Art of Living - Implementable Wisdom - Philosophy of Epictetus

After retirement – I have become a non-entity.

At times – events happen – that make me feel low.

But – there is nothing I can do – except be a mute spectator. 

On such occasions – I remember the words of Epictetus: 

“...Some things are within our control – and some things are not in our control.

Once you learn to distinguish between the two – then inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Events don’t hurt us – only our attitude towards them does.

Don’t demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them to. 

Accept events as they actually happen. 

That way peace is possible...”

So whenever I feel demoralised – in order to raise my morale – I pull out a book from my bookcase – read it – and – I contemplate. 

The book is called: 

“Epictetus – The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness...” 

Let me tell you about the book...

THE ART OF LIVING

A Philosophical Approach

EPICTETUS IN A NUTSHELL
The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness: Epictetus
Book Review
By
VIKRAM KARVE

I have got a wonderful book in my bookcase.

The title and details of the book are as follows: 

The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, a new interpretation by Sharon Lebell, published by HarperCollins in 1994, ISBN 0-06-251346-X

This compact book encapsulates in a nutshell the salient teachings of Epictetus, the great Stoic philosopher. 

Whenever I buy a book I write my name, the date and place of purchase on the first page. I bought this book from one of my favourite bookstores – Gangaram’s Bangalore – on 18 August 1999.

Those were the glorious days, in the 1990s, when I used to visit Bangalore very often. 

I ensured I stayed somewhere near MG Road, and spend the evenings strolling in the delightful area around MG Road and Brigade Road. 

A delightful meal of the scrumptious Kerala delicacies like Stew, Appams, Parotta and the Ghee Rice at Imperial on Residency Road, baked delights at Nilgiri, Rosogullas at KC Das and Book Browsing at Gangarams Book Bureau were an absolute must. 

It’s been 20 long years now – I cherish those memories and hope I get a chance to visit Bangalore soon and enjoy strolling, eating and browsing in my favourite places.

Now let’s have a look at a few gems from this witty and wise book which delves on two basic questions pertaining to the Art of Living :

1. How do I live a happy, meaningful, fulfilling life...?

2. How can I be a good person...? 

Epictetus advises us: 

“Approach life as a banquet...” 

Think of your life as if were a banquet where you would behave graciously. 

When dishes are passed to you, extend your hand and help yourself to a moderate portion. 

If a dish should pass you by, enjoy what is already on your plate. 

Or if a dish hasn’t been passed to you yet, patiently wait your turn.

There is no need to yearn, envy, and grab. 

You will get your rightful portion when it is your time.

Happiness and Freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: 

Some things are within our control – and some things are not in our control

And once you learn to distinguish between the two (what is in your control and what is not in your control) then inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Events don’t hurt us – only our Attitude towards them does.

Don’t demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them to. 

Accept events as they actually happen. 

That way peace is possible.

Create your own Merit.

Never depend on the admiration of others. 

Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. 

Remember – there is no such thing as vicarious merit.

These are a few gems from the book – every page radiates simple implementable wisdom.

Whereas society regards professional achievement, wealth, power, and fame as desirable and admirable – Epictetus views these as incidental and irrelevant to true happiness.

What matters most is what sort of life you are actually living – a life of virtue – a life celebrating and caretaking the present moment. 

Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions – your happiness can be found within.

This captivating book has had a profound effect on me and my way of thinking and living and this motivated me to delve into the life and works of Epictetus in more detail. 

And – it was heartening to see the congruence and harmony of the teachings of Epictetus with Eastern philosophical wisdom and precepts.

I am glad I bought this splendid book. 

It cost me only 95 Rupees. 

Go down to your neighborhood bookstore and browse through it. 

I am sure you will love to have a copy in your bookcase. 

I assure you that you will enrich your inner self every time your read this delightful book.

Dear Reader – do get a copy of this book and tell me if you like this breathtakingly simple philosophy of life – which is so easy to implement in daily life. 

Yes – it is simple “implementable wisdom”.

Dear Reader: I wish you authentic happiness and good health. 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

This book review was written by me Vikram Karve 20 years ago in the year 1999 and was posted online by me a number of times in my blogs at urls: http://creative.sulekha.com/epictetus-the-art-of-living-the-classic-manual-on-virtue-happiness-and-effectiveness_320310_blog  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/06/epictetus-art-of-living.html and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2010/11/how-to-be-happy-epictetus-way.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/06/art-of-living-philosophical-approach.html andhttp://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/01/thursday-morning-motivation-art-of.html etc

How to be Happy – The Happiness Equation

HOW TO BE HAPPY

THE HAPPINESS EQUATION

Self Help Musings

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Happiness may be expressed as degree to which you can fulfill your desires.

In a nutshell:

Happiness is the ratio of Desires Fulfilled/Total Number of Desires

Have a look at the “Happiness Equation” below: 

                            Number of Desires Fulfilled

Happiness  =   --------------------------------------

                             Total Number of Desires

We can increase our happiness by either:

1. Increasing the Numerator (Fulfilling Your Existing Desires)

Or

2. Decreasing the Denominator (Decreasing the Desires in Your Mind)

The second option is easier.

How do you achieve this...? 

How do you decrease your desires...?

It is simple.

Here is a “self help” article I wrote a few years ago on “Desire Management”

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR DESIRES
Philosophical Musings 
By
VIKRAM KARVE

DESIRES and HAPPINESS

Over the years I have realized that the Two Main Reasons for Unhappiness are:

1. Dissatisfaction caused by unfulfilled desires

and

2. Anxiety that you will not be able to fulfill your desires in the future


There is a close connection between happiness and desire-satisfaction. 

When you get what you want you feel happy and when you do not get what you want you feel unhappy.

Happiness results from getting what you want  (desire-satisfaction)

and 

Unhappiness results from not getting what you want  (desire-frustration)

Therefore, there are two strategies you can pursue with respect to any given desire:

1. You can either strive to fulfill the desire

or

2. You can try to eliminate the desire

No philosopher has better explored this than Epicurus, a Greek Philosopher of the Third Century BC. 

Epicurus (341-270 BC) espoused a strategy for achieving genuine human happiness by:

Emphasizing on the delights of the mind (over which you have control)

and

De-emphasizing the delights derived from material things (which are beyond your personal control).

This desire management strategy will help you scale down your desires to the basic minimum which can easily be satisfied. 

Yes, you follow this this two phase desire management strategy:

1. Firstly, you scale down your desires to those desires which are feasible for you to fulfill

after doing that:

2. You satisfy those desires. 

This will make you happy since fulfilling a desire creates happiness.

TYPES OF DESIRES

Epicurus distinguishes between 3 types of desires:

1.      Natural and Necessary Desires

2.      Unnatural and Unnecessary (or Vain and Empty) Desires

3.      Natural but Non-necessary Desires

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE THREE TYPES OF DESIRES

Our tendency to happiness (or unhappiness) depends on how we tackle each of these three types of desires.

1. NATURAL and NECESSARY DESIRES

Examples of natural and necessary desires include the desires for food, shelter, health, sense of security and basic physical needs, cravings which will necessarily lead to greater pain if they are not fulfilled.

These basic desires are easy to satisfy yet difficult to eliminate since they are “hard-wired” into human beings naturally and create a sense of well-being when satisfied (eg. “Happiness begins at the stomach” ) 

Furthermore, natural and necessary desires are necessary for life, and these desires are naturally limited: that is, if one is hungry, it only takes a limited amount of food to fill the stomach, after which the desire is satisfied.

Epicurus says that you should try to satisfy natural and necessary desires.

2. VAIN and EMPTY DESIRES – UNNATURAL and UNNECESSARY DESIRES

Vain, unnatural and unnecessary desires include desires for excessive power, wealth, fame, and other egoistic ambitions which have all the trappings of status and prestige.

Vain desires are difficult to satisfy, in part because they have no natural limit. 

If one desires wealth or power, no matter how much one gets, it is always possible to get more, and the more one gets, the more one wants.

These desires are not natural to human beings, but inculcated by society and by false beliefs about what we need.

For example, we falsely believe that being very powerful or wealthy or famous will guarantee us happiness. 

In actual fact, Opulence may attract thieves and other dangers, and Power and Fame may attract sycophants. 

Yes, such vain desires, which are unnatural and unnecessary, are sure to put you into the spiral of unhappiness.

Epicurus says that such vain and empty desires should be eliminated.

3. NATURAL but NON-NECESSARY DESIRES

An example of a natural but non-necessary desire is the desire for luxury food. 

Although food is needed for survival, one does not need rich expensive gourmet food to survive. 

Thus, despite his hedonism, Epicurus advocates a surprisingly ascetic way of life. 

Although you should not spurn extravagant foods if they happen to be available, becoming dependent on such luxury food (and other luxuries) ultimately leads to unhappiness.

These natural but non-necessary desires are those cravings that are not necessary for life, but give you great happiness. 

However, should you become dependent on them, such desires can lead to great unhappiness if they are not fulfilled. 

Natural but non-necessary desires are typically recreational in nature and examples of such desires include Sexual Gratification, Friendship, Aesthetic Desires, Entertainment, Social Intercourse, Creative Expression and Intellectual Stimulation, Liberal Arts, Reading, Social Networking, Sports, Travel etc

In the case of natural but non-necessary desires you must approach life like a banquet. 

Think of your life as if it were a banquet where you would behave graciously.

When a dish is passed to you, extend your hand and help yourself to a moderate portion.

If a dish should pass you by then enjoy what is already on your plate.

 

And if a dish has not been passed to you yet you must patiently wait for your turn.

In the same way as described above, you must treat your desires in the same way as you deal with food in a sit down dinner banquet.

CONCLUSION

To paraphrase Epicurus:

If you wish to make a man truly Happy

DO NOT GIVE HIM MORE MONEY

rather

If you really want to make a man Happy

TRY TO TEACH HIM HOW TO REDUCE HIS DESIRES

The Epicurean Philosophy of Life recommends that you must strive to do two things:

1. Eliminate the unhappiness caused by unfulfilled desires

and 

2. Reduce the anxiety that occurs because of the fear that your desires will not be fulfilled in the future

Adopting this wise Epicurean philosophy of life will enable you to attain tranquility and enjoy everlasting happiness.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the story are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (All Rights Reserved)

     

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Art of Living – Implementable Philosophy

After retirement – I have become a non-entity. 

At times – events happen – that make me feel low.

But – there is nothing I can do – except be a mute spectator. 

On such occasions – I remember the words of Epictetus: 

“...Some things are within our control – and some things are not in our control

Once you learn to distinguish between the two – then inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Events don’t hurt us – only our attitude towards them does.

Don’t demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them to. 

Accept events as they actually happen. 

That way peace is possible...”

So whenever I feel demoralised – in order to raise my morale – I pull out a book from my bookcase – read it – and – I contemplate. 

The book is called: 

“Epictetus – The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness...” 

Let me tell you about the book...

THE ART OF LIVING

A Philosophical Approach

EPICTETUS IN A NUTSHELL

The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness: Epictetus

Book Review

By

VIKRAM KARVE

I have got a wonderful book in my bookcase.

The title and details of the book are as follows: 

The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, a new interpretation by Sharon Lebell, published by HarperCollins in 1994, ISBN 0-06-251346-X

This compact book encapsulates in a nutshell the salient teachings of Epictetus, the great Stoic philosopher. 

Whenever I buy a book I write my name, the date and place of purchase on the first page. I bought this book from one of my favorite bookstores – Gangaram’s Bangalore – on 18 August 1999.

Those were the glorious days, in the 1990s, when I used to visit Bangalore very often. 

I ensured I stayed somewhere near MG Road, and spend the evenings strolling in the delightful area around MG Road and Brigade Road. 

A delightful meal of the scrumptious Kerala delicacies like Stew, Appams, Parotta and the Ghee Rice at Imperial on Residency Road, baked delights at Nilgiri, Rosogullas at KC Das and Book Browsing at Gangarams Book Bureau were an absolute must. 

It’s been 18 long years now – I cherish those memories and hope I get a chance to visit Bangalore soon and enjoy strolling, eating and browsing in my favourite places.

Now let’s have a look at a few gems from this witty and wise book which delves on two basic questions pertaining to the Art of Living :

How do I live a happy, meaningful, fulfilling life...?

How can I be a good person...? 

Epictetus advises: 

“Approach life as a banquet...” 

Think of your life as if were a banquet where you would behave graciously. 

When dishes are passed to you, extend your hand and help yourself to a moderate portion. 

If a dish should pass you by, enjoy what is already on your plate. 

Or if a dish hasn’t been passed to you yet, patiently wait your turn.

There is no need to yearn, envy, and grab. 

You will get your rightful portion when it is your time.

Happiness and Freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: 

Some things are within our control – and some things are not in our control

And once you learn to distinguish between the two (what is in your control and what is not in your control) then inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Events don’t hurt us – only our Attitude towards them does.

Don’t demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them to. 

Accept events as they actually happen. 

That way peace is possible.

Create your own Merit.

Never depend on the admiration of others. 

Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. 

Remember – there is no such thing as vicarious merit.

These are a few gems from the book – every page radiates simple implementable wisdom.

Whereas society regards professional achievement, wealth, power, and fame as desirable and admirable – Epictetus views these as incidental and irrelevant to true happiness.

What matters most is what sort of life you are actually living – a life of virtue – a life celebrating and caretaking the present moment. 

Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions – your happiness can be found within.

This captivating book has had a profound effect on me and my way of thinking and living and this motivated me to delve into the life and works of Epictetus in more detail. 

And – it was heartening to see the congruence and harmony of the teachings of Epictetus with Eastern philosophical wisdom and precepts.

I am glad I bought this splendid book. 

It cost me only 95 Rupees. 

Go down to your neighborhood bookstore and browse through it. 

I am sure you will love to have a copy in your bookcase. 

I assure you that you will enrich your inner self every time your read this delightful book.

Dear Reader – do get a copy of this book and tell me if you like this breathtakingly simple philosophy of life – which is so easy to implement in daily life. 

Yes – it is simple “implementable wisdom”.

Dear Reader: I wish you authentic happiness and good health. 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

This book review was written by me Vikram Karve 18 years ago in the year 1999 and was posted online by me a number of times in my blogs at urls: http://creative.sulekha.com/epictetus-the-art-of-living-the-classic-manual-on-virtue-happiness-and-effectiveness_320310_blog  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/06/epictetus-art-of-living.html and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2010/11/how-to-be-happy-epictetus-way.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/06/art-of-living-philosophical-approach.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/01/thursday-morning-motivation-art-of.html etc