Power is the Reciprocal of Desire – Ascetic Power

From my “Philosophical Writing” Archives:

ASCETIC POWER 

Power is the Reciprocal of Desire

Philosophical Musings

By

VIKRAM KARVE

  

It will be best for me to relate a story – probably apocryphal – which illustrates the concept of ASCETIC POWER 

THE STORY OF EMPEROR ALEXANDER AND PHILOSOPHER DIOGENES

Alexander the Great – the Emperor of the World – had conquered all Lands and Seas. 

He considered himself the “Son of a God”. 

All knelt before him in veneration and reverence. 

One day – early in the morning – Emperor Alexander the Great was riding with his Army through Greece.

Suddenly – he saw a man lying naked in the sand – by the side of a river – basking and sunbathing – in the early morning sunlight.

Curious at seeing this bizzare sight of the prostrate naked man – Emperor Alexander rode towards the naked man. 

The man who was basking in the sun seemed to be totally indifferent to the distinguished visitor and his entourage.

The naked man remained prostrate – and he made no attempt to get up. 

He totally ignored the Emperor Alexander the Great sitting majestically on his horse.

An angry soldier shouted at the naked man: “You there – do you know in whose presence you are...?”

“Who is he...?” the prostrate naked man answered lazily.

The naked man did not stir – and he made no move to get up.

The astonished soldier proclaimed: “Wretched man – you are in the presence of His Exalted Highness – Alexander the Great – Emperor of the World.”

“Oh...” the naked sunbather said impassively – and he continued to lie down. 

The naked man casually looked up at Alexander the Great – mounted imposingly on his horse – and – the naked man said to Alexander: 

“I am Diogenes...”

“Ah – so you are the philosopher Diogenes...!!!” Alexander exclaimed. 

“Yes. I am Diogenes...” the naked man said.

Emperor Alexander said to Diogenes: 

“I have always wanted to meet you – I have heard so many stories about you. My Dear Diogenes – I am impressed by you. I will grant you anything you wish. What do you desire...? Tell me – what do you desire...? Diogenes – ask for anything in the world – and it will be yours...”

Still lying prostrate on the sand – Diogenes said to Alexander: 

“Please could you move a little to the side – and get out of my sunlight – because you are blocking the sun and spoiling my sunbath. That is all I want from you – just move a little to the side…”  

MORAL OF THE STORY

Power is the reciprocal of desire. 

If I desire something from you – then you have the power – to either grant – or withhold – what I desire from you. 

If I do not desire anything from you – then you have no power over me. 

A desire can be any form. 

It can be tangible – like material wealth – or even intangible – like love, appreciation etc. 

In his time – Emperor Alexander the Great was the most “powerful” man on earth.

But – he had no power over Diogenes – because Diogenes did not desire anything from him.

This story illustrates the fact that: 

You cannot have power over someone who desires nothing from you. 

That is Ascetic Power – the highest form of Power – when you desire nothing from anyone.

Do you have “Ascetic Power” –  at least over some people – in some situations – some of the time...?

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:

1. These are my personal views based on my observations and life experiences and the stories and examples quoted may be apocryphal.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories 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.

 

This Article written by me 30 years ago in the 1980s and posted online many times including in my blogs - for example at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2010/10/power-and-desire.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/03/power-is-reciprocal-of-desire-story.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/10/ascetic-power.html etc

Happiness Equation – How to be Happy

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.

SELF ACTUALIZATION – Are You Living the Life You Wanted to Live?

Are You Living the Life that You always Wanted to Live ?

SELF ACTUALIZATION MADE SIMPLE

Philosophical Musings of a “Self-Actualized” Veteran

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Literature teaches you more about the art of living rather than sermons and moral lectures.

I learnt more from literature – than from high-falutin philosophy or spiritualism.

And of all genres of literature – it is short stories which gave me insightful tips on the art of living and vignettes on philosophy of life.

You must have heard of the term: “Self-Actualization”.

I first came across the term “Self-Actualization” in the 1970’s when I read about Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs while studying the management module during my engineering course.

We were told that the Hierarchy of Needs has 5 levels of Human Needs:

1. Physiological

2. Safety and Security

 

3. Love and Belonging

4. Esteem

 

5. Self-Actualization

I understood what the first four needs meant.

But for many years I wondered as to what was the meaning of the term “self-actualization”.

One day I read a fiction short story called THE NIGHT TRAIN AT DEOLI written by Ruskin Bond.

“The Night Train at Deoli” by Ruskin Bond is my favourite Love Story.

It is a simple story of inchoate and unrequited love – which happens to all of us in our youth.

An eighteen year old boy meets a girl at a quaint railway station called Deoli – where the train halts for a few minutes.

It is love at first sight.

On the return journey after his vacation, the boy eagerly searches for the girl the moment the train reaches Deoli.

He is delighted to see her on the platform.

They look at each other.

They spend ethereal moments of unspoken love, they delicately hold hands.

Suddenly the guard blows his whistle and the train starts moving.

“I have to go to Delhi,” the boy says.

The girl replies, “I do not have to go anywhere.”

This is exactly what I felt one morning – during my walk in the lush green park on the banks of the Mula River – and I said to myself – “I do not have to go anywhere.”  

I felt that I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve.

I have accomplished whatever I wanted to accomplish in life.

I have done whatever I wanted to do.

I am living the life that I always wanted to live.

Now – I am satisfied with life – I am happy where I am – I am content with what I have.

And so – I can say to myself: “I do not have to go anywhere”.

Now – I realize what self-actualization means.

Self Actualization is a state of mind when you can say to yourself:

“I do not have to go anywhere”

Yes – you have reached the stage of self-actualization when you can say to yourself: “I do not have to go anywhere”.

You have realized your full potential.

What you can be – you have become.

You are living the life that you always wanted to live.

You have reached where you wanted to reach – so now – you do not have to go anywhere.

Have you reached this stage of supreme satisfaction in life?

Are you are happy wherever you are?

Are you content with what you have?

Can you say to yourself:

“I have reached where I wanted to reach – and now – I do not have to go anywhere”

If you can say this to yourself – you have achieved Self-Actualization.

Self Actualization is – when you do not have to go anywhere – and – you do not want to go anywhere.

Self Actualization is a great feeling.

You can take my word for it.

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:

1. This is based on my personal experience. It may or may not work for you. So please do due diligence before trying out this technique.

2. 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)

This is a Revised and Updated Version of My Article I DO NOT HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE Posted by me Vikram Karve in my Academic and Creative Writing Journal Blog on July 7, 2013 - Posted by Vikram Karve at 7/07/2013 12:15:00 PM at urls: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/07/i-do-not-have-to-go-anywhere.html  and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/02/self-actualization-what-does-it-mean.html  and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/01/self-actualization-made-simple.html