My Core Beliefs

This document captures my essence, my core beliefs. These are not set in stone though, I might keep adding/deleting stuff onto this. List goes from normal → radical.

1. The Goal of Life is Acquiring Right Knowledge

Pretty standard statement, I will try to prove why others are not the goal.

• Money is not the goal, because it is in fact pretty temporary. After a point of amassing massive wealth, I don't see a point in getting more money to be used. Probably, life is better the middle-class/upper middle class income way.

• The goal is not health or relationships too, as when you have the right knowledge, health and relationships come under it. Right knowledge will make you take the right decisions for your health, relationships, finances, etc. Knowledge is all-encompassing. With knowledge as the right goal → and acting upon it, will make everything else fall in place.

Having a mindset to acquire more knowledge will by default make the person more curious, skillful and adept at their craft. However, one must exercise caution, one must not be egoistic with all the knowledge.

2. Having a Mental Gym is Important

Just like we go to the gym or play sports to keep ourselves fit - one must also have a mental gym in place. There must be 45 minutes brain workout everyday at the least, such as:

• Solving puzzles like Sudoku
• Playing Chess or solving Chess Puzzles
• Reading
• Writing
• Playing a music instrument
• A leetcode question
• Mental math, and so on...

Just like junk food is the anti for a fit body - I view cheap dopamine hits - such as doomscrolling, binge-watching, smoking, etc is anti for a fit mind. Just like with junk food, I am in no way against occasional use of these things, but it should not go to an excess. Do a conscious mental workout everyday!

3. Abundance Without Excess

There are two parts to this:

a. An excess of anything, may it be the most positive unicorn poop is not good.

Let's test this hypothesis to the limits:

i. Experiences

At the top of my mind, I can think of a recent very pleasant memory of just sitting by the shore in solace at a coast off Udupi. I sat there for a couple hours - it was amazing? hell yes. Can I do one more hour in the exact same setting? probably yes. Can I do two more? probably no. Can I do three more? hell no. It would bore me the fuck out and I would prolly hate the ocean forever.

ii. Things

I love the first piece of chocolate? But I won't be able to do more than 8. Same with pizza. Money you ask? With excess money there definitely comes so much stress and other problems.

Excess of anything makes you dependent on that thing - take that thing away from you (which is v v possible) and you come spiralling down, not a good look.

One must define their own excess and their own abundance, these are not quantitative values. The thin line that separates them is the question: "Do I absolutely need any more of it? Can I do with a little less than what I have now?"

If the answers are: No and Yes in that order - then you are in the abundance region.

4. When in company, make others happy

Whenever you are in company of one or more person - you must make them happier. Life in general is difficult for all of us, none of us have it easy, then if we can provide others respite why don't do it? Appreciate them, admire them, make them smile, take their names, do small acts of services, put your own agendas aside, let them have the last piece of the cake.

5. Karma and Rebirth

I believe in the Karmic cycle and Rebirth.

• Whatever you sow, so shall you reap. The universe doesn't make any exceptions.
• Whatever is happening to you is because of your own doing (corollary: nothing external can happen to you without you having done something similar before), don't blame the person or the situation - blame must be on your past actions (could be from a previous life). You shouldn't rebel, you should just apoligise and move on.
• Consider the case of a jailer. Let's say you are in a jail for a crime of yours and now there is a jailer who gives you the torment, for your wrong doings. Will you blame the jailer for hitting you? Will you hate him for tormenting you? No right, the jailer is just doing his job he has nothing personal. Take this anecdote and plug this in every situation of life when and where you are feeling torment, this jailer could be a person, a situation, etc.
• You must always do good actions, responsible actions. Plant good seeds. Get rid of attachment (raag) and hatred (dvesh).

... TBC