. Read the given questions and write the answer in about 30-40 words.
1. What is detachment and what is not detachment?
2. How are attachment and discrimination linked?
3. Describe the process to be followed to strengthen discrimination?
4. How will this exercise of making lists be helpful?
2.2. Choose the word which is closest in meaning to the words given below.
(a) renouncing
(i) to give up (ii) to throw
(iii) to give (iv) to take
(b) discrimination
(i) to put aside (ii) to separate
(iii) to decide (iv) to develop
(c) technique
(i) style (ii) difficult
(iii) method (iv) good
(d) exhaustive
(i) tiring (ii) boring
(iii) simple (iv) detailed
ANSWERS:
1. Detachment is the ability to let go of desires, habits, emotions, thoughts and speeches.
2. Whereas it is not renouncing the world, its physical comforts, profession, home and family as many of us believe.
3. Detachment and discrimination are interdependent, they mutually strengthen each other and empower us. The more we discriminate the more we can segregate our negative desires and discard them.
4. The process involves taking sheets of paper and pen and make two lists. In the first sheet, one should write down one’s goals in life. Then add other goals one wishes to achieve. One should also add what one wishes to do for the family. Then make the second list with desires. Put down all big and small desires on this list.
5. This exercise will help us see the difference between desires and goals. It will help us develop frankness and honesty with ourselves. We will realise our genuine ambitions and desires.
2.2(a) (i) (b) (ii) (c) (iii) (d) (iv)
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