Practicing Ho’oponopono

Ever since I came across this Hawaiian technique of healing I have been reading about it and implementing in day-to-day living. Following is a summary of my understanding so far:

We do not live in the same world. Each one of us lives in his/her own world projected on one’s own consciousness through his/her sense organs based on his/her own memories, thoughts, values, desires, expectations, aspirations, prejudices, etc. Consequently, the world that I perceive includes everyone and everything that I experience in my own consciousness. Indeed, they are my own making. Hence, if I am experiencing a painful situation then something within me has caused it to happen as it is confined to my own consciousness. It could be a negative thought or a selfish desire or hatred towards specific individual or unrealistic expectation, etc. Sometime I may feel pain just watching or meeting another ailing or suffering person. This may be due to my association of this person’s suffering with some deep-rooted childhood fear from my own memory. Thus, every experience has its root cause within me. Therefore, I must take remedial action also within myself to relieve the pain.

This is where Ho’oponopono comes handy. Whenever I feel pain or agitation in any situation, I pause and reflect. Keeping in mind the above explanation, I silently start asking divinity to forgive my wrongdoings of the past, if any (by repetitively saying, “I am sorry. Please forgive me.”). I also thank divinity for cleaning my subconscious mind and blessing me with all that I already enjoy (by repetitively saying, “I love you. Thank You.”). Such silent act of repentance and gratitude miraculously calms the mind and reduces the pain. In my short period of practicing Ho’oponopono, I have often found myself keeping my cool in otherwise stressful situations and even resolving the problem through some innovative means that earlier eluded my attention. I wish to continue on this royal path of internal cleaning.

The mind of a terrorist

After the last year's attacks on Mumbai, there was anger in the air. I too was angry. Watching and listening to endless debates and discussions, led me to reflect on the root cause of the problem and the way forward.

Certain questions arose in my mind: Who is a terrorist? Was he not an innocent child when born? What turned him into a terrorist? Could mere counter-killing of terrorists eliminate terrorism? Wouldn’t this only be a symptomatic relief? Has any country ever benefited in the long run from supporting terrorism? Isn’t terrorism like the fire that ultimately burns the very hand providing the fuel? I believe answers to such questions could help us in directing the vast energy otherwise expressed in form of anger.

I wonder what was going through the minds of the terrorists while shooting mercilessly. Media reports say that there was no remorse on their faces while killing innocent people. They were more like robots programmed to perform a particular action. Who was responsible for making such robots?

I believe the answer lies in their upbringing. Parents, teachers and the society are all responsible in some ways. If they were taught the true essence of religion and human values in their childhood, no one could have brainwashed them into perpetrating violence against innocents in the name of religion.

While targeting and eliminating terrorist camps would provide short-term relief, the long-term solution can come from addressing the more fundamental issues related to the environment in which an innocent child turns into a terrorist. Becoming a fine human being is not accidental. It is hard work and the collective responsibility of the entire society.

Regaining Barakat

Some time back, while discussing about the new US President-elect, Barack Obama, a UAE national colleague explained that Barack is derived from the Arabic word barakat (barkat in Hindi/Urdu). In the absence of an exact equivalent word in English, he went on to explain its meaning to an Englishman — one man earns less and lives happily with his large family without any anxiety or depression. Another man earns more and lives with his small family in perpetual stress and depression. There is barakat’ in the first man’s earning.

We work ourselves into a depression when we let unimportant things overwhelm us. We lose, as it were, barakat’ from our earnings. Words like contentedness’ patience’ and tolerance are not only meant for poor people who don’t seem to have other alternatives. They are also precious for all mankind. Our essential needs are very few. However, our greed knows no limits. Mahatma Gandhi rightly said that there is plenty in the world to fulfil everyone’s needs, but not enough to fulfil even one person’s greed.

The present global financial crisis has amply demonstrated this. Greed of a few powerful entities has robbed the world of its peace. The famous historian Will Durant said, “Liberty is the child of Order and mother of Chaos.” An order will surely be created out of the current financial anarchy through implementation of stringent rules and regulations by different countries. This will give a temporary sense of liberation. However, greed would once again take the extreme form of liberty and lead the world to yet another chaos, perhaps with greater intensity. This has happened in the past and will happen in future, unless we learn to manage our greed. Let’s hope Barack Obama will live up to his name and bring barakat to society at large.