Living inside out and not outside in

abracad, December 23, 2012 · Categories: externally authored, purpose, spirituality

By Lt Col R K Langar

Introduction

The title of this write up says that a human being who is potentially divine has a wealth of values and beauties inside him which give him strength. Therefore he should live in this world as per his inner strength which should influence the outer world. And at the same time man should be so strong internally that nothing from outer world should influence him which is not in line with his belief system. When I say man is potentially divine it means that the soul or Atma is a ray of God Almighty, the one without a second, and the Atma has all the Divine virtues which need to be manifested to their pristine glory by human effort by yoga and by thinking about them and by imbibing them.

Belief System

Belief system means what we believe in certain thing based on which our thought process takes shape. Our thoughts define and promote our feelings, attitude and actions. Our repeated actions have a direct bearing on our character and fate. When we are young we adopt a belief system for ourselves as per the advice of our parents. But when we grow up we create our own belief system. Since our belief system has a complete hold on our character we must adopt a spiritually oriented and a very positive belief system. By doing so we develop a strong value system which creates virtues and beauties inside us and we learn the art of living inside out and not outside in. Some examples of spiritually oriented belief system are I am soul, a fraction of God and have the innate qualities of SAT-CHIT ANAND or Truth- Knowledge- Bliss, I am capable of strengthening the virtues and values inside me which I manifest in my character and conduct, I will think positively and do all work with Love and positive frame of mind without bothering about the results of my action, Reading spiritual books on self Help is a moral act. I believe that my inner growth will give me interest and newness in life as I am totally responsible for my life. Self evolution is the goal of my life. I will ever live in present with no regrets of the past and without worrying about the future.

Spiritually enriched life

When we start living a spiritually enriched life, it is a win-win situation. We get inclined to catch higher values of life and practice them in day to day living. The influence of our lower self which have a direct bearing on us gets washed away automatically. In spiritual life we experience oneness with others where there is no separateness or otherness. The oneness with others enables us to see ourselves in all and all in our own self. Living in a higher state of consciousness, our desires get sublimated and we get noble desires to live a life of helpfulness, blissfulness, with an aim to do something whole heartedly for the higher cause. We start living a life of moderation. We understand that we have come into life to give and help and not hurt and harm. Our personal desires convert into universal desires. Our selfish desires drop off and desires to do good to others take the top seat of our mind. Such is the attitude of a real successful person. It is said that Excellence sits high amidst rocks, remote and inaccessible. Man must wear his heart out to reach it. To imbibe higher value of life within us requires consistency, concentration, commitment and regular practice which is almost equivalent to wearing your heart out. All divine qualities are within (soul being a fraction of God) which we are required to manifest with our own effort. The beauties inside us include all Divine qualities which are listed in chapter 16 of Bhagavad Gita.

Going with in

Going within is the start point of living inside out. Going within means self observation, self introspection or self awareness to have a correct assessment of your own self. Generally people have good knowledge about others but they do not know themselves- their weaknesses, temptations, their negativity and their good qualities. After knowing our strength and short comings, our next step is to concentrate on our self development. Self development means living a healthy and value based life. It emphasizes on development of mind, intellect and our consciousness. Looking inwards helps us to recognize and clean the dirt within which all of us have in some proportion. Our biggest impurity in the present world of today is our self centeredness. Due to this we do not get concerned to do something for the good of the society. Bhagavad Gita says that those who cook for their own sake are sinful so we must learn to share and care with others and for others. We can remove self centeredness by selfless work which the Gita calls Karmayoga. Self development or individual development is the foundation for the development of the society. When we say that society is lacking in moral values, it is because we as individuals are imperfect. So instead of blaming the society it is far better that we lean towards self perfection. The golden rule is that we must get rid of all the ills of the society from within our own self first before we set out to help others. We have to become an embodiment of values ourselves to become self governed. When we are in such a state we do everything whole heartedly with full enthusiasm.

Feeling of completeness and fullness

When the divine virtues inside you occupy every space in your mind, then you get a feeling of completeness and fullness. When you live in one hundred percent in God consciousness, there remains no vacuum inside you. It is the vacuum inside you which gives you a feeling of incompleteness and which permits the outer conditions to settle inside you which makes you live outside in. Then you may get hurt sometimes by what others tell you. With vacuum inside, you have expectations from others, you expect from others that they should talk good things about you. The reason is that the vacuum inside you create loneliness which you want to be removed by outer conditions. When our stomach is totally full, we shall not be tempted by good food any more, similarly when we have completeness and fullness inside us, nothing from outside can penetrate into us to cause any hurt. The love, peace and goodness inside you will be over flowing and would affect all those who come into your contact. Then you are giving to others without making any effort. Then our life becomes meaningful.

Conclusion

Living inside out means tremendous effort in the beginning but when you have become a master of your mind and then you live effortlessly. Then you become very sensitive to the problems of others and you aim is to be of some use to them. You understand the true meaning of Divine life. Your life becomes an open book with an open mind which catches and appreciates only goodness of others. Not only that the bad in others does not catch your attention because there is nothing bad in you. Living inside out makes you a potential Role model for others.