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BY

NOELGDESOUZA

In contrasc, 'false knowledge (vipmy~ya) is ejther wrong information, illusory ideas (111itqya ;/na11am) or notions which do not possess (pmtishtha111) a firm foundation (t1tadmpa) l.7'.

According to a recent survey, Facebook, with almost 900 million users, is the chjrd largest country in the world after India and

While on a positive note, FB has helped in catching up with friends from the Jjstant past and lands, whom we would never have imagined see in g again Ir cannot be b lamed for how it is being used, but it has also served as a too l to become face le ss. Faceless, when you want to.

We are Living in difficul t times. More trnnquiJJ.isers and antidepressants are being sold than ever before And some of these medjcations have been known to create more havoc, rather tl1an sootlling me rec ipient.

After gairung all me information for buying a property, the mind is botmd co be in turmoil. One needs to mentalJy quieten down, to be able to make a sound decision. The mind needs to be emptied and relaxed.

Cenmries ago, tl1e unrivalled classic of mental contemplation Tbe Yogt1 S11tras ef Patanjali emmciated d1ac for any form of mental Jjscip line, it is essential co cairn or restrain (11irodhah) the flucniations of the mind (chittt1 -vritt1).

''No words were exchanged , no swords drawn, no one was killed; but like a smooth

To people you kn ow, those you have been friends w ith and shared your time with, and people China, and a co untry that s ize will certainly have its own language too. Diehard Facebook converts know the language, talk, share and promote their feelings in a language only the ardent FB folJower will understand.

For examp le, one of my FB as well as real- life friends (as most peopl e have a FB and a real life, it's on ly namra.l to have C\VO set of friends), unhappy over some of m y actions recently, k ic ked me om o f hjs FB. No words were exchanged, no swords drawn, no o n e was kill ed; but like a smooth criminal, crimina l, my i d entity was chopped off from the th i rd largest count r y in the wor l d who deserve better As a matter of fact, there are websites dedicated to me issue of handling your emotions whe n dmnped by your partner or friends on FB, and the most efficient ways co dump people too, in case you decide co use the same method.

On the who le, social medfa like Facebook bas made us more densely networked than ever. Yee for all this connectivity, ne\v research suggests tlrnt we have neve r been lonelier, and it's getting worse my identity was chopped off from the third largest country in the world And I noticed and understood the l anguage , and the accent too. It was s imp le, effortless and accompl ished with only a little click!

W / e live in moments of super- connected loneliness. While we connect to peop le on FB, we are shying a\vay from them in real li fe We find chatting on FB acceptabl e and easy, but find ic d ifficult to discuss issues witl1 che same friends face - co - face. W/e click the toughest pictures, researcb the rarest of quotes co pm on FB, yet

The world i s a troubled place with the financial markets creating daily havoc, and armed conflicts not getting resolved. This coupled with me unresolved wars in a belt stretch ing from Turkey to Afgharuscan are reflected i n personal mental mrmoil. Retirees see

If a troubled person sees a counsellor o r a psychologist, it is very l ikely that the very first thing thac that person will be told is co rela.-.:: and to stop worrying about tl1e problem. Very often, modern medical practice uses drngs co induce tranqwllity. Centuries ago, Patanjali had spoken about drugs as a means co artairung yoga but he had frowned on such a practice.

''The wor ld is a

Such emptying of tl1e mind (pratyaham) is a prerequisite for mental troub led place with the financia l markets creati ng daily havoc, and armed conflicts yoga. \'{/e can envisage two levels: a s im ple relaxation n ot getti ng resolved by stopping worry ing, and a higher level where one withdraws one's senses from the external world. their superannuation funds dwindle, whilst those who invested in scams which were 'too good to be true' are affected b y the financial crisis.

Still worse is me case of those who participate in the wars tl1emselves. They and their families pay the price in mental tmmoil and often in anguish Th is has happened whilst tl1e scars of the Vietnam war in Australfa are still being felc.

''The modern face of despondency and hopelessness stand in marked conu·asc co d ie emptiness or nothingness (s11t~)'ata) of mental yoga. These negative terms, for which lndfan philosop he rs are famous, means the oppos ite Nothingness for them meanc an describable plen imcle, that is, a fullness beyond human in1agination.

In this fast- moving worl d, a phrase used since the l 980s as tl1e world hasn't slowed since then, any appreciation, any growl, any feeling can be expressed through we wane ch e easy way our when ic comes co dealing w ith the same people in FB w ithout sayin g a word. Relationsh ip statuses first change on FB and then in real life A co -worker recently realised that real time.

While a large part of Facebook's appeal stems from its fusion of dist.ance with intimacy, or tl1e illusion it, it drives his fiancee had dumped him after he got a calJ from a murual friend saying her status was cha nged from engaged to single. Thar was it. The ultimate blow, me extreme hit w ith no recourse! Poor guy b ecame lik e Bahadur Shah Zafar dur ing h is last days in Rangoon: Kit11a bad11aseeh hai zafar daf,111 k e l(Je do gaz za111eetJ hhi flt/ 111illi kl!)'etl )'Oar mei11 Could not even find do gaz zameen close to his fiancee co discuss their relationship, or what was l eft of it.

Till a few years ago, expression of emotions

''While a large part of Facebook's appea l stems from its f usion of d istance with intimacy, or the i llusion it, it drives us away fro m the reality we live in us away from the reality we live in. I r's taught us the Jjfference between connection and bonding, espec ially in the Light of the "connected world" coday It has created local online communities which have become the drivers of our se lf -image. And to top ic a.LI, our se l f-image has become restless, eager co show d1ese online communities our soc ial achievements. And just like FB, our self- image refuses co take a break from FB.

In Australia, the younger generation (popul arly called the Y-generation) are under intense pressure, for examp le, needing to buy tl1e right housing, in the right subm:b and ar the right price. High prices in the most desirable suburbs creates che burden of repayment over me next cwenty tears o r so Childcare and school fees add co me load of responsibilities. Then there are travel expenses. Many migrant groups, incl u ding lnruans, are expected to make a trip occasionally to lnclia co meet close relatives

At this stage, it is imporcaoc nor to have fanciful ideas ahom the place one wishes co acquire. One has to live witrun one's means and one should remove i mpractical ideas witl1 regard to transport, sc hools and so on One should remember that, as PatanjaLi noted, 'fanciful ideas (vikalpt1h) can have their basis in verbal or rhetoric expressions (shahdqj11tma) whi ch are devoid (sh,111.Jt1) of substance (vt1st11). 1.8' Such expressions include 'posh suburbs' and 'country athmosphere'.

The necessicy of right knowledge at every stage of me process cannot be overemphasised. As Patanjali had srud, ' Right knowledge (prama11am) can be gained from making logical inferenc es (c1111m1a11a) , from trarutional knowledge (t1gamab) and

The Hindu concept of S111!)'ttfa or nothingness was elaborated by t h e Zen Buddhists and by French poets and writers as the 'vide'; incidencalJy tl1e Sanskrit term for this state is videh! Ac che higher level (t1srJl!ljJrqjnata sal!lt1db1) tl1ere is an absence of alJ modes of tl1e mind (time , space and number) and only subconsc ious impressions (sa1J1Sams) are retained. Tlus come.5 from the constant practice of the highest type of nonamichment, (1.18) wruch is not the l evel for me average person.

However, me average person should s low down their materialistic purswts and remove fear, worry and anger from tl1emse lves, co remove the burdens thar can overload the nuod. This can free them from their shackles. For example, anger i s one of the main burdens wh ich afflict the young and the media must share a lot of tl1e blame for that. Anger (mg,1 in Sanskrit, similar ro the English 'rage') goes hand -in - hand with attachment (also termed raga)

Achieving simple tranq u illity can help the young as it can the old. Many of those in turmoil are today's o ld people. Some of them lose substantially during the global financial crisis. Others see themse lves as nus/its in the modern world, and still otl1ers find it difficult to relate co the ir children