Living Wisely Living Well | With Asha Nayaswami

If you find people un-receptive to your wit, don’t bludgeon them with it. Having offered a thought in fun, retain your good spirits. Be kind, but respect others’ right to see things their own way.

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In judging good taste in the arts, ask yourself, “What does this (piece of music; this painting; this carving; this poem, drama, or novel) do to my state of mind? Has it a soothing or an uplifting influence? Does it help to induce in myself a state of harmony, or wisdom, or some other high quality?” To produce good art requires far more than skill, for art represents states of consciousness. Ask yourself, “Would I like to receive someone into my home who demonstrates these qualities in his work?”

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One’s taste in food can indicate, and can also influence, his state of consciousness. Eat only foods that are rich in life-force and energy. Some foods are stale, and virtually “dead,” lacking, as they do, all vitality. For human beings, fresh fruits and vegetables are the best. Don’t eat foods that are either excessively stimulating or excessively bland. Foods convey distinct vibrations, which affect one’s consciousness. It is therefore good to avoid eating meat, especially the meat of animals that are intelligent enough to know they are being slaughtered, and that therefore experience such violent emotions as fear and anger. Fish, fowl, or lamb are better for those who crave meat. In consuming the flesh of more highly evolved animals, however, such as pigs or cattle, one absorbs harmful emotions into oneself.

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When others are speaking idly, don’t be drawn into that light chatter. Be respectful, but remain somewhat apart—perhaps even silent. Idle chatter, like radio static, disturbs the perception of underlying realities.

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Dress not for admiration, but rather to give others pleasure. Often I have gone out of my way to thank a perfect stranger, male or female, for wearing something colorful and pleasing to the eye. Color especially, if it is well chosen, can make everyone’s day a little brighter. When thanking people, however, try never to give the impression that you may have some ulterior motive for doing so.

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Never accept an idea merely because others endorse it. As long as you are true to yourself, and to your understanding of what is right and wrong, it won’t matter if, in other people’s eyes, you seem quaint or passé. The road to truth can sometimes be quite rough, but it leads toward ever-increasing clarity. The smooth highway of popularity, on the other hand, meanders through dense fogs of delusion into deeper and deeper darkness.

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Consideration for other people is a sign of maturity; it shows openness to different realities from one’s own, and is necessary to man’s struggle to pull himself out of the mud of egoism.

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Keep a sense of humor, especially when things don’t turn out as you hoped. Life is a play. Often, indeed, it is a tragicomedy. You will enjoy it best if you can remain unaffected. Even if the play ends in tragedy, it may help to purify your heart, and to expand your consciousness.

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Egotism, and egoism: a friend of mine once asked me the difference, and I replied almost without thinking, “Egotism is pride, whereas egoism is excessive consciousness of oneself.” I still consider that the best explanation of the difference. We need to overcome both qualities, but of the two, egoism is the subtler and the more insidious. The best way out of it is to give of oneself—to others; to what one believes in; to God.

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Make everything you do an act of self-giving. Thus you will combat natural egoism, and expand the boundaries of your reality to include the realities of others.

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