*ग गणिताचा*– *ज जीवनाचा* Mathematical Life and the Mathematics of Life

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“Papa, I am afraid of Mathematics!”

One day, a schoolboy confessed to his father.

The father smiled and said,

“My dear, how can you ignore mathematics?

You will face it at every step of life.”

This is true. But here lies the irony…

Parents teach their children practical mathematics,

but they often forget to teach them how to solve the mathematics of life.

In today’s age, money has become the biggest equation.

Money itself has turned into a kind of god.

Everyone is caught up in what can be measured — salary, profit, wealth, position.

But what cannot be measured — love, trust, gratitude, contentment — is ignored.

The real school is here: the school of unmeasurable life mathematics.

*Mathematical formulas and the formulas of life*

In school, we learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The same formulas apply to life as well.

We must add joy, relationships and love.

We must subtract anger, greed and faults.

We must multiply gratitude, effort and the spirit of service.

And we must divide happiness, wealth and knowledge by sharing them.

*A textbook teaches us formulas,*

*but life’s mathematics teaches us true wisdom.*

*Experience, Sanskar, and Wisdom*

Life is a school of experiences —

sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter.

Experiences are seeds,

Sanskar (values) are the trees that grow from them,

and Wisdom is the fruit they bear.

It is not possible to go through every experience ourselves,

so we must learn from the experiences of others,

from history, and from the teachings of saints.

*What lies in our hands?*

People and situations are not in our hands.

We cannot decide what others will say, or what situations will arise.

But how we respond to those experiences,

and how we transform those responses into values and wisdom,

that is completely in our hands.

As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

“कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन.”

We have a right only to action, not to the fruits.

*The real key of life — Self-awareness*

Beyond experience, values and wisdom,

a bigger question arises: “Who am I?”

When this is realized, life becomes simple.

The endless chase outside stops,

and peace and contentment naturally arrive.

Sant Dnyaneshwar said: “Whatever you see, that itself is Brahman.”

Ramana Maharshi said: “Self-realization is the easiest thing.”

Self-awareness is that one master key,

which once opened, ends all struggle.

*Self-awareness in daily life*

To realize the Self, one need not go to the mountains.

It blossoms in everyday life itself.

To eat with awareness,

to speak with mindfulness,

to remain steady in joy and sorrow,

to see every experience as a teacher,

and at the end of the day to ask oneself: “How aware was I today?”

Awareness means alertness and wisdom.

This is the true spiritual practice.

And this awareness arises only from living in natural ease.

*The secret of Sahajata (Natural Ease)*

In fact, the root of all sorrow is this: we forget our natural ease.

A child’s innocent laughter,

the flowing river,

the blooming flower — all happen effortlessly.

But we get trapped in greed, comparison and ego,

and invite sorrow upon ourselves.

In the very word “Sahaj” lies the essence:

“Sah + Ja” = That which is with us since birth.

Peace, love, joy — they are not to be imported from outside;

they are already within us.

Self-realization is simply a return to this inborn ease.

Once the mathematics of life is solved, all struggle ends.

But to learn this, one must first learn the art of living.

And this art was taught by Sadguru Shri Wamanrao Pai .

He reminded everyone with one great mantra:

*You are the sculptor of your own life.*

Through this he led people out of the darkness of fatalism,

and onto the bright path of effort and conscious living.

Learning life’s mathematics is nothing but absorbing the art of living.

Experiences give lessons, values give direction, wisdom gives light,

and Self-awareness is the ultimate fruit of them all.

🌸*धन्य ते सद्गुरू, आणि धन्य ती जीवनविद्या.*🌸

✍️ A reflection on the attempt to solve the mathematics of life

*Jayant Joshi*