Relationships

Relationship is all that is there in creation.
Physics says there are only electrons, protons and neutrons and the entire set of chemical elements are nothing but unique relationships between these three basic units. When a neutron establishes bonding with a proton and an electron we get the first and the most simple form of matter, the hydrogen atom. There is nothing called hydrogen without this relationship. Change the relation by adding few more basic units we get some other chemical elements. Atoms are special relationships betweens subatomic particles. There are only very few subatomic particles but they can give birth to a large number of unique atoms based on certain laws of bonding. In the next level atoms can form bonds between them to give birth to infinite number of molecules. Charcoal is one type of relationship between carbon atoms but when the same carbon atoms relate in a different way we get diamond. The only difference between charcoal and diamond is the way carbon atoms are forming bonds between them.

A living cell is a set of relationships between various molecules; the property called life emerges in that special type of bonding. These living cells bond together in various ways to express innumerable life forms. The human form is a result of a very complex set of relationships. A human being may appear to be an independent entity but it is in fact a complex society in itself. What we know as ourselves is a set of experiences and their memories appearing to be confined in a human body. The idea of me or I constantly evolves as we constantly add new experiences to our collection or as we establish new relationships or even by reorganizing existing relationships. Our sense of I is identified with a set of memories, we cannot erase these memories but we can modify how we relate to these memories.

The Nature evolves through relationships, through union, through yoga. But the yoga of Nature is unconscious and extremely slow. In the human vessel the Nature wakes up and ask questions.
What am I? Where am I? Who am I? Why am I? How am I?
This is a threshold.
After this stage evolution is a conscious process and the first task is look at oneself as an object and understand what is the relationship between I and this body, these emotions, these memories, these knowledge, these people, these environments etc.

You have arrived.

Changing within

One has two sides, inside and outside, subjective and objective.
There is a world outside, an objective world perceived through the senses.
There is also a world inside, a subjective world of desires, impulses, imaginations, dreams, thoughts, concepts, ideas, beliefs, faith etc.
One can observe both the worlds but one knows only a small part of both the worlds. Most people know more about the world outside than the world inside them because by habit their attention is locked on to the world outside.
The world outside flows in through the senses and every sensory inflow invokes a response in the world inside. This may be awakening of a memory, an emotion, a thought, an impulse etc and this response manifests in speech and act which will affect the world outside.
Outside flows in and modified the inside; the inside flows out and modifies the outside.
These interactions are largely unconscious and mechanical, but they can be made conscious and creative.
For example:
Encountering a snake may activate shrinking and knee jerk reactions whenever one encounters a snake. A snake in the objective world produces a set of reaction patterns in the world inside causing repeating physical responses. Normally these reaction patterns are largely unconscious and mechanical.
Now to solve the snake problem one can attempt to change the situation outside or the situation inside. Changing outside world may be in the line of eliminating all the snakes from the world or living in a snake free area etc. Changing the inner world involves observing one’s inner reaction patterns and bringing conscious control over them. As the inner responses are modified one’s response to snake encounters also undergo change. One may even find encounter with snakes as a means to know one’s inner response patterns. What was once a repulsive creature is now an opportunity to know and master oneself. Snake may even become a topic for inner research and one may even master them in the world outside!
One is no more trying to run away from or eliminate snakes.
A problem is transformed into a means for inner growth.
All the problems one encounters in the outer world are like this snake; they are opportunities for inner growth.
The way we perceive the outer world and its effects on us depends largely on the reaction pattern within us. We can modify our perceptions by becoming conscious of the mechanical and conditioned inner responses and modifying them. By thus changing inside we can achieve greater mastery in the world outside.
The key is within.