14 nov – reflection questions i. two motivations - vedanta … · 2019. 11. 15. · vedanta...

14 Nov – Reflection Questions

i. Two MotivationsThe world of objects & beings has no joy in it per se. What would we observe if this were untrue?

ii. AttachmentWhat is indiscriminate thought? How does it relate to attachment?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.4 – The Two MoTivaTions

• Two broad classifications of desire• Acquisition• Enjoyment

• Natural tendency of the mind• No A&E is taboo per se

• The problem is not A&E per se, but ???


Ch.4 – Managing The Two MoTivaTions

• The problem is not A&E per se, but ungoverned desire

• Solution = Developing a state of general objectivity • Intellect governing mind

• Objectivity comes through knowledge:• Insatiable nature of desire• There is no joy in the world


Ch.4 – Managing The Two MoTivaTions

• Knowledge can also be practised

• Self-questioning to reframe our relationship with the world• What am I trying to acquire?• What do I want to enjoy?• What am I pursuing? Why is it worthwhile?

• Analogy: Compare to financial resources


“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true

education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives

upon which to concentrate.”M.L. King, Jr. (1947).

The Purpose of Education. Maroon Tiger


Ch.4 – Desire is insaTiable

• No acquisition can satisfy – the mind craves more• A “constant enemy of the wise ... as insatiable fire” (Gita, III.39)

• Involvement → Agitation, frustration, loss of joy• Hedonic adaptation• Social comparison• E.g. Wealth Fatigue Syndrome


Miserable? Bored? You Must Be Rich

According to therapists, being a super-millionaire is a sure-fire recipe for unhappiness. Helen Kirwan-Taylor investigates Wealth Fatigue Syndrome.

Helen Kirwan-Taylor 13 Nov 2007


Miserable? Bored? You Must Be Rich

According to therapists, being a super-millionaire is a sure-fire recipe for unhappiness. Helen Kirwan-Taylor investigates Wealth Fatigue Syndrome.

What’s fundamentally incorrect about these statements?

Helen Kirwan-Taylor 13 Nov 2007


Ch.4 – Desire is insaTiable

• No amount of contact can ultimately satisfy

• Indulgence in enjoyment ruins the pleasure• Pleasure ← Abstinence / Regulation• E.g. Mango season• “By renouncing that may you enjoy.” (Isavasyopanisad, v.1)


Ch.4 – no Joy in The worlD

• Why this diminishing value of A&E?


Ch.4 – no Joy in The worlD

• Why this diminishing value of A&E?

• “There is no joy content in the objects and beings of the world.”

• Yet we contact an object, and experience joy• The object then becomes falsely conflated with the joy• We continue to pursue the object, lose the joy


Everyone’s finger gets warm, every time.

Why?


Everyone’s finger gets warm, every time.

Because heat is inherent in fire.


Ch.4 – no lighT in The Moon

• There is no light in the moon • Yet we can read a book by moonlight

• The apparent light in the moon is a reflection from another source

• “Just ponder over the moonlight example.”

?


Ch.4 – aTTaChMenT

• The greatest barrier to successful relationships

Attachment = Love + Selfishness

• Mind’s dependency upon another

• Attachment feels like love• We need to recalibrate our emotions


Ch.4 – effeCTs of aTTaChMenT

Mental Agitation• Worry & anxiety; frustration & anger; disappointment

• Demands & expectations are unmet

Biased Thinking, Poor Choices• Mind is agitated, intellect cannot think

• E.g. Parents don’t allow son to accept scholarship abroad


Ch.4 – effeCTs of aTTaChMenT

Conflict / Disconnection / Loss• Can make other feel constrained, controlled, burdened• Attached person has frustrated demands & expectations

• Emotional and intellectual rejection


Ch.4 – love wiThouT aTTaChMenT

• “To avoid this self-inflicted damage, you must develop and use your intellect to protect, preserve your love.”

• ??


“A man musing on objects develops attachment for them...”

Bhagavad Gita, II.62(Trans. by A. Parthasarathy)



• “To avoid this self-inflicted damage, you must develop and use your intellect to protect, preserve your love.”

• Solution lies in managing thought (without suppression)• Avoid indiscriminate thought

• “... when your mind on its own flows towards an object.” (A. Parthasarathy. Vedanta Treatise, Ch. 14)



• Develop the intellect – Daily study & introspection

• Question your thought processes• What am I thinking about? Why? • Is it forming attachment?

• Drop selfishness by injecting unselfishness (ideal)• What does this person need? What can I offer?



• Ensure contact is discriminate• Sanctioned by intellect’s questioning

• E.g. Praise of children – Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children’s Motivation and Performance1

• Give the other space

1 Mueller, C.M. & Dweck, C.S. (1998). Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children’s Motivation and Performance. J. Pers. Soc. Psych. 75(1). 33-52


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14 nov – reflection questions i. two motivations - vedanta … · 2019. 11. 15. · vedanta...

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