“Perhaps” – The Golden word used by Bhagawan Mahaveer of Jainism – Swami Sukhabodhananda speaks on it.

Religious people appear to respect a book that they truly neglect. If one truly respects sacred teachings, it is necessary to practice than merely preach. Then the choice becomes simple; you can either stand up and be counted or lie down and be ignored. It is wiser to act on what you choose rather than say what you choose.Among the beautiful teachings of Jainism is Syat Vaada (“Perhaps”}. If one truly practices, the beauty of it will be revealed as an inner freedom. Syat Vaada says everything is relative and nothing is absolute.

For example, if one is practicing Syat Vaada, and hears that a person is stupid, then he will say that his stupidity is relative and not absolute. Jain seers spoke of the theory of relativity thousands of years before the western world was aware of it. Syat vaada can be better be understood through a story.

A poor Chinese farmer found a beautiful black horse on his farm. The farmer and his only son were excited to see such a beautiful horse. The King of that place heard about that wonderful horse and offered a huge sim to buy the horse. The farmer humbly rejected the offer. All the villagers told the farmer that he was stupid in rejecting the offer from the king. The farmer answered “may be”.

After few days the horse was missing. The villagers once again told the farmer,”Do you realize you were unwise?” The farmer answered again “may be”. After a few days the horse returned with 20 other horses. The villagers now told the farmer, “You are really wise by not selling the horse.” The farmer again answered “may be”.

The farmer’s only son while training the horses fell down and broke his leg. Meanwhile, a war broke out in China, and all the youngsters had to go to war except the farmer’s son, as he was not fit. The villagers once again said, ”You are lucky, you only son is saved.” The farmer yet again said “may be”.

This explains in Syat Vaada the things are relative. If one understands the theory of relativity one will not be the victim of absolutisation. How does one practice this principle in daily life? This insight from a story reveals a lot on how it can help people in their lives. When an opinion is made of a person, the question to be asked is – “Is it absolute or relative?” Whenever one makes an opinion of others and considers it as absolute, then one stops seeing the person as a flowing being. Nobody is static, everyone is a flowing being. Considering as absolute is, destroying the basic quality of an individual as a flowing being.

Questioner : How does this concept help in our daily life?

Swami : Syat Vaada involves applying it in the following ways in our daily lives :

• As far as I know

• Up to a point

• To me

The quality of our life depends on the quality of our relationships. Keeping the perception of our relationship relative is keeping it open. Being open gives ventilation to life.

If someone says Mr. X is stupid, then he is not practicing Syat Vaada. But if he says, ”As far as I know, Mr.X is stupid,” then he is not labeling the person and at the same time validating his perception, yet being open to other variables which do not make the other person stupid.

So often, we are prisoners of our own knowledge. So by saying, as far as I know, I am not making my knowledge as absolute and at the same time not deleting whatever I know and being open to other variables. In this process, I am setting myself free and others free by not labeling the other. We label others and see only the labels and not the persons. This is an ignorant way of living. Jainism tells us to live a life based on this principle and be wise. A wise person created happiness around while an unwise one creates unhappiness.

Practicing Syat means “up to a point”. If I can make statements like “Up to a point this person is bad,” then I am allowing myself to see beyond my limiting perception. Any person is bad up to a point. Even a thief is bad up to a point, but he will do good acts for someone he cares for. So how can we say that the thief is bad in absolute terms?

This principle can be applied as “To me”. In our perceptions and in our opinion of others, if we tell ourselves that “To me” a person is bad and not that he is bad in the absolute term. Such a perception is more factual.

We suffer in life for we make absolute statements of others and ourselves. We can set ourselves free and others by practicing this principle, which says maybe or things are relative. When we operate on a relative plane, we are open to other possibilities. Creativity happens in the space of openness.

When we are open, we see opportunities . There are far more opportunities than we think. When opportunity knocks, a wise person is open to the opportunities, whereas a unwise person complains. So openness is a great virtue and this is the result of the practice of the principle of the principle – Syat vaada.

Is there a difference between looking good,feeling good and being good ?

There are three traits in human consciousness. Looking good, feeling good and being good. The most important of these traits is ‘being good’. Many people value ‘feeling-good’. However, if “feeling good” is not anchored on being good, then people get into drugs…….. Drugs temporarily make you feel good, but are not good for your well-being.

People also value looking good more. Impressing another is or primary importance. For them, looking good, physically and psychologically is more important than feeling good and being good. There is nothing wrong in looking good, as long as it is based on being good. More often, people want their image to be appreciated to feed their ego. Glamour is food for their ego; it decorates your ‘looking good’ pattern. Hence, glamour is of a greater appeal.

Questioner : Why is ‘looking good’ wrong ?

Swami : It is not a question of right or wrong. There exists a deeper meaning to it.

Reflect on this real incident.

A young girl from an orthodox Indian family became a widow at the age of 20. She expressed to me in one of my workshops that she was feeling lonely. I asked her why she could not remarry. She replied that she ccame from an orthodox family and feared what people would say if she were to get married again. I asked her as to what people were talking about her right then. She replied that they felt that she was a good woman. However, I asked her, if she was feeling-good. In the eyes of the people, she was looking-good but was not feeling good.

People sacrifice “feeling-good” and “being-good” for the sake of “looking-good”. By not remarrying, she was not being-good to her self. When looking-good is not based on being-good, then life becomes a mess. The world runs on the illusion of looking-good. If you do not look good, you will not survive this rat race, little realizing that even if you win, you continue to be a rat. Are people happy in spite of being successful ? Why is it that many successful people are still miserable? The reason being that they do not know the art of being happy. A study done on happy people showed that happy people showed that happy people were good finders. They always seek and find something good even in the bad.

Use the image of looking-good but do not be used by the image of looking-good. Just as you wear a dress, you are not the dress; so you are not the image. To be happy, be free from any image of yourself. Be empty of image, empty of thoughts, empty of conclusions. This inner emptiness is joy. This is a new way of looking.

Questioner : How do you deal with bad people at work or in society ?

Swami : Learn to accept that the world is like a forest where you will come across all types of animals. You have to be alert, accepting and be able to protect yourself. Every person’s soul is on a journey. Learn to accept it. Also, learn to empower them…. More by your “presence” than by your words.

Words are shallow for those who are too much in the mind. They will be lost in words. If you have learnt to go beyond mind, then your “presence” will have magic. The energies of your heart and being will flow. Invisible ripples of your consciousness will start communicating to the other. It is said that when Lord Buddha walked, flowers not in season bloomed because his consciousness was very powerful.

Questioner : Why should I learn to accept bad person ?

Swami : There is very little choice you have other than in accepting. Even if you reject him, he will still exist in this cosmos. When I say accept, I do not mean that you agree with him but be at peace with him. Learn to see elegance in imperfection. Understand that his being bad is communicating something to you. Existence is teaching you how not to be like him, through him. Hence, be grateful to him for in his badness lies a lesson for you to learn, how bad it is to be bad.

We mentally hold on to the pain for a week, a month or years together, unable to shake off the pain from our memory – Swami Sukhabodhananda

A farmer had an old donkey. One day, the donkey fell into a dry well. The farmer tried his best to rescue the donkey but failed. Finally he decided to let the old donkey die by burying it in the well itself.

He took a spade and started filling the well with debris. The donkey being a wise one, shook off the debris from its body as and when debris fell on it. This continued for a while. Suddenly, the farmer was surprised to find the donkey emerging from the well. The continous shaking of the debris helped the donkey to come out of the well.

It gives a great insight. Shake it off and step up. People may throw garbage, but shake the garbage off and step up and life will be different and divine.

But why do people abuse and throw garbage on us ? How can I be still inspired in spite of my boss and others throwing garbage at me?

“Garbage in” is “Garbage out”. One can give what one has. Once you understand this, you will be kind. You cannot expect a scorpion to kiss you. People around, with their hurt bodies create pain for others. Their minds are so noisy that they create noise. Be an anthropologist and study unhappy people. If Victor Franklin could do that why can’t you do so ? He was in a Nazi jail for ten years and studied how people could bear the torture and some could not. After being released from jail, he wrote a beautiful book – Man in search of Meaning. He said that one thing the Nazis could not do to him was to take away his attitude. Remember , the success of most people depend on 90 % attitude and 10% situation. Many studies validate this.

Be like the donkey in the story, shake it off and step up. Quite often, we hold on to what has happened in our lives. We mentally hold on to pain for a week, a month and create a hurt body in us. We cannot shake it loose from memory. The hurt body starts eating our joy. It starts re-living the experience of abuse and creates a mountain out of a molehill. Observe and try to change. We have a choice to keep an abuse within us or live or re-live with it or shake it off.