Know Your Heritage - 06

When do you call a thing 'heritage'? Something coming as a tradition may become or may not become 'heritage'. That means, heritage involves a process of 'stop, look and think'. A revisionary outlook which identifies the good and abiding aspects to be preserved in contradistinction to anything not constructive and hence not worth preserving. Heritage involves a positive approach towards future based on revisions of reading the past. 

Tapas is one of the concepts in our heritage which needs understanding. Again a misunderstood concept, which may kindle in us pictures of long beards and forest huts and being immobile for long periods of time. But if we look into it deeply, it is a great concept and a skill never to be missed. 

Tapas is looking into a thing afresh. To become aware of a thing in all its aspects. To overcome one's own prejudices, to give up one's own preconceptions about the thing concerned - all these form part of tapas. Tapas is a highly sensible way of understanding. In tapas you begin to scientifically handle the mind as an effective instrument, whereas before, mind was a field of distractions. 

Tapas sharpens your perception not only regarding what you understand but also regarding the areas and issues that you have not understood. Of course 'tapas' has a root meaning of 'being heated' or 'burning'. But in usage it has become a way of being cool and attentive without conditions. After an initial practice, tapas becomes a jolly way of being totally receptive and perceptive, being closely at an issue or subject in awareness tending towards becoming full. It is an unconditional way of being attentive to the object or the subject concerned. With no anxiety or exploitation in mind being attentive takes one deeper and closer to the reality instanced right before us. We have paid too much interest in symbolisms and lost sight of the real principles behind. 

Srirangam Mohanarangan 

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