By Dr. B.S. Bains | OPINION |
This current Generation lives in a very superficial era. We can say that we are in an era where anything is possible especially with the advancement of technology. But the art of Living has been depreciated. Our focus, by and large, has been diverted. A majority of us end up wasting most of our time on smart phones which then causes a downward trend on physical productivity and the art of intercommunication. We share tons of things on social media platforms, most commonly as a show-off. In fact we, almost, invariably keep checking and bragging on the numbers of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ as if it were a trophy to flash around. Among these are the ‘Tiktok’ and ‘Instagram’ trends where most of the posts are meaningless and brings a negative effect on us. of which I will narrate in the following paragraphs. These ‘likes and followers’ counts means nothing to THE Actual self.
I personally profess and would like to share that we should never expose 5 SECRETS of our lives in a conversation or on platforms that are set for thousands of eyes, like social media.
Rule No.1: Never reveal How much you Earn!
What we earn is our Financial Rizak – Goodwill from the Cosmos. Remember whatever we earn in this world for a living is out of services that we provide for another mankind. It is an inter-twined relationship of providing and accepting. The outcome of this act is a reward. The reward is our “Rizak” – Livelihood. This comes to us in the form of Cash. The quantum may vary. Nature’s phenomenon plays in such a way, that the moment we start to boast about our earnings, something will go wrong and the cash vanishes away from our hands. What we earn should be within our immediate family unit only. For anyone else, the answer should always be “my earnings are just enough for my needs”. Never give your answers in figures – you will risk losing it. Many events will follow through for the money to slip away. It has something to do with Cosmic Energy. The Saints and uplifted souls know it all.
Rule No. 2: Never boast about your Spouse and Children!
Our Spouse and Children making our integral family are here not by chance. They have joined our journey by the WILL of some Cosmic Wonders. It is again “Rizak” – A Goodwill provided to us to upkeep our social interaction and Psychological wellbeing.
Today, on the media, every young family posts pictures of their children almost every day. Parents tend to keep exposing to the vast public, every small activity of their children. Many of us, in conversation, indulge speaking about our spouses, their beauty, their good behaviors, their love and care, etc.
This deliberation has its own set of negative effects, especially if it’s done over and over again. This then can affect family disharmony in terms of health and relationship. The more discrete we are about our family and our relationship the better. Spiritually uplifted people know it all.
Rule No. 3: Never Expose what we Eat
What we eat is what I call Chemical “Rizak” to keep us alive. Our body is all about chemistry. What we eat today will not mean to us much tomorrow. Because, by the second day what we had eaten would have converted into various tissues and waste product in our body. Today, we see people in large, filling up spaces on Instagram and Facebook showing what is cooked and enjoyed by the family. But do we realize “what’s all that for?”. What you eat is very divine.
The less we share of what we eat is always better. Like the saying goes for prayers being “between me and God”, similarly, food is supposed to be between you, and what you put into your mouth. You can share a recipe but avoid boasting about what is being cooked for the family. Yes, sending your daily meal’s pictures to your very nuclear family are acceptable, but not on social media.
From a metaphysics point of view, when we expose what we eat to the many eyes, the food becomes less effective in our body. It then has a reverse effect and exposes this body to possible ailment and discomfort. Holy people, never expose what they eat. They would eat in total solitude and be discrete about their food. They keep their feeding habits very simple. Holy books describe food as “What we eat and drink is divine” (Reference made in the Sri Guru Granth sahib on page 472) as it is again Cosmic “Rizak” (Goodwill for living).
Rule No. 4: Never Speak about how much you Pray or Meditate
Again this is cosmic “Rizak” (Good Will) for spiritual upliftment. The religion, to which we are belonging to, is immaterial. Prayers should be kept a secret. How much you pray and how much you travel for pilgrimage should be a secret kept close to ourselves. Prayers can sometimes open doors to meditation. To begin with, Meditation is most of the time very boring and is a tedious practice, full of self-discipline.
A majority of us tend to boast about it before achieving any sort of solace. Whenever we speak to someone boastfully about our meditation or prayers regime, the routine will somehow break the following day. We will find something diverting and distracting us from the inner voices calling us to pray. Adding on to this, we tend to lose our “Rizak” of inner peace if our prayers and meditation is aimed to be a show-off to public. The more we keep this a secret, the more we will achieve and fulfill the purpose. Those who are discrete and religiously follow through the regime will be among the few who could achieve spiritual divinity. References are made in SGGS Pg 466, advising us not to indulge in unnecessary conversation with mass public while have simple meals, not “live to eat” but “eat to live”. The spiritually elevated people know it all.
Rule No. 5: Never speak about how much you Exercise!
Exercising is also a cosmic “Rizak” for the ability to upkeep physical wellbeing. It is to keep this body healthy. Again social media is filled with posts and pictures of exercises we perform for our personal wellbeing. Here, it is more of an ego-boost. The more we expose our daily exercise regime to people, the more it will discourage us from completing the set routine. We will perpetually miss our exercise objectives the following day. It would then take a very long time before we could gather caurage to restart exercising. Keep these activities close to you and only expose if necessary to the immediate nucleus of the family. Never boast about the exercises that we do daily. Highly elevated souls will discretely do Yoga using body weight for exercises.
In conclusion, let’s begin this journey of self-love, without having to share with every single aquatinted in our lives… It is not necessary to inform the world about our personal, mental and physical growth to achieve self-care. This mass sharing does not promote further accomplishments or achievements. Where else, as mentioned earlier; it massively retards the cosmic “Rizak” towards our development.
So let’s learn to live, love and laugh within our nuclear circle without having to inform the whole world.
Dr Balwant Singh Bains is a Malaysia-based kirtan enthusiast and a practicing physiotherapist with a chain of physiotherapy clinics.
RELATED STORY:
COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS – The Four Yuggas of Life (Asia Samachar, 19 April 2020)
Cruelty on Sikh society (Asia Samachar, 21 March 2020)
Guru Nanak’s 3 basic teachings (Asia Samachar, 7 Nov 2019)
