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November 10, 2005
The Power of Intention
Attendees: Prasad, Soujanya, Manju, Vijay, Jay, Manisha, Biswas, Vinoda. Notes by Vijay.
Soujanya started the check-in by talking about her imminent move to New Jersey. She was concerned whether she could find the social environment (and friends) that she had found here. She would also miss the Thursday evening sessions.
Prasad responded that if she had the right intention, she would be able to create a similar social environment in NJ (find similar friends, etc.). She could also create a group similar to the Thursday group here. How could Prasad be so sure that Soujanya would be able to find the right
kind of people in NJ? Prasad narrated a story from Mahabharata. Dronacharya once asked Dharamraj and Duryodhan to go and find both good and bad people in Hastinapur. Both Dharamraj and Duryodhan talked to many people and returned. Dharamraj said that all the people he talked to were good people. Duryodhan said that all the people he talked to were bad people. Both of them found the attributes they were looking for.
Then the discussion turned to the meanings of words "intention" and "choice" which was followed by some Q&A. According to Prasad, intention is "the mechanism by which you set a goal." And choice is "the mechanism by which you don't get attached to that goal."
Manju: What if I have a high goal (intention), but lack faith/confidence in achieving it?
Prasad: Such skepticism/fear comes from prior knowledge (about what is feasible, etc.). So drop (unlearn) the prior knowledge. (My thought: Easier said than done!)
Manisha: When/how do you realize that your choice is wrong and, therefore, you should stop persevering?
Prasad: You don't. If your choice continues to energize you, continues to motivate you, then persevere. Vijay gave the example of Mahatma Gandhi who said that since he firmly believed in his path of truth and justice (and his method of Stayagraha), he could NEVER lose. Therefore, the question of quitting did not arise.
Manju: When you are expressing an intention as a parent and making a choice for your children, how do you pass on your values to them?
Prasad: You need i) Intention ii) Faith and iii) Clarity of Role. You may choose a belief as your value. Then you must live up to this value (because you chose it). Finally, you should be clear about the role you are playing (a parent, in this case).
At this point, Prasad played a segment of Richard Attenborough's movie "Gandhi." In this segment, Gandhi asks (insists) that his wife Kasturba participate (with joy) in cleaning the latrines in their ashram. Her refusal to do so makes Gandhi angry at first, but later he apologizes. Eventually, Gandhi's intention, faith, and clarity of role help persuade his wife to participate in the cleaning.
Later, someone remarked (about pursuing a high goal) that they will "try to do" it or they "hope" to do it. Prasad commented that the phrase "try to do" reflects helplessness, rather than confidence or mastery. If you remove the fear, hope changes into pure intention. "I hope to do it" changes into "I intend to do it."
Jay ended with a quote, "If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, my body can achieve it."
Posted by Ragu at November 10, 2005 09:23 AM
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Comments
Jay's comment drew me write my introduction.
I am Sunil Padture a close friend of Anil Paranjpe and an aquaintance Iva Wilson who told me about Prasad couple of years ago. I recently moved from Michigan after working for GM's strategic planning. I live in Union City and work for Wells Fargo as a strategic planner. I would like to be associated with the Kaipa Group since I believe in synergy between Technology, Business and Spiritualism. I have attended Raghuram and Nagendra's yoga seminar while in Detroit. I am an engineer turned strategist.
I would like to know what forums are available
for association and inquiry (blogs, email, Thursday meetings, yogabharati, etc.)
I have been up all night reading through every line from prasadkaipa.com, selfcorp, etc.
Kind regards and looking forward with enthusiam for inclusion in interest group
Sunil Padture
Union City
H 510 324 1675
padture@gmail.com