Unlocking Creativity, Ancient Hindu way!
A lot has been said on and about enhancing one's own creativity in many ways. It explores different means of thinking and then producing. Creativity is referred to as the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Having said all that, today I am sharing some ancient ways of enhancing one’s own creativity to achieve growth.
Creativity essentially means discovery of the underline arrangement not inventing new things.
- Swami Ranganathananda
Nothing is new anyways. We are only re-using everything that has already been here for a long time. Nature has already thought of everything that a human being could possibly can.
Today we will look at some formulas that Lord Krishna spoke about creativity 5000 years ago. Quite astonishingly, these formulas, even after so many years, make perfect sense!
Creativity is an important part of our work not just for design but in every aspect of our action. It is the only aspect that takes us forward and keeps us growing.
There is a story where ‘Yashoda maa’, mother of ‘Sree Krishna’, asks baby Krishna to open his mouth to check if he has eaten butter or not. She saw the whole universe in baby Krishna’s mouth! What this story is trying to tell us is, that the human is a manifestation of the divine and everything follows a concept of oneness which can’t be measured on a scale. Human consciousness and the universe is one, not separate.
New thoughts and ideas all come from within us. Everything that we see today has been a part of this creative process. Basically, everything that exists draws inspiration from our surroundings and mother nature. All the thoughts are just manifestations and extensions of what is already around us.
It has been very common to see people explore a different dimension of their creativity by indulging in various forms of drug abuse. People have been using this to enter a zone that is new and exciting. Here are some healthy methods to reach that state.
There are 3 different dimensions of our consciousness:
- Pre-conscious
- Sub-conscious
- Un-conscious
These can be accessed in the following ways.
Aloneness
Being alone allows us to listen to our inner self where the thought manifests. This should not be confused with depression or loneliness. This is a type of non-logical knowledge that is already within us. Non-logical not because it does not make sense but because we have not figured out logic yet. Aloneness means partial sensory deprivation to listen to the inner self and explore inner resources. It is the source of knowledge that comes through the pre-conscious state of mind.
Inactivity
Daydreaming is a phenomenon, that everyone is familiar with. We drift into an irrational world and the loop goes on. To achieve this, one should be inactive for a certain period of time. Inactivity is a kind of meditation where there is no emotion powering the brain and thoughts. It is a state of a complete blank. There is no task to focus on, no fear, no anxiety, no self piety, no pleasure or displeasure, etc. It's easy to achieve. Just sit down in a quiet place, close your eyes, and do not think about what is going on outside. When the thought comes just be there with them, do not try to make connections. Inactivity will take your brain into irrational worlds.
Gullibility
It means that we should accept things until proved wrong. Over a period of time, we develop a cynical attitude. It is very important for us to be in a gullible state at least temporarily so that we can be in a receptive mode. Today disbelieving has gone too far. We all know that children are creative, it's because they believe.
So these are the three methods — Aloneness, Inactivity, and Gullibility, that one may explore often to be creative, fresh, and imaginative.
As Shree Krishna pointed out in the Bhagavad Gita:
“For one who has conquered his mind, mind is best of friends; but one who has failed to do so, mind is the greatest enemy.”
