Intelligent Living Series – A Gift for Life
A series of “Intelligent Living” sessions were conducted by Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, between May and August 2020. Sri Ramanujamji delved deep into many eye-opening perspectives in these sessions sharing tips to navigate through life successfully. People from all walks of life listened and benefited greatly through these sessions.
These sessions are being compiled as 5 Minute Wisdom Series on YouTube, the playlist for which can be found below:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
The complete series of the original talks on Intelligent Living are also available online as four different playlists:
Towards a Stronger Mind: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3O9P8TgFTeYAYkBvsdhJyRH
Living in the Present Moment: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3MVHgNfwh01BL0L9nqYSJwY
Towards Healthy Relationships: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3M1LODaozE18B1ys5AV0Cno
On Prayer and Practicality: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3M53CSbpbuiUL2TXOFgX5Ye
Read below a gratitude note to Sri Ramanujamji by one of the many youngsters (and adults) who have been greatly inspired by this series.
In the study of religion today, a common sentiment people bring up is a fear of religious decline. Regardless of faith or geography, members of different communities worry if their traditions and practices are being preserved authentically and with firm understanding and conviction. However, this sentiment paints the true situation with a rather broad brush. Even though there may be change and loss when it comes to tradition and customs, there are strong continuities and beautiful applications for ancient wisdom in modern times.
Here lies the beauty of Sri Ramanujamji’s lectures last summer. Precious teachings that, even a year later, continue to color our daily life and inspire us to progress on our personal journeys. We saw a brief glimpse of this with the many testimonials that families gave toward the end of the series. They recounted how empathy helped to transform angry arguments into meaningful discussions, how good habits they struggled to inculcate slowly grew into a daily routine, and how they felt more in control of their lives when they considered their time, energy, and attention to name a few.
Even today, the ideas and concepts Sri Ramanujamji gave us, serve families, giving them an accessible means to improve themselves and their relationships. When things go right, nowadays, we pause. We try to take note of it, enjoying the small moments that sweeten our day. Some of us still haven’t reached the coveted level of effortless competence, but when we fall short of our expectations today, we do not fret. We simply think of the law of seeds, smile, accept, and move forward, knowing that the effort that will bring things to fruition is not far off.
Through hours and hours of lectures on various topics, Sri Ramanujamji showed us the multivocality of Sanatana Dharma. One of the many priceless points he made captures this point precisely. To paraphrase, he said that any idea in Sanatana Dharma has a meaning on at least three different planes: personal, scientific, and spiritual. Like this Sri Ramanujamji uncovered and delivered priceless gems, rooted in Sanatana Dharma, with the intention of impacting our day-to-day lives. The virtual medium and secular mode of Sri Ramanujamji’s series made it so that anyone, regardless of faith or geography, could partake in this treat.
Of all the topics Sri Ramanujamji spoke of, perhaps Acceptance is one that life today calls for. An important and often hidden figure, acceptance may not have the ring of empathy or the mystique of the 80-20 rule, but it is deeply intertwined with much of Intelligent Living. In the present moment, when life feels more unpredictable than ever before, acceptance is what enables us to come to terms with what is and prepare to impact what can be.
Thus, acceptance is what gives us the strength to live life iteratively, that is by coming to terms with uncertainties, yet aiming to overcome them even if we fall short. Furthermore, the beauty of acceptance is that it is a path without failure; we either succeed or we learn how to succeed the next time around. Embracing this mindset over time leaves us empowered to practice Intelligent Living at its highest level. Embracing this mindset now will continue to help us overcome the waves of life.
With the gift of Intelligent Living, life seems less like a race and more like the graceful journey it truly is. To our satsang brother, Sri Ramanujamji, who gave us these mental pillars to find strength in, our humble gratitude.
By Mukund Nair, Houston TX
Click here to go back to the April 2021 Issue newsletter page: http://godivinity.org/newsletters/nama-dwaar-newsletter-april-2021/
