Who is speaking: Who is Listening

Who is speaking: Who is Listening

Once a famous Veena Vadak, was asked to play the instrument in a close gathering of elites, as soon he finished people started showering words of praise upon him. A young lady went near to him and taking his hand, holding in her two hands and thanked him with a very excited voice. She was surprised to hear from the artist “I can’t understand why you all are thanking me, I have just played the instrument, instead of me it is one who listened that is liable and suitable person for your thanks.” The lady was shocked as playing Veena itself is not a joke and impressing the elite was even more though task. She went away with a confused mind, who had listened? Certainly was I, do I thank my self?

This often happens a speaker goes on speaking but who cares about listening? Surely listening is much more difficult than the speaking. Speaking and listening are the ways of communicating with each other and often lack of these creates valley of conflicts and misunderstandings. Just look into our day to day life, at every walk of life, from work place to homes, from school to political fields, and even places related with religious and spiritual activities, voice of complains are generating and becoming stronger and stronger. The probable reason is that every body is with a wish and will of speaking nobody is there for listening. You might have come across in the situation in which you are speaking about one thing, the person in front of you is listening other thing and understanding some thing totally different from what you had said. This is happening because there are many institutions which can train you in the art of speaking but have you ever heard of an institution for training in the art of listening?

Speaking and listening both are acts of human sense organs, in both voice is the most important and integral part but even then both are not the same. Speaking is an active human status while listening is passive posture which requires a lot of patience, calm and open status of mind. Often human beings lacks in holding these there that’s why you will find that we are eager for speaking and most of times try to avoid listening. We love and enjoy giving advice just because we are getting chance of speaking. Speaking is also taken as putting ones thoughts, reasons and forcing others to accept it, to establish our supremacy over others. As this satisfies our ego hence we often hear sentence like “I agree with you but……..” or “frankly speaking your suggestions are too good but……..”

Listening is just not the action of collecting voice by the ears but it is complicated phenomenon in which besides the ears, our mind, wisdom and intelligence are also involved. What we are listening is not depended of the ability of the speakers? Speaker may be of the high quality and expert of the field but from speech we grab only, just what we had listened. When we are listening words are going through the filtration process of our mind, intelligence and wisdom. Mind is valuating these words and our wisdom starts being busy in preparing the answer. Cross your fingers and answer honestly don’t you thinking about your comments on this article, while reading this?

Listening is a magical action and to experience it you need just to observe how the people are speaking. Keep your calm intact and keep on observing you might will be surprised to know that people famous for their love are not only ignoring each other but using others existence for very minute things of life. Now turn to your self for the observation, how are you listening? Surely just this observation will bring a lot of change within you. Start this with your family members and be assured you will find they are more concern and careful about you in compare of the past because listening means the concentration on the thoughts of others. As thoughts are expression of mental energy hence this energy transfer will bring rigid ness and flexibility in your relations and make them more enjoyable. Remember this is the true way of mutual living and life goes like this.

Thanks and Real Thanks

Thanks is the one of the most widely and often used word, in our day to day life we are so used of this word that I know many of you will use this word in reply of my this post. We pay thanks even to those, for whom we are sure that their help is to going to prove aid in the real sense, but as this word “Thanks” reflects that we are culturally and socially hence we use it, but have you ever thought of paying thanks in its true sense? We are paying thanks to person who brings a glass of water for us, but never thought of paying thanks to the power that has made us capable of seeing this water, gave us hands and mouth to drink this water. I recall one of my childhood discussions with my father Late Dr. Premchand Manghirmalani.
“Baba, you say that we are on the earth due to our actions of our previous births then what is need of paying thanks to Waheguru?”
“Look son” father replied “It is true that we are result of our own actions but who had given us the energy for actions? Who had made us capable of deciding right or wrong?” he kept on saying “I will tell you one story, which will tell you how the thanks paid to God are beneficial.”
The story narrated by him was as follows
Two male kids were born in two adjoining houses, both become friends but when both were grew up they found their interest are just like the south and north pole, but it doesn’t affected their friendship. After the whole day of work both return to home and after a refreshing rest both came out of their respective houses and traveled the distance up to square from one way was going temple and another to night clubs, here both separate and again meet at same place in the late midnight. It becomes their daily routine both were used for going and coming back together.
One night it was raining heavily hence both become late in returning, the friend returning from temple was limping and found the friend fond of night clubs waiting with some thing glowing in the hands. For convince I am giving name Gopal to temple going and Rajesh to night club going friend.

Rajesh: What happen friend why you are so late and why you are limping?
Gopal : I you see it raining and lights are of , I stepped on big thrown, it was so painful that I have to sit there for about 20-30 minutes, but what is glowing in your hands?
Rajesh: Friend, rain has also forced me to slip down near the entrance of night club, when I was to got up cursing your God; I found this diamond laying there so I paid thanks. I think God is very intelligent he knows that I am in the need of money for my women friends so he gave me, but see you got the trouble for your continued thanks paying. I will suggest that it will be better for you to come with me and enjoy the life.
Gopal: We will go to my spiritual master in the morning and ask him the reason behind this.

Both went to there respective houses and after a sleep, went to Guruji, after hearing them Guruji asked can they recognize the place where they fell. Both replied in Yes. Guruji asked them to go and dig the place. Bring what ever they found under the earth both returned Gopal was with a piece of rope, while Rajesh was with a huge metallic pot filled with coal. Guruji said “See this is result of paying thanks” “Rajesh’s actions of previous birth were to be awarded with this huge pot filled with diamond, but as it was only yesterday that he remembered God so he got just one diamond, where as previous actions of Gopal was to result in to hanging of his till death yesterday at that place, but as he was paying his thanks with true heart hence instead of hanging he got a thorn at that place”.

Are we paying our thanks in its true sense? This is the question which every one has to ask himself and reply it honestly.