शमथ। Samatha

How do you decide the value of something? By calculating what that offers you in return. But is what you receive in return measurable? Human beings do not do everything for sustenance alone. They try to derive satisfaction out of everything. And satisfaction is not gradable as it is always optimum. For example, the satisfaction derived by a small child eating a chocolate and an adult sipping on vintage wine are the same. Their minds feel full. Once those experiences of satisfaction disappear and something else gives them satisfaction a few days later, the new experience is not superior to the experience a few days earlier.

On the index of mind, satisfaction has only one meaning; it does not need anything more. Most experiences of satisfaction people have are momentary in nature. They last for a short period. This is the value you attribute to things. In other words, value is ascribed to satisfaction which is immeasurable. Materials only become a means, sometimes, in deriving this. Any other meaning you attribute to materials is consumerism and basic sustenance.

It is not only materials that have value. Time is valuable. Feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories are of value. All of them have the capacity to give you satisfaction, and you cannot say when and where. Most often it is forgotten that satisfaction has nothing to do with the external object at all, but they simply act as a medium to stimulate certain parts of your brain which can induce the feeling of satisfaction. For example, a pleasant childhood memory can suddenly make you feel happy. Nothing really happened there. The incident occurred many years ago, but the memory stimulated your brain. It is important to remember that satisfaction a state of mind. For example, when you feed a person overcome by hunger, you expect them to be satisfied. But to your surprise, they will not be. A home to a homeless does not give satisfaction to the person who received it. But the person who is giving experiences satisfaction in both cases. This is because the former was never looking for satisfaction, but merely for sustenance. You on the other hand know the value of satisfaction. Do not wait for materials to come knocking the door of your brain to experience it.

Make satisfaction your unshakable state of mind.

Feel Blessed
Swastham Shantam Sampurnam