MenoSundays; Life Lived Lovingly - PHILOSOPHY

Last in a miniseries of articles which are partly personal history, partly ramble, but wholly geared to prompt more thought...

We have seen that faith must arise from intellectual conviction, trust from emotional and physical intuition, devotion from humility and the desire to serve, and that belief implies knowledge of something, whether proven or not.

Whatever you have faith in, whether or not you express trust, how available you are for devoted activity and no matter to what level you extend belief in anything or anybody, they will all hang upon your philosophy of life. 

There is the academic and formal meaning of the word philosopy, which is to apply reason in an attempt to understand the nature of the world, our existence, and the use and limits of knowledge. It can also encompass such things as morals and ethics. 

Philosophy can also mean, though, a group of ideas or theories related to a particular field of study; two obvious examples here would be religion and science. A subset of this includes things such as Greek philosophical theories (e.g. stoicism), which offer beliefs, values and principles of living not tied to scriptural sources. 

Thirdly, more informally, when someone expresses how they deal with life or view events within it, they are discussing their personal philosophy. It is an essential component of the exploration of things in the abstract. This is because the human critter has a fundamental need to understand itself and what is going on in the world.

We all, then, live with a philosophy, but what we may not have done is appropriately organise our thoughts around it. Thinking - proper, organised, meaningful thought processes - requires effort. 

Then there's putting the theory into practice. Philosophy holds no worth whatsoever unless it is tried on like an overcoat. 

For me, it was imperative to go beyond borders, not just of countries but also of cultures. A deep yearning and a healthy dose of scepticism drove the inquiry which resulted in my entering gurukula and immersing myself in Vedanta - the Sanskrit philosophy, which is the basis of Sanatana Dharma. 

More specifically, this philosophy is Advaita Vedanta, the end of knowledge which results in non-duality. This is the philosophy of Unity. We are All One in That Self. It is the Universal State - True Love (with the capital 'ell' 😊).