Friday 7 November 2003

Pic of the day: The quality of passion: Don't get between a girl and her computer! Or was that chocolate? (Screenshot from The Sims.)

Three qualities of life

In Bhaktivedanta theology, there are three qualities of life in which you can live. This has nothing to do with the western concept "quality of life". It is more about a basic attitude and how you pursue the one thing we all want, happiness.

The three qualities are: The quality of passion, the quality of ignorance, and the quality of goodness. You can live in transition between two of them, possibly even all three. But you are likely to find that each person is rooted or balanced in one of the qualities. Let us take a brief look. Be warned that I am adding my own thoughts from here on. If you want to know the originality Bhaktivedanta theology, you may want to read some of their books. Much of what is written there looks strange indeed to the western reader, but there is also some food for thought. Recommended for mature readers only (spiritually, not just bodily). Notice that Bhaktivedanta is a variant of Hinduism, and I am not a member of that religion. It is included here for illustration purposes.

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The quality of passion can easily be taken for evil, because it brings suffering and spreads it around. Those who are rooted in this quality have a liking for sharp tastes, loud sounds, bright lights and high speed. They need to be stimulated, and they need to be active. For this reason they cause trouble and get in trouble. Frustration is a natural state of mind for them, and conflict their obvious solution. By natural disposition, it is mostly this type of people who go into politics or make a career in the military. This does not exactly help as far as conflict and trouble is concerned...

Modern science indicates that many people are born into this condition, as the optimum stimulation level in their brain is quite high. In extreme cases they may take drugs that stimulate them. Like with all other things, your conscious choices through a long life can modify also this function of your brain.

The quality of ignorance has got a really bad reputation due to a passage in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna says that those in this quality will sink (or fall) -- presumably in the transition to the next life. But people who live in ignorance don't necessarily cause trouble. When they do, it is often because they are misled or follow false traditions created by other more power-hungry people. People who live in the quality of ignorance are not just ignorant; anyone could grow up ignorant. These people, who we may also call fools, like to be ignorant. Some pride themselves in their closed minds. Others drink alcohol in large amounts -- or take other brain-numbing drugs -- in order to forget, and to avoid thinking or taking responsibility.

The quality of goodness is associated with knowledge. Those who live in this quality want to make things better for everyone. They will restrain their own impulses so as to not make trouble, and use their energy to help others even without a reward. They tend toward moderation in all things. Healthy food, fresh air, moderate exercise and getting up early in the morning are all considered to belong to this quality. Modern science shows that some people are born with a low optimum stimulation level in their brains; these people can easily sit down and concentrate on a good book or meditation, while others might either get restless or fall asleep. As always, practice makes more perfect than before.

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It with surprise no one if I consider myself to dwell in the quality of goodness. People who subscribe to this theory at all, have this amazing tendency to fit right in at the topmost level. What a coincidence! And certainly I do tend toward moderation, a quiet life, a thirst for knowledge, a liking for milk and grain and a dislike for alcohol and dead animals. But truth to tell, I also have some character traits that belong in the other qualities.

What reminded me today of this trinity of qualities was the suffering in my right arm. Many people have performed far more data entry than I have, and still do not suffer the same pain. I firmly believe that body and soul are closely intertwined, and so probably to some extent the pain of my body reflects a pain of my soul. When an impulse is hindered or met by a counter impulse, muscular stress occurs. This effect is in the quality of passion. Since the pain increases far more by the same movements when I am at work, there is almost certainly a large part of mind in this muscle. My agreement with my workplace keeps me from going into detail about the passion I suspect; but let me tell you, it is not passion as in passionate love! More the opposite. But as I said, I don't write about work.

My tendency to stay awake into the night and sleeping to the day technically belong to the quality of ignorance. Goodness is associated with daylight. On the other hand, I seem to sleep slightly less than the average person. This is often a sign of enlightenment, but in my case I suspect it is because I don't have exhausting work for my body. The elderly often complain that they don't get enough sleep. The explanation is that they don't need so much sleep, yet they still try to force themselves to stay in bed; this makes it worse, not better.

Anyway, this was a fairly substantial entry (especially now that I depend on speech recognition). I could probably add much more, but I doubt I could add just a little more. So I stop here. You may find other hints in the older entries, and -- God willing -- in future entries as well.