Sean Major-Campbell | Philosophy for everyday life

‘PHILOSOPHY FOR everyday life: Insights from Indian Tradition’. This topic informed a five-week lecture series held at the Indian High Commission in St Andrew, Jamaica. It was a timely reminder of one of India’s gifts to the world.

The insightful presentations were ably delivered by Professor Balaganapathi Devarakonda ICCR Chair of Indology, Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy at The University of the Weat Indies, Mona. I could not help thinking about why Jamaica and our students need to have philosophy as one of their must-have items in their tool kit for life. The intellectual, spiritual, and moral development of our people would be tremendously enhanced.

The treat included an introduction re the history, literature, and philosophy of classical India. The questions of ‘How do I deal with suffering?’ (Buddhism); ‘How do I improve and perform well in life?’ (Patanjali Yoga); ‘How do I deal with the world within and outside me?’ (Bhagavad Gita); and ‘Who am I?’ (Vedanta), all contributed to a robust stimulation of critical thinking and positive enrichment re engaging self and the world.

CRITICAL THINKING

I have found philosophy to be generally speaking, useful in facilitating critical thinking skills which enhance a better understanding and appreciation for a world of diverse views and realities. The world is not limited to your particular world view, religion, social constructs, and so on. In fact, the world has been blessed with many seers and sages across ages, cultures, and traditions.

Philosophy for everyday life, as presented by Professor Balaganapathi, is especially interesting, because of the application to daily life and living, versus the traditional academic confines designed for a select few. It is understandable that these insights are useful in the counselling context.

One of the stories from Medieval India is that of the washerman and his donkey. The washerman was often busy with taking soiled loads of clothing to the river where he laundered, dried and folded them. His donkey was most helpful, valued, and needed for his transportation of the laundry.

One day, upon reaching the river, the washerman realised that he had left the rope which was used to tether the donkey. What was he going to do? He needed to get working. Going back home for the rope meant leaving the donkey which might stray. He asked a wiseman for advice. The wiseman told him to simply pretend by doing the actions of tying the donkey to the tree. It worked like a charm.

VALUABLE ADVICE

Luckily, the wiseman lived near the river, because when the thankful washerman packed the dry and folded clothing with a sense of accomplishment and was ready to go home, the donkey refused to move. He called back to the wiseman to ask for advice, recognising that the donkey refused to respond to the command to go. Once again, he received valuable advice that he should pretend to be untying the donkey from the tree. Problem solved.

What is your approach to problem-solving? Who are you in this story? How do you see Jamaica in this story? How might our beliefs and actions be used in problem-solving? These are my questions for us as we try to navigate some of the daily challenges of life.

Some important observations in our lectures included a recognition that we become what we practice and there are different realities. What do you practice?

Another interesting exploration was our thoughts about Jamaica. Do we only see negative things and magnify the negative things? Do we personally identify with these negative dimensions? When was the last time we realised that the positives actually outweigh the negatives?

What is the narrative that you repeat? What are the assumptions that we have about others of different religious or philosophical views? What is our emotional intelligence like as we seek to live harmoniously in a plural society? These are questions that deserve some timely reflection in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.

A most welcome study for many was that of the Buddhist metaphor, second arrow, which examines how we create suffering based on our reaction to pain. The reader will indeed enjoy reading about this on the Internet too. It is my hope that more of our citizens will engage in this life-enriching exercise of philosophy.

Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human dignity and human rights. seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com