You Can Do It Too!

You Can Do It Too!

Once upon a time there was a small peaceful village. The villagers were very well off. They had land full of crops, farms full of cattle. Their yards were full of poultry. In such a house, once a hen hatched several eggs. When the chickens came out, surprisingly a bizarre looking creature was also with them. It looked like a duckling. But, it was so ugly! How did it come here? Why was it so different from the others?

Its life started from one corner of the back yard of that house. No one used to like it. The other human kids used to pinch it if they got chance. Chickens used to chase it up all the time. Even the crows used to make this poor duckling scared. Its food was leftovers from the humans. That was even after when other chickens were finished with their eating. No one was close to it’ except its mother.

Thus the duckling was passing its life. With days passing, on it was growing bigger. One day, it realized that when it wanted to run fast, it could fly a bit! But, the duckling did not bother with that incident much.

One day for some reason all the chickens started chasing that poor duckling. The duckling got very scared and started running with all its might. It reached at the last end of its village. It had to stop as there was no way to go forwards as there was a valley in front of it. The duckling started thinking what would it do? If it had to move even one step further, it had to move in the water in the valley. However, it had never ever crossed water! And there wasn’t even any other way to go! The duckling’s mother was also coming after him.

Suddenly its attention was drawn to sum swimming ducks of that valley. It was taken by surprise to find out that those swimming ducks looked exactly like him. The duckling was so surprised that one moment it was looking at its mother, the next moment it was looking at the swimming flocks of ducks. It also saw its reflection in water. It realized that it is neither like its mother, not like other chickens. He is actually like those birds that had flown to this area from Antarctic region. Those birds used to fly to this village in search for a warm place in winter season. Incidentally one egg from any of those bird have had been dropped among the chicken eggs in that farmer’s house and thus that ugly duckling was born. It was amazed to see that how freely those birds were flying in the sky and swimming in the valley. It understood that the life it was passing was not the actual way of passing its life. he also had the ability to fly like those birds. It also understood that being chased up, eating leftovers was not life. Moreover, it was born with the ability to fly thousand miles above.

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero

The Teachings of Great Men Thoughout the Ages is the Same

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero is the Chief Priest of Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery, the Chairman of Bangladesh Bouddha Krishti Pracher Sangha, and an internationaly acclaimed Buddhist personality. This is the summary of a speech he made as the key speaker in Quantum Open Ideas on May 11, 2004.

The very suffering that motivated a man, in spite of being a prince, to leave behind all the luxuries of life and to indulge in a long period of introspection, also lead him to the means of conquering that same suffering through enlightenment.

 The Lord Buddha, on realizing the four truths regarding suffering, suggested two religious paths as remedies. The first is to follow the Middle Way; that is not to be too self-indulgent and extravagant in life and at the same time to recognize that it is not necessary to maintain strict asceticism. The second religious is the Noble Eightfold Path. These are right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

To best realize these a man must practice meditation. A sangha or group can help one to purify oneself by ridding oneself of jealousy and enriching oneself with humanitarian qualities. The main theme of all religions is the same at its core--helping others, suffering the consequences of one’s own actions and being tolerant to others’ opinions. The message of justice and brotherhood preached by the Buddha and contained in the teachings of great men throughout the ages is essentially the same.

 I heartily praise the role of the Quantum Foundation in pursuing moral regeneration and the creation of a humanitarian society. I am very hopeful that with the assistance of the Quantum Foundation, it will be possible to take forward the well-meaning movement of inter-religious dialogue that began in the early 1950s with Dhaka University Professors Dr. Kazi Motahar Hossain, Dr. Md. Shahidullah and Dr. G.C. Dev.

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero

The Teachings of Great Men Thoughout the Ages is the Same

Venerable Suddhananda Mahathero is the Chief Priest of Dharmarajika Buddhist Monastery, the Chairman of Bangladesh Bouddha Krishti Pracher Sangha, and an internationaly acclaimed Buddhist personality. This is the summary of a speech he made as the key speaker in Quantum Open Ideas on May 11, 2004.

The very suffering that motivated a man, in spite of being a prince, to leave behind all the luxuries of life and to indulge in a long period of introspection, also lead him to the means of conquering that same suffering through enlightenment.

 The Lord Buddha, on realizing the four truths regarding suffering, suggested two religious paths as remedies. The first is to follow the Middle Way; that is not to be too self-indulgent and extravagant in life and at the same time to recognize that it is not necessary to maintain strict asceticism. The second religious is the Noble Eightfold Path. These are right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

To best realize these a man must practice meditation. A sangha or group can help one to purify oneself by ridding oneself of jealousy and enriching oneself with humanitarian qualities. The main theme of all religions is the same at its core--helping others, suffering the consequences of one’s own actions and being tolerant to others’ opinions. The message of justice and brotherhood preached by the Buddha and contained in the teachings of great men throughout the ages is essentially the same.

 I heartily praise the role of the Quantum Foundation in pursuing moral regeneration and the creation of a humanitarian society. I am very hopeful that with the assistance of the Quantum Foundation, it will be possible to take forward the well-meaning movement of inter-religious dialogue that began in the early 1950s with Dhaka University Professors Dr. Kazi Motahar Hossain, Dr. Md. Shahidullah and Dr. G.C. Dev.

Freedom Through Peace

Dr. Nurul Islam

Freedom Through Peace

National Professor Dr. Nurul Islam is the pioneer of advanced medicine in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the University of Science and Tecnology Chittagong, the chief architect of the national drug policy which drastically cut down the import of unnecessary drugs, and the key force behind creating anti-smoking awareness in Bangladesh. This article has been compiled based on his well known book 'prescription' and the speech he made as the chief guest of the publication ceremony of the shithilaion (relaxation) tape.

Every doctor comes into contact with patients or problems that are somehow related to stress. We have seen that 40% of outpatients do not need any medicine. There are many people who are taking so many different kinds of medicine that it would take quite some time to count all the medicine on their list. It would take even longer to write the names of the medicine. And if you try to calculate the amount of money they are spending on their drugs, you too will be stressed. What is the reason for this?

The reason is what we often call disease is really a type of stress or anxiety. In other words, illness or disease is the result of lack of a sound mental state. The Bangla for illness is oshukh, or o-shukh, which means lack of happiness. So illness is the lack of happiness or contentment.

If we accept this definition of illness as lack of happiness, we will find that the treatment process cannot be limited to the doctor and patient only. If we analyze the patient's family and environment, we will find that we can help many people recover from their illnesses without having to resort to drugs.

If –right now–you start thinking about whether you have any pain in your head or body, I can assure you many of you will start having a headache. If you think, “It is risky to go out now, what if I need to go to the bathroom?” then exactly that will happen. The urge is first created in the mind.

The thing is, the mind is much more powerful than the body. I have noticed that foolish people suffer less, because they don't think so much. Think about the crazy people on the streets. They might not have an arm, but they are wandering about perfectly happy. Some are walking, some laughing, some singing. Because they don't have the ability to think a lot, they are free from worries. And because they are free from worries, they can do whatever they want.

Again, consider your thoughts or worries–which are things you cannot see or touch. Yet these intangible things can produce something that can be seen, tasted and investigated in a laboratory. That something is tears, which are a result of mental pain. Recently, we have learnt that, like thoughts, determination or conviction induces a chemical reaction in the body, which results in the creation of a substance that strengthens our immune system, and even helps us recover from illnesses. If mental suffering can generate a chemical substance in the form of tears then it is quite possible that other mental states can generate other chemicals.

The truth is many of the problems we try to solve with medicine or other treatments can be solved by boosting the patient’s confidence and helping him attain mental peace.

A few days ago, a senior officer came to see me. He had insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, and pain in his arms and legs. In the last seven or eight months he had seen 4 or 5 physicians, who had prescribed almost 50 different kinds of sleeping pills, digestives, tonics, vitamins, injections, etc. after numerous tests. But he found no relief. I asked the gentleman to write in detail about his personal history and his present circumstances, and leave this with my associate.  He did so in the next few days. When he came to see me the next week, I told him he did not any medicine. His symptoms were the result of not being able to agree with his office superior despite trying his best. Medicine wouldn't help. He needed to adapt to the situation: accept the rather unfortunate circumstances and take satisfaction in the fact that he was working with honesty and dedication.

Another time, a senior government official brought his father to see me. According to him, his father had had insomnia for two years. They had prescriptions from a dozen physicians, prescribing tonics, sleeping pills, injections on every alternate day, etc. They said everything worked in the first few weeks but then stopped. After listening to him, I found out he sleeps for an hour after lunch everyday and then sleeps from 11:00 pm to 3:30 am at night. I calculated that he was sleeping between five to five and a half hours everyday, which was enough for his age. Then why did he have complaints? When he woke up at 3:30, it was dark and everybody else was still asleep. He felt lonely. I explained to him he was getting enough sleep for his age. He accepted the fact happily. I learnt later that he had given up all his medicine and was fine.

The examples above show that in our country, countless people become the victims of senseless prescriptions and are harmed physically, mentally and financially. We must address this issue at the national policy level to relieve patients of their problems, not multiply them. We have to accept that we don't need to hand out a prescription to every patient. Neither do we need medicine for every illness.

Freedom Through Peace

Dr. Nurul Islam

Freedom Through Peace

National Professor Dr. Nurul Islam is the pioneer of advanced medicine in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the University of Science and Tecnology Chittagong, the chief architect of the national drug policy which drastically cut down the import of unnecessary drugs, and the key force behind creating anti-smoking awareness in Bangladesh. This article has been compiled based on his well known book 'prescription' and the speech he made as the chief guest of the publication ceremony of the shithilaion (relaxation) tape.

Every doctor comes into contact with patients or problems that are somehow related to stress. We have seen that 40% of outpatients do not need any medicine. There are many people who are taking so many different kinds of medicine that it would take quite some time to count all the medicine on their list. It would take even longer to write the names of the medicine. And if you try to calculate the amount of money they are spending on their drugs, you too will be stressed. What is the reason for this?

The reason is what we often call disease is really a type of stress or anxiety. In other words, illness or disease is the result of lack of a sound mental state. The Bangla for illness is oshukh, or o-shukh, which means lack of happiness. So illness is the lack of happiness or contentment.

If we accept this definition of illness as lack of happiness, we will find that the treatment process cannot be limited to the doctor and patient only. If we analyze the patient's family and environment, we will find that we can help many people recover from their illnesses without having to resort to drugs.

If –right now–you start thinking about whether you have any pain in your head or body, I can assure you many of you will start having a headache. If you think, “It is risky to go out now, what if I need to go to the bathroom?” then exactly that will happen. The urge is first created in the mind.

The thing is, the mind is much more powerful than the body. I have noticed that foolish people suffer less, because they don't think so much. Think about the crazy people on the streets. They might not have an arm, but they are wandering about perfectly happy. Some are walking, some laughing, some singing. Because they don't have the ability to think a lot, they are free from worries. And because they are free from worries, they can do whatever they want.

Again, consider your thoughts or worries–which are things you cannot see or touch. Yet these intangible things can produce something that can be seen, tasted and investigated in a laboratory. That something is tears, which are a result of mental pain. Recently, we have learnt that, like thoughts, determination or conviction induces a chemical reaction in the body, which results in the creation of a substance that strengthens our immune system, and even helps us recover from illnesses. If mental suffering can generate a chemical substance in the form of tears then it is quite possible that other mental states can generate other chemicals.

The truth is many of the problems we try to solve with medicine or other treatments can be solved by boosting the patient’s confidence and helping him attain mental peace.

A few days ago, a senior officer came to see me. He had insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, and pain in his arms and legs. In the last seven or eight months he had seen 4 or 5 physicians, who had prescribed almost 50 different kinds of sleeping pills, digestives, tonics, vitamins, injections, etc. after numerous tests. But he found no relief. I asked the gentleman to write in detail about his personal history and his present circumstances, and leave this with my associate.  He did so in the next few days. When he came to see me the next week, I told him he did not any medicine. His symptoms were the result of not being able to agree with his office superior despite trying his best. Medicine wouldn't help. He needed to adapt to the situation: accept the rather unfortunate circumstances and take satisfaction in the fact that he was working with honesty and dedication.

Another time, a senior government official brought his father to see me. According to him, his father had had insomnia for two years. They had prescriptions from a dozen physicians, prescribing tonics, sleeping pills, injections on every alternate day, etc. They said everything worked in the first few weeks but then stopped. After listening to him, I found out he sleeps for an hour after lunch everyday and then sleeps from 11:00 pm to 3:30 am at night. I calculated that he was sleeping between five to five and a half hours everyday, which was enough for his age. Then why did he have complaints? When he woke up at 3:30, it was dark and everybody else was still asleep. He felt lonely. I explained to him he was getting enough sleep for his age. He accepted the fact happily. I learnt later that he had given up all his medicine and was fine.

The examples above show that in our country, countless people become the victims of senseless prescriptions and are harmed physically, mentally and financially. We must address this issue at the national policy level to relieve patients of their problems, not multiply them. We have to accept that we don't need to hand out a prescription to every patient. Neither do we need medicine for every illness.

Life Flourishes through Belief and Action

Abdullah Abu Sayeed

Life Flourishes through Belief and Action

Prof. Abdullah Abu Sayeed is the founder of Biswa Shahitta Kendra (World Literature Center), which aims to cultivate a love for literature and human values especially amongst the youth through exposure to great literature. He is also a popular and respected TV personality, environmentalist and activist. Prof. Sayeed has won many awards for his outstanding contribution to society, including the 97th Ramon Magsaysay Award in Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. He was present as the key speaker in Quantum Open Ideas on July 19 2005.

Rabindranath Tagore says in one of his poems,

“ I think, in this world, the good outweighs the bad.
   For every 43 who are bad, 57 are good.”

I believe this completely. There will always be the 43 who are bad. Without them, our lives would become stagnant. Because there is evil we are continuously striving to change ourselves, to make ourselves better. But human beings can never be content with 57; they have to reach 100. And that is where the power of positivity comes into play. Those who make positive choices can turn this 57 into a 100 and move forward.

Every inch, every particle of the civilization we live in has been created with positivity. Negativity has created nothing.

There is a mango tree in front of the Biswa Shahittya Kendra. One day, I found a group of boys sitting under the tree and renouncing the world. According to them, there isn't a single good person in the world. Everyone is bad. I went to them and said, “ It seems as if all the good people have left the world. Only you have survived. You are the best. So the responsibility to be good is yours. If you waste your time criticizing others, what good will it do?”

Criticizing others is a great sin. I think those who criticize others, break their hearts and destroy their hopes are equally as bad as those who do bad things. I think only losers criticize. They have nothing to do. So they can't tolerate the actions of others and try to destroy them. This is negative mentality. The truth is when someone criticizes others he puts a knife through his own chest. He destroys his own strength.

We never think of how much a little appreciation or a little recognition can do for someone. And we don't need much to do that. A little love, respect and affection are enough.

 Now that we are an independent country we need to change. If we give people love instead of hurting them, give them respect and encouragement instead of insulting them, then I believe Bangladesh will become one of the greatest nations on earth. Because we are really sharp. Our ability to generate ideas is exceptional. It used to be said, “What Bengal thinks today, the rest of India thinks tomorrow.” The day when we have a strong system of law and order is not very far off. I think twenty years from now we will be a just Bangladesh, a Bangladesh that can only go forward.

When, after the language movement, I expressed my interest in studying Bangla, my family became very upset. To them, the only worthwhile goal was being a CSP (a civil servant). Back then, CSPs were like princes, meaning the princesses and half of the kingdom was theirs to take. So my family objected. But then my father said, “Within each of us is another man. If you dive deep into your own being and listen carefully, you can hear him speak. Ask him what you should do, and do exactly what he tells you. In that world, you have no parents, friends or relatives. You are alone. Alone like a king.” My father's words moved me deeply.

Later I realized that kings are truly alone because two people can never sit on the same throne. The two thousand miles of the Himalayas can accommodate thousands of people, but two people cannot be on the very top of Mt. Everest at the same time. One needs to climb up first.  That is why Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay could not step onto the peak at the same time. Because Tenzing climbed up first, he is recognized as the first person to climb Mt. Everest. The Bible says you have to go to the top of the hill alone. It is true. The person who goes alone, overcoming all obstacles to find the way, will go forward. And history remembers him.

To me, human life is an amazing thing. I can't understand how we got this thing called life. We have to study for 16 to 25 years just to get a job. Even then we need to write applications, face interviews and what not. But without any effort, any qualifications, any test, we received a life filled with unbelievable joy, beauty and light. I wrote about how beautiful life could be in one of my books: a sweet as big as the Garo Hills, filled with juicy sweetness. For an ant in that sweet, life is pure bliss. Life is like that to me. It is a sin to waste even one moment of life. It is a crime to be depressed for one second.

If we complain about not getting enough recognition after being born in this beautiful world, then that would be ungrateful. Recognition does not mean getting a medal. An artist sings a song. At the end of his song, the hall is resplendent with a thunderous applause.That is recognition for the artist

We started the Biswa Shahitta Kendra with only 35 taka. Not with the hope of getting recognition, but for the joy of building enlightened human beings. In this way I stayed immersed in my work like a mad man, like someone moonstruck, passing my life like someone obsessed. One time, we had accumulated so many books that they filled my house. The architect began to think that the house would collapse. To me, formal recognition pales in comparison to this joy.

Like that ant, we can enjoy every moment of life. We have to use every moment. Fill up our lives with achievements. We have this guilt and hesitation about wanting things. We think wanting things makes us crude materialistic people. We don't understand that unless we have things, how can we give to others, how can we make the world beautiful and prosperous? Can a beggar give alms to another beggar? Only one who has something can give something. So our pursuit should be to earn things. Our tendency is to refuse. But the Holy Upanishad warns us again and again,ten takten bhunjita, we have to get through giving and give through receiving.

But we do need to set a boundary on the things we want and know why we want them. A person who does not have a single taka can sleep on a footpath or under a tree without any worries. But a person who has a hundred taka wouldn't be able to do that; he would at least need a thatched house. A person with a hundred thousand taka will need a concrete house, and a billion taka will need a fort with cannons on all four sides. This means that as our wealth increases, so too does our insecurity and restlessness. All of us have to suffer the consequences of crossing our limits.

Today, the control and responsibility of the nation is in our hands. Whatever we want will happen. But a person needs to be clear about why he will live and why he will work. Only then will he be able to move forward. The only thing we need is to believe that we can. There is a very nice sentence in the Bible, “He who liveth, he who believeth, shall never die.” He who believes, lives. No sadness or impurity can touch the person who has been able to immerse himself in his beliefs and his work. Work has its own kind of joy. For example, if we are successful in 20 things in one day, then we get 20 joyful moments. In one month he gets 600, in a year 7200. If a person lives 60 years, he has lived in a world of joy swimming in an ocean of half a million joyful moments.

If we want to immerse ourselves in work, we have to keep our dreams in front of us. Sometimes we think a dream is just an imaginary thing. That is not true. A dream is very real. Your dream is your destination, the place where you want to go. When people see the insecurity, suffering and restlessness around them, they dream of changing it. They keep on working towards their goal tirelessly. When Rasulullah (pbuh) saw the corruption, the injustice and the anarchy all around him, he dreamt of freeing the people. When Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar saw how the widows in India were
suffering, he came forward to help them.

So let us look around us and work towards freeing people from suffering and deprivation. In this way, we will burn bright like a candle while shedding light all around us. We will be able to enjoy our life in all its fullness.