Every life is uniquely endowed with perspectives and experiences. A living book is a human who shares his life’s stories and wisdom with willingness with another interested individual.
If the conversation is interesting the living book is read some more but if it does not meet the requirements of the individual reader, he is free to get up and find another living book to meet and connect.
Living books library concept is an interesting way to bring together learnings from life experiences directly on a one to one basis and a group setting. The conversation depends on what you want to understand and turn it towards.
Life teaches us much and every human can benefit from unedited direct soul to soulful connects where words flow at the moment. In such connection is the transparency of truth that is glaringly stark from a book of prewritten words arranged in a format predesigned to sell in the market.
Life is so much than being a business. In these discussions, the reader or the learner and the living book are both free to direct the course of the conversation without constraints.
Unlike a regular library of books, the human library is a gathering of humans and is event-based.
There are many functioning human book libraries all around the world today.
The concept began in Copenhagen Denmark in 2000. The idea is to be nonjudgemental and engage in a dialogue that helps break barriers and social prejudices. The human book could be anyone who has a story to tell and is ready to share it. Or someone who has gone through any kind of discrimination and wants to share their experiences openly. So next time you want to explore the idea of reading a book, consider and lookout for opportunities to connect with a human book!
Have written and dedicated a couple of posts earlier on the topic of Giving.
But here is my dear mother’s philosophical perspectives where she focuses on the the spiritual mindset in giving.
Dhaanam
There is a saying in Tamil.” What ur right hand gives, the left hand should not know”. True. While giving, unknowingly a little superiority, seeps in. To counter our ego secrecy n humility is needed. Giving is called Dhaanam .
There are various types of giving. It can be of anything. Money used unwanted items like clothes or other durables, food items, even sharing your knowledge is a form of giving.
Rules of Dhaanam
Giving new unused things of good quality is the best Dhaanam. This is followed in ritualistic or religious dhaanam.
Always give with humility. Never show attitude.
Give to worthy persons. Donate to needy ones. Giving shoes to a legless person is useless . It will hurt the person reminding his disability. There is a saying ‘pathiram arindhu pichai idu. ‘
While donating unwanted used items see that it can be useful for at least six months or further. Never give throw away things.
Give happily, with a full heart. Anything given with a prayer in mind and lots of goodwill at heart will bring prosperity and happiness to both the giver and receiver.
Another important aspect of giving is never to boast or keep on reminding them. Once given it ceases to be yours… The recipient has all the freedom to use it the way they want. Do not expect a life long gratitude.
Taittriya Upanishad says
Give with faith
Give with sensitivity
Give with abundance
Give with understanding
In Bhagavat Gita, Shri Krishna talks about 3 types of Dhaanam
namely Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic.
Satvic is the one which is given to worthy persons with full humility and without expecting returns in any form.
Rajasic is the one which is given to show supremacy or expecting some favour in return.
Tamasic is the one where one gives with attitude, without respect to place n time to undeserving persons.
Vedas describes dhaanam of 4 categories.
1. Nitya dhaanam which is given daily as part of our routine without expectation.
2 Nymithika dhaanam is giving with the intention to wash away our sins.
3 Kamya dhaanam is giving with a desire to achieve some special favours.
4. Vimala dhaanam is giving with humility, devotion and without expectation of any returns.
The best dhanams are
Anna dhaanam -. Feeding the poor( It satisfies)
Vidya dhaanam Sharing ur knowledge and skill. (It increases)
Kanya dhaanam – giving a daughter in marriage. (I think it’s about letting go of a child be it a son or daughter into their next phase of life)
Raktha dhaanam and organ dhanam-. Saving one’ s life.
Keep giving.
Give wholeheartedly.
Give with a smile.
Anjana
I would simply also like to add that
True giving is when you don’t feel the weight of parting in the giving.
You never know how many lives you are unknowingly touching.
Every person has a place
On this earth that you call home
Beyond houses made of bricks
The space that is ones own
Are those that nourish and nurture you
Where you find yourself at home
A place that helps you evolve
A place that speaks to you
A place of learning and goodwill
A place that let’s you be you.
A place that is welcoming and inclusive
For me it is the vast open spaces in nature that speaks to me.
Be it the mountains the sea the sand the sky or the fields.
But I am also the happiest when I see a beautiful smooth open dancefloor
For it gives me the joy of endless possibilities of freedom to move…
What place comes to your mind if you are reading this?
For any person who is much too stressed or confused at the moment…do read this.
A rare conversation between Krishna & Today’s Arjun. Read it loud to family,
it’s one of the best message I have come across…
1. Arjun :- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.
Krishna:- *Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.*
2. Arjun :- Why has life become complicated now?
Krishna :- *Stop analyzing life… It makes it complicated. Just live it.*
3. Arjun :- Why are we then constantly unhappy?
Krishna :- *Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.*
4. Arjun :- Why do good people always suffer?
Krishna :- *Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.*
5. Arjun :- You mean to say such experience is useful?
Krishna :- *Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. It gives the test first and the lessons later.*
6. Arjun :- Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading…
Krishna:- *If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.*
7. Arjun :- Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?
Krishna:- *Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.*
8. Arjun :- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
Krishna :- *Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.*
9. Arjun :- What surprises you about people?
Krishna :- *When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”*
10. Arjun :- How can I get the best out of life?
Krishna:- *Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.*
11. Arjun :- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
Krishna:- *There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.*
Your true voice is not only the one you speak Your true voice is the one you may hear If and when you care to listen It may be just a whisper It may be heard just by you But it says all that you need to hear And it may be worth listening to!
The voice within us Speaks the truth of the being It expresses what you may need But do not know yet. It guides the way It is a heartfelt reminder Of all things beyond the surface. It may be wise, listening to!
Artwork by Russian Surrealist Painter Vladimir Kush
How are you going to reach the tree of knowing? The climb is not a cake walk It is tough to balance on the way up or down. You are at the base. And yet you are not grounded. In the knowing that sets you free. At times you climb almost all the way. But think twice about entering its core For it is demanding.
Life never comes with a planbook All happens in the living. All is meant to flow along the way. Things refine or distort To change or transform Into new paths of purpose. All, a leap of faith To reach beyond knowing.
Be aware that your hands are like antennae, able to pick up currents of energy from space as well as send them out. But for your hands to be able some day to attract and send out only beneficial currents, you must first pay great attention to the gestures you make in everyday life, for every gesture, however insignificant, produces a vibration. Whatever task you are performing, try to make measured, harmonious gestures, in the knowledge that you are activating forces and elements that will allow you to transpose what you are doing onto the spiritual level and therefore attain the higher levels of life. True spirituality consists in using any kind of work as a means to bring your thoughts, feelings and movements into tune with cosmic harmony. Each movement you imbue with a divine idea is recorded in the archives of your higher consciousness, from where all beneficial energies, such as love, hope and joy, will spring. – Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
This very impressive piece of work by Polish artist Jacek Yerka called the Bible Dam caught my attention…
A few musings on similar lines. If all the knowledge of the world Could be collected and channeled To flow into a ocean of knowing Ready to pour out the learning Crystallized into books for the reading Ever ready in the giving To ease the receiving. What a wise world it would be! But is knowing simply enough?
Knowledge is willing to be shared But is the learning enough? To make the world wise Without the experiences to practice No knowledge can be worthy And no knowing really useful.
Life is in the knowing, sharing learning processing, experiencing & most of all in the living.
“To dance is to move with the strength of earth below you, sensing and knowing the grounding beneath you of your convictions.
To dance is to freely be able to improvise your physical and emotional self with the quality of fluidity like the flowing water.
To dance is to ignite the power of passion and fire up your creative movements.
To dance is to be able to glide as if you are as light as the air and soar in grace, as you feel the wind enveloping yet beckoning you to scale new heights of harmonious effusion while dancing with a conscious awareness of your edges and spaces that you occupy in this beautiful amazing world”
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