SimplyJITH Blog

P.S: This post is an amateur attempt at numbers. I wish to present my understanding and lessons I learnt from  number 9.

There is a certain charm in the number 9. I wish to consider the word SimplyJITH, to present my observation.  If we are to list the number equivalents for each alphabet, add the resulting series of numbers and then we continue this schematic with individual digits of the sum total we obtain from our earlier exercise, until we reach a single digit, we end up with digit 6.

Alternatively, if we are position/replace each such number equivalent with corresponding difference between a suitable multiple of 9 and itself, and continue to narrow down with the summation schematic explained above to a single digit, we will again end up with 6. Please see illustration for reference. 

Number 9 presents a strong significance in the play of numbers. It is important for us to realize the absorption capacity it showcases. It teaches us an important lesson of magnanimity, to stand up to any moment of adversity or success with the same outlook and balanced spirits, absorb any happening into our stride and move on. Further, it presents an important lesson  in parenting,  to pass on this belief practice onto the next generation : multiples of 9 showcase the same trend.  

Let me present another interesting behavior pattern of number 9. This pattern is essentially the basis for the observation presented above. Nevertheless, it stands out with its own lessons to teach.  Consider any number, let me pick 73 for now to illustrate my point. If we add the two digits in the number, we end up with 7 + 3 = 10, going further till we end up with a single digit, we end up with 1. If we add 9 to 73, we end up with 82. Further, if we apply the same schematic presented above, we will again end up with 1.  

Number 9 presents the divinity in forgiveness and the needed ability to remain true to yourself, rather than being driven by external factors. Number 9 will give no distortion to any number, rather it leaves the number with its own shades and continue to remain unaffected. It is important for us to forgive anyone and let him/her be with his/her shades rather than trying to influence/disturb their lives. More so, it is important to remain true to our intention, continue to strive for spiritual excellence and inner purity; rather than being carried away by external influences. 

Place: Batu Caves, Malaysia

Date: 16th March 2011

There is a strong belief, that no truth is ever lost – that every word ever spoken, every act we were a part of,  every emotion we lived with, still exists and when that truth comes calling, one should be able to face it, and continue to respect oneself. This is possible when one did not cheat oneself and others in their life….

Rachel heard voices from her past, but they were muffled and fragmented, and they filled her with remorse…..

‘Mom, I found Albert fun loving, caring and he loves me.. and is probably the one who will love me for rest of my life. I want to call off my engagement with Paul, do not want to be with him anymore’

‘Albert, I have been cheating on you betraying every ounce of trust you showered on me.’

‘Relations need more maturity and nurture, I hope my daughter knows what a relation is about and what she is doing.’

‘I know mom, I need my man to shower me with a teddy every day and lots of love. Remember the teddy  Dave presented me on our secret weekend trip to Cheney? But then, he was not as charming as Paul was.’

‘Do you know you’re a very special girl to me Rachel ? One I seek to grow old together with, I felt it from the first time I saw you….I shall always hold you.’

‘It’s over Albert, I do not wish to marry you. I’ll be happy if you do not call me anymore. I found someone else now…Charlie has been taking care of me, while you were away.’

‘Rachel, I know you are an innocent girl lost in the lonely lanes of youth. I shall relocate, distances have put us away for long….’

‘Mom, Albert had been irritating me with his phone calls all through my Amazon trip with Charlie, I do not need his love anymore, can you tell Albert not to disturb me anymore?’

The voices would not stop. Her past became a kaleidoscope of shifting images that kept racing through her mind. Such recurrences have become more common these days. The Pagatele women were never known for their fidelity, but Rachel’s case was rather unusual – behind the facade of fame and glamor (which were the usual reasons for Pagatele women to cheat on their men) lies a hidden web of unmatched selfishness, addiction and fallacious reasoning to justify her actions.

Continued…

Around the world students, pupils, teachers, parents and employees have been protesting against the increasing commercialization and privatization of public education, and fighting for free and emancipator education in the past decade.

This year will see people unify this struggle on the international and global level for the “Global Wave of Action for Education.”

Many of us use the “International Student Movement” as a self-managed platform initiated to exchange information, to network and to co-ordinate protests at both the international and the global levels. We strive for structures based on direct participation and non-hierarchical organization through collective discussion and action. Anyone who identifies with the struggle against the privatization of public education, and for free and emancipatory education can join and participate on as well as shape the platform!

Some of us have already met and networked during the following occasions: 10 years of “Bologna-Process” in Louvain la Neuve (Belgium) on April 25-29th 2009, G8 University Summit in Torino (Italy) on May 17- 19th 2009, Bologna Burns in Vienna (Austria) on March 11-14th 2010, Bologna keeps on Burning in Madrid (Spain) and the “European Education Congress” in Bochum (Germany) on May 25-30th. 

• The effects of the current economic system on people and education systems:
 – Tuition fees or any form of fees which exclude people from accessing and equally participating in education

 – Student debt
 – Public education aligned to serve the (labour) market
 

The so-called Bologna-Process (as with its counterparts around the world) is aimed at implementing education systems that primarily train people in skills serving the labour market. It promotes the reduction of costs for training a person, shortens the length of time spent studying, and produces under-qualified workforces.

 – Turning education into a commodity (like all other aspects of life)
 – (Increasing) influence of business interests on basic budgets for public education
 – (Increasing) budget cuts on public education worldwide
 – The “privatization” of public funds with the subsidization of private educational institutions
 – The commodification and exploitation of labor within educational institutions

• We stand against the discrimination and exclusion within any educational institution based on:
 – Socio-economic background (education systems are currently set up so that people with less money can’t participate equally)
 – Nationality
 – Performance
 – Political ideologies and activities
 – Gender
 – Sexual orientation
 – Religion
 – Ethnic background
 – Skin colour

• We stand against the prioritisation of research towards commercially valuable patents rather than open knowledge freely available to all! Public educational institutions are increasingly forced to compete for private sponsorships to do (basic) research; at the same time private funds have the tendency to be invested into research promising to be profitable (leading to a decline in funding for areas of research which may be important but not deemed economically lucrative). On the basis of profitability, educational institutions and participants are deemed ‘excellent’ and often fulfill the criteria to receive additional public funding.

• We stand against the prioritisation of income-generating research grants ahead of education and basic research activities for the army within educational institutions:
 – No research specifically for military purposes
 – No recruiting and advertising activities for the army

• CONTENT:
 – Free and emancipatory education as a human right: education should primarily serve the individual’s interest to be emancipated, that means: to be enabled to critically reflect and understand the power structures and environment surrounding him-/herself; education must not only enable the emancipation of the individual but society as a whole

 – Education as a public good serving public interests
 – Academic freedom and choice: freedom to pursue any educational discipline

• ACCESS:
 – Free from monetary mechanisms of payment by participants and any kind of discrimination and exclusion and therefore freely accessible to all individuals 

 – Sufficient funding of all educational institutions, no matter if deemed profitable or not

• STRUCTURE:
 – All educational entities/institutions should be democratically structured (direct participation from below as a basis for decision making processes)

The impacts of the current global economic system create struggles worldwide. While applying local pressure to influence our individual local/regional politics and legislation, we must always be aware of the global and structural nature of our problems and share our tactics, experiences in organizations, and theoretical knowledge to learn from each other. Short-term changes may be achieved on the local level, but great change will only happen if we unite globally.

Education systems worldwide do what they are intended to do within the economic and state system(s):  select, train and create ignorance and submission. We unite for a different education system and a different life.

We stand united against any sort of repression by governments worldwide directed at people involved in the struggle for free and emancipatory education.

~ One world – One struggle ~ 

2010 was a year for immense learning and new horizons, for us at SimplyJITH. In addition to our various programs and their affiliated projects, we have been working hard, to create a platform for youth,  for them to understand the importance of values, and moral wellbeing. We wish to lend a friendly support and facilitate the flowering of immense potential that every youth has, in order to successfully navigate through the turbulent and disaster-prone, yet very promising period of youth and beyond. I take this opportunity to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude to each and everyone for their valuable contribution in this effort. 

It gives us great pleasure to announce the launch of SimplyJITH Character Institute. Adding to our existing array of programs, this effort of ours will strive to mold youth as a perfect blend of academic excellence and value education for character well-being. We are honored to receive your continued patronage, which inspires us to strive towards even higher standards of human excellence. 

An Enterprise is only as successful as the society it serves. We, with each effort of ours, engage in a mutual learning model, and encourage our patrons to support us with your feedback and valuable opinion.  It has always been our endeavor to enhance living experience of our patrons and ourselves. As we step into 2011, we look forward to providing you with a bouquet of learning opportunities through our efforts.

May I wish you and your family a year of peace, prosperity and good luck!

With best wishes,

Abhijith Jayanthi 

Today, I wish to discuss about fears of our spiritual self. Before I proceed, it is important to clearly differentiate between fears of our spiritual self and the usual fears of our mind. I wish to put forward, a simple exercise for this purpose: To begin, please go to a calm spot where you can sit quietly, breathe deeply and think about what is making you feel fearful, examine your fear(s). Is it the fear of losing a job, not being able to pay bills, being thrown out of your home or of someone harming you? These are the fears of our mind, solution for such fears is simple: One needs to identify each of his/her fear and then consciously make an effort to face them. This post will be of little or no help for such fears. Rather, while you were thinking about various fears, if you have had this situation, ‘….I am well off in regard to every necessity in my life i.e. a suitable job, enough monetary resources to meet one’s needs and pleasant living experience, yet I feel a lacuna within myself, that needs to be filled…for embracing happiness and I fear….’, these are the fears of the spiritual self. Please read on, I hope this post will be of some help to you.

I wish to talk about an important concept which will give us a better outlook about the origin and a possible solution for such fears of our spiritual self. Just as gravity plays a vital conceptual role to explain various aspects of physics in the material world, it does so in the spiritual world as well. When one is not well grounded spiritually, he/she is floating in mid air, and is susceptible to be thrown by a strong breeze towards one side for a moment, and onto another side the next moment. This irregular motion of our spiritual selves,  will subject our mental and bodily selves to many collisions, which will effect our momentum towards life, thus reducing our vitality and happiness. Hence, it is essential for us to understand the importance of spiritual gravity and work towards being well grounded spiritually.

The method of approach for such an exercise is simple. Ask your spiritual self if the thing you fear has actually happened or if you are projecting something you are afraid could happen. Next ask yourself how realistic that fear is. The purpose of this exercise is to remind yourself of the many times your fears haven’t come to be, but have simply resided in your psyche, haunting you like the monsters that were under your bed or in your closet when you were a child.

It is noticing what you have been through, that is the primary focus of this process. Take a look at each event that is now your past, understand how you dealt with people who were in your life in the past. Take time to count them and understand where you stand in regard to each of such events/people, and where did you leave them at. The necessity for such an exercise, is as simple as understanding how one can find something, at the same place where he/she has lost it. To be spiritually grounded, one needs to settle each element of fear/doubt to rest. To achieve it, we need to understand and appreciate the fact that, we in our life, have left many actions and emotions incomplete, allowing them to float around, we need to work towards a possible closure for each of such events…to be grounded spiritually. 

A big part of this exercise is to learn that the answers to what influences our present lie in our past and to enjoy our present, we need to respect our past and put it to rest with complete dignity. This is actually a very good remedy to stave off fear of hypothetical future situations. The next time you have one of those moments when fear overtakes you, I hope you’ll try my suggestions to look at what is making you fearful, consider it and work towards a possible closure (which will allow you  to let it go) so that you can focus on what is really important — making the most of your day.

Dear Sir,

When I was a kid, I was told…to forgive is a divine gesture, but I was never told when I shall need it, and more so in what circumstances it is an option that I may exercise. During my turmoil over the past year, I knew that things were not as idyllic as they appeared on the surface. I observed the signs of impending doom not because I was so much more perceptive than others, but simply because I had the opportunity to spend time with myself. 

Through my journey of discovering myself better, I understood most of us live – both physically and emotionally in a very restricted space of our possibilities. We all have potential reservoirs of life to draw upon, of which we do not really know.  After going through each memory, I have realized everyone of us decide and act upon a particular issue, with the knowledge we have, to the best of our ability. This indeed, was a great learning, I realized why I did not understand the way people acted/reacted earlier. Anecdotes often present us with lessons, that nature wishes to bestow upon us. Earlier one day, as I was looking at my reflection in a hand held mirror, it slipped my grip and fell to the floor. With a quick jab the mirror broke, into tiny shards. I realized how each piece was able to forgive me and yet reflect me the way it did earlier. I have understood that, to seek inner peace, it is essential to forgive others.

Today, as we sat at Zitouna Mosque, my friend talking about the Tunisia struggle for democracy said,” …If they are willing to go, we can forgive our leaders because the past cannot be corrected, but how can we forget the pain that they had put us through? …” This statement has given me the path I needed. I have come to realize that forgiving does not necessarily erase our bitter past. My soul seeks healing, and forgiving  what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. So, I will have to forgive others and forget (release) memories associated with them. I realized that I have to release memories of my past for seeking inner peace. Allow me to fan my tiny inner spark of possibility into a flame of achievement. Please release the memories of my past and set my soul free.

Yours truly,

Abhijith 

Place: Tunis, Tunisia

Dated: June 2010

cc’ed : Dad

Were there times you felt that you needed some space? Actually, we all need some “space,” some time to ourselves and some place to recharge our batteries and renew our spirit. When we look at it, we are all occupied with our usual aspirations and challenges, that we tend to forget the deeper meaning of our existence…our attempt to be at peace with ourselves. 

It is important to realize that there are three facets to a well developed personality i.e. mind, body and soul. In  our daily routine, we tend to focus on one or two of them ignoring the importance of striking a balanced approach towards all the three. It becomes essential that we seek time for self, immerse in understanding ourselves better, thus reconnecting with our inner selves.

In such an attempt, we are making an effort to look within us, thus  reaching out to the greater thought. Thoughts are never owned by one single person, rather thoughts have no limitations in regard to space and time. Methods of telepathy showcase how thoughts can reach beyond boundary definitions, while the emotional turmoil one passes through, when he/she is deeply involved with a collection of thoughts, speaks of their power to control us and subsequently define our actions. In our attempt to reconnect with ourselves, we are essentially, gaining greater control of our thoughts, and thus gaining control over self. 

In ancient times, places where one could reconnect with self were considered sacred and were often found in nature – a grove, a hill or valley, or a mountain.  But you don’t have to go outdoors to find a sacred space.  You can create a sacred space right in your own home. It doesn’t matter how small your living quarters are, even a corner of a room can do.  A sacred space is an area where you can sit and contemplate, or let your mind wander and relax, ponder, and dream.  You need to let go yourself, to pursue a thought, follow a thread. Such an activity will help discover yourself better, thus establishing a greater connection with self.

Your sacred space is where you shall seek answers to strike the right balance amongst the three facets…where you can find yourself again…where you shall find your peace.