Many Problems, One Solution
SWAMI TEJOMAYANANDA
T his title may kindle your
curiosity, and some of you
may wonder how there can be
a single solution to the variety
of problems in the world. Let
me warn you at the outset that
I do not possess any magic
potion or instant cure. I can only
give you something to work on,
the seeds of a solution. Once a
hungry person went to a shop
to buy apples. Instead of apples,
he was given the seeds that he
could plant, that would grow
into trees yielding apples in
abundance. In the same way, I
shall give you the seeds of
thought that can remove all
your problems if only you will
work on it.
The Nature of Problems
Let us first focus on
problems. If we analyse and
observe, we will find that
situations in life are what
become problems. If you are
comfortably sitting in your own
From talks delivered in Hyderabad and
Amritsar in 2007.
Tapovan Prasad
house and begin to feel hungry,
the hunger does not pose a
problem. There is food in the
kitchen; if not, you just go to a
restaurant. But if you are in a
remote place and food is not
available, or you don’t have
enough money to buy food,
then hunger becomes a pro-
blem, because you don’t know
how to deal with it. Whenever
there is an inability to handle
the situation, then that situation
becomes a problem.
If you don’t understand the
situation, it becomes a problem.
If you understand it, but find
no remedy, then again it
becomes a problem. If the
remedy is there, but it isn’t
within reach, then also it
becomes a problem. If every-
thing is within reach, but you
don’t know how to make use of
it, then of course it remains a
problem.
Human beings have a
peculiar ability – whatever we
touch becomes a problem. It is
the Midas touch – whatever he
touched turned into gold,
14 February 2008
whether it was his clothes, his
food or even his own daughter.
Even the fulfillment of his wish
became a problem!
Variety of Problems
There are problems at every
level – physical, financial, emo-
tional, social, national, interna-
tional, political, etc. All people
– children, students, teachers,
parents, leaders, followers,
doctors, and patients – have
problems. There is no dearth of
it. Generally, it is the personal
problems that seem to over-
whelm individuals. During a
yajïa in Hyderabad, I met with
different groups – homemakers,
professionals, industrialists and
businessmen. Though the topics
were different, I was surprised
to note that all of them were
preoccupied with personal
problems, and not problems of
the society.
It is interesting to see that
most of the problems are related
to dealing with people. We have
Tapovan Prasad
to deal either with people who
have difficulties or with people
who are difficult. Two friends
had a conversation. One of them
asked, “Any new problems?”
The other replied, “None, I am
married to one!”
At the physical level, we try
to seek a remedy for our
ailments by gulping down
medicines, but the real solution
is to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Financially, people in trouble
try to solve the problem by
borrowing money. This merely
generates more problems. One
should try to work and earn
well, and live within one’s
means, without spending in-
discriminately. One should also
learn to be content. Gandhiji
said that there is always enough
for our need, but never enough
for our greed. God has arranged
the world so that all our needs
are fulfilled with minimum
expense. Goswami Tulsidas
says in his Dohavali that God
has given us all the essential
things like food, water and air
15 February 2008
free of cost. Inessential things
like gold, diamonds, pearls and
jewels are expensive. After all,
even a millionaire can eat only
a limited amount and wear only
one set of clothes and one pair
of shoes at a time. When people
say that they do not have
enough money, it is mostly with
reference to their artificial
needs.
Our basic needs are few and
to enrich our inner life, no
money is required. Inner life is
enriched by values and virtues
like love, compassion and right
thinking, which do not require
money. When we give more
importance to material things,
then problems arise, leading to
jealously and cut throat compe-
tition. Young people work in
call centres to earn quick
money, but they lose their
perspective on life and grow old
by the age of thirty. All this
leads to the question whether
we value values or valuables. If
values are lost, problems reign
supreme.
In the field of education there
is a lot of frustration. People
think that education is only to
enable one to get a job. After
long years of study, when a
person cannot find a job, he
feels that the education has been
futile. A lawyer called a
Tapovan Prasad
plumber to repair a tap. He
worked for 15 minutes and
presented a bill for Rs. 500. “As
a lawyer I don’t earn that
much,” the lawyer protested.
“As a lawyer I also did not earn
that much, that is why I
switched to plumbing,” rejoined
the plumber. Education has
higher goals than just providing
us with a job.
Parenting is also becoming a
problem. Children grow out of
their childhood, but parents do
not seem to grow out of their
parenthood! Vedänta suggests
that after a certain stage, one
should move from gåhastha
äçrama to vänaprastha äçrama. But
today an 80-year-old father
expects his 60-year-old child to
obey him. All this is the result
of wrong thinking. Parents
should learn to let go.
Right Thinking the
Only Solution
Thus there are many kinds
of problems, but Vedänta says
that all problems arise from lack
of right thinking alone. It
remains the root cause of all our
bondage, sorrow and problems.
It is said: ‘avicära kåto bandhaù
vicäreëa nivartate – bondage
caused by lack of thinking
(avicära), is removed by proper
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thinking.’ It is the one solution
for all our problems.
Three Kinds of Avicära
1. Lack of thinking. Avicära
means absence of thinking or
absence of enquiry. If you don’t
think, ignorance continues.
Ignorance is not bliss or joy; it
is only suffering. Often we get
into trouble because of lack of
thinking. We have heard it said,
“A moment’s thought would
have shown him a solution. But
a moment is a long time and
thinking a difficult process!” A
mother went on an errand
leaving her child asleep. When
she returned, she saw a
mongoose in the doorway with
blood on its mouth. Presuming
that it had hurt her child, she
killed it. Then she walked into
the house only to find a dead
snake lying next to her child
who was unharmed. She
realised that the mongoose must
have killed the snake and saved
her child. She could never
forgive herself for her thought-
less action.
2. Inadequate thinking.
Some people think, but get tired
of it soon, and give up half way
without thinking the problem
through. People are generally
allergic to serious or deep think-
ing. They don’t thrash out the
Tapovan Prasad
problem to find a solution. They
begin to think, but end up
wishing that the problem would
solve itself.
3. Erroneous thinking.
Avicära also means virodhi
(opposite) or erroneous think-
ing. Some are habituated to
negative thinking and others are
experts in wrong thinking. In
this context, I am reminded of a
story I heard in my childhood.
There was a man who noticed a
buffalo with round horns and
was fascinated by it. He kept
staring at it every day on his
way to the temple. One day,
people heard him screaming,
“Save me! Save me!” When they
rushed to the spot, they found
him stuck between the horns of
the buffalo. After rescuing him,
they were curious and asked
him how he managed to get
stuck there. He explained that
he himself had stuck his head
between the buffalo’s horns. On
being chided for his foolishness,
he said that for the past fifteen
days he had only been thinking
of how to get between the
buffalo’s horns! Many of us
invite problems by our thinking.
Categorising the Problem
Firstly, see the given situa-
tion objectively and assess why
it is a problem for you. At this
17 February 2008
stage we may find that the
situation is simply a situation
and not a problem at all.
However, if it still continues to
appear as a problem, proceed to
categorise it. It could be any of
the following kinds:
l A factual problem like a
financial crisis, a disease of
the body, or even a leaking
roof.
l An imaginary problem like
the fear of a car crash, a bleak
view of one’s career, or
imagining a serious illness
from the symptoms of a
common cold.
l A subjective thinking
problem based on strong
likes and dislikes, prejudices,
attachments etc.
Identifying the Solution
The next step is to find the
solution. If it is a factual
problem, you can do the
following:
1. Sit quietly with a paper and
pen.
2. Write down the situation that
is posing the problem.
3. Jot down all possible
solutions for it.
4. Shortlist the most practical
solutions.
5. Further shortlist and pick the
solution that it is within your
capability to implement.
Tapovan Prasad
6. Allow it to happen –
implement it.
For example, if you want to
go from Hyderabad to Mumbai,
list out the alternative ways of
travel – by air, foot, road or rail.
Strike out the impractical ones
such as travelling by foot. If air
travel does not fit your budget,
strike it out. Now your alterna-
tives are down to road and rail,
and you can choose based on
availability, personal comfort,
timing, etc.
Once you have found a
solution, relax and allow it to
happen. There are some people
who worry even after they are
seated in the plane: “I hope the
pilot is well trained. I hope there
are no hijackers. The weather
seems bad. What if there is a
storm?” There is no point in
worrying about things over
which we have no control.
Dispel these worries and relax.
If it is an imaginary problem,
right thinking will reveal that it
is not a problem at all. It simply
dissolves into thin air! The fear
of a car crash or ill health is only
in our minds. I alone can
remove the problem from my
mind with the help of right
thinking.
If it is a problem born out of
subjective prejudices, attach-
ments and the like, we have to
18 February 2008
think deeply, detach ourselves
from the situation and view the
problem objectively with a
holistic vision. A narrow vision
can make a mountain out of a
molehill. A narrow vision may
be due to insufficient informa-
tion, limited thinking, a partial
view, personal idiosyncrasies, or
even sheer selfishness. A
solution arising from a narrow
vision can never be the right
solution to the problem. For
example, that which benefits
man, but harms other living
beings and the environment,
proves to be harmful even to
man ultimately.
Methods of
Right Thinking
What is right thinking? Every
person, even a terrorist, thinks
that he is right! The capitalist
and the communist – both think
they are right. The one who
believes in God thinks he is
right and an atheist also sees
only his viewpoint as correct.
The old man thinks that because
Tapovan Prasad
of his experience, what he
thinks is right. Young people
think that they alone are right
and their parents don’t know
anything. It is said that by the
time a man thinks that perhaps
his father was right after all, he
already has a son who thinks
he is wrong!
Many people are proud of
the fact that they are very ratio-
nal and intellectual, but actually
fall far short of it. Taittiriya
Upanishad gives the anatomy or
structure of the intellect:
l Çraddhä or faith is the head
or the crown of the intellect.
l Åtam is its right hand.
Satyam is its left hand.
l
Yoga is its middle, the trunk.
l
l Total intellect or Mahat is its
feet.
Çraddhä is made up of the
words ‘çradh’ and ‘dhä’. Çradh
means ’Truth’ and dhä means
‘that which holds’. Thus çraddhä
is that which holds the Truth.
This word has very deep
significance. It can encompass
our entire value system. It
19 February 2008
implies that our thinking must
be rooted in faith. According to
the Bhagavad Gita there is no one
without faith. Is it not true that
even a rationalist has faith in his
own sense organs and intellect?
But our rational thinking must
be based on faith. Mere logic
cannot lead us anywhere. Cer-
tain basic premises have to be
accepted before we proceed
with our enquiry. We must have
faith in the valid means of
knowledge. If we do not believe
in anything, our thinking will
go haywire.
With çraddhä as the founda-
tion, when we enquire deeply
and arrive at an understanding
of the Truth, it is called åtam.
Åtam should be followed by
satyam, the manifestation of that
Truth in our lives. Yoga here
means absorption; the mind
should be absorbed in that
Truth; there should be a deep
conviction that guides our lives.
Only a person who has convic-
tion enough to apply the results
of his enquiry in his daily life is
Tapovan Prasad
a true intellectual. There are so
many intellectuals who are
thoroughly conversant with
various philosophies and can
write and speak eloquently on
all of them. But on enquiry, we
may find that they have no
conviction in any of the philoso-
phies they speak about. They
know no peace despite their
vast knowledge.
Individual thinking must be
rooted in the totality, called
mahat. You must be identified
with the welfare of the whole.
If the head of the family thinks
only of himself, his own food
and drink, and never about the
needs of the members of the
family, his thinking is not right
because he is not able to iden-
tify with the entire family unit.
When I am contesting in the
elections from a particular con-
stituency, I should think well
about its welfare. If I become
the chief minister of the state, I
can no longer afford to think
only about my own constitu-
ency, because then the whole
20 February 2008
state becomes my responsibility.
But my state is only a part of
the entire nation. Therefore my
decisions must be taken in such
a way that the welfare of the
entire nation is not harmed in
any way.
In the same manner, the
whole world is my family.
When I am able to identify with
the totality, my thinking will be
right. My individuality must be
merged with the totality. From
that level if I think, then my
actions will be right, and what-
ever be my personal beliefs, I
will not do anything that hurts
the totality.
Gandhiji said that when rules
are made for the people, the
poorest man must be kept in
mind. But in practice, we find
that our laws always protect the
rich more than the poor. We
must learn to look at life as a
whole and live a whole life. If
my thinking is based only on
one aspect, it will be faulty. For
instance, if my actions are
motivated only by the desire for
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money, then they will be
defective. In my individual life,
I must integrate all aspects of
my personality. Then my think-
ing will be right. In the society,
if I identify with all the people
around me, my thinking will be
right.
One may think that this is a
very difficult thing to do. God
has made us in such a way that
when we do wrong things, we
have an inner voice that tells us
that we are wrong, but we tell
it to shut up. Learn to listen to
the inner voice.
Conclusion
To sum up, we face different
situations in life. When we don’t
understand them properly, or
are unable to deal with them,
they become problems. All we
have to do is utilise our think-
ing faculty in the proper way.
We must cultivate right think-
ing, rooted in çraddhä, åtam,
satyam, yoga and mahat. Right
thinking is the only solution to
all our problems.
21 February 2008