Musings of a Seeker

The Key to Liberation

2011-10-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

The movie “Kundun” did not amuse or inspire me except forthe heart-rending portrayal of the life of 14^th Dalai Lama. On thecontrary, it made me realize the ‘limits’ of a religion or a philosophy when itcomes to achieving liberation for a nation or for that matter a society. And, antithetically,on a retrospective note, the religion or philosophy that is being discussed isof unbounded, unconfined, unconditional and universal nature. It undeniablyconsists of philosophical ideas that hold the secret to true liberation. Thetragic part of the story is that - the very philosophy, which can actually leadthe nation to true liberation is questioned and frowned upon, is seen as a signof weakness and regression.

Our mind is a like a rock, crystallized out of an amalgamationof ideas, principles, thoughts, tradition, ethics, morals, emotions, conditions,which is strongly bound to the awareness of self or ego. Once it is hardened,it remains like that forever unless it is broken from the outside. When minds arerun by the desire to have power, greed subdues everything, even the inherentgoodness and righteousness in us – the eternal in us. It enslaves our ‘self’ ina cage which is constantly fed by the spirit of conquest and destruction;blinding and obstructing everything that reminds of the ‘eternal’. Even thereligion or philosophy that can truly liberate our ‘caged self’…
“There are no boundaries in a religion orphilosophy, which believes that liberation, comes out of self-realization andawareness of the eternal,
that you are part of an infinite whole.
The boundaries exist only when a mind fails torealize the eternal, the infinite whole!
The Omnipotent!
The Key to Liberation!”

Aurobindo's Pacifism: A metaphor of Depth & Perspective

2011-10-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

I think when Gestalt psychologists propounded the conceptof whole, that the whole is more than the sum total of its parts, they wereprobably not aware of Sri Aurobindo or his philosophy, or for that matter theessence of Indian philosophy! Is it a coincidence that we find truth, coming upin new forms in every era and civilization irrespective of all the differences?I don’t think so. After all there is something that is universal and morepermanent to our lives. So when I found this piece of writing which has beenquoted below, on Sri Aurobindo’s pacifism, I was in awe, the images and conceptswere swirling in my head, settling down to extract the intended yet unsaidmeaning

“There seems to be put forth and in several places theideas that Sri Aurobindo’s political standpoint was entirely pacifist, that theopposed in principle and in practice to all violence and that he denouncedterrorism, insurrection etc. as entirely forbidden by the spirit and letter ofthe Hindu religion. It is even suggested that he was a forerunner of MahatmaGandhi and gospel of Ahimsa. This is quite incorrect and, if left, would give awrong idea about Sri Aurobindo.
Peace is a part of the highest ideal, but it must bespiritual or at the very least psychological in its basis; without a change inhuman nature it cannot come with any finality. If attempted on any other basis(mental principle, or gospel of Ahimsa or any other) it will fail, and even mayleave things worse than before.”

This thought process can only occur in a man who haveseen and experienced the inner and outer world. However, the whole point isthat any idea or principle or thought which is not based on a firm and deep,profound foundation would fail when attempted. For that, we need to achieve asense of balance in the spiritual (inner) realm. As Aurobindo pointed out, thisproblem of not having profundity could possibly unravel the confusion, the growingentanglement, the complexity in almost every aspect of our lives. It couldactually give an everlasting and steadfast solution from the seemingly ‘bigger’problems like corruption, incompetent education system, terrorism etc topersonal problems that we often face within our family, relationships, school/college,work setting, society etc.

“He is in favour of an attempt to put down war byinternational agreement and international force, what is now contemplated inthe “New Order”, if that proves possible, but that would not be Ahimsa, itwould be a putting down of anarchic force by legal force, and one cannot besure that it would be permanent.”

Now that is what I call wisdom! In retrospect, Aurobindohas just torn apart the world and its systems and has exposed what is really goingon. The simplicity hits you on your face, leaves you in this absolute wonderlike a child discovering the way out from a complex puzzle. Are we victims of amake-believe system which is run on shallow ideas? Aurobindo brings attention tothe prominence of ‘depth’ in one’s character , the profundity of the ‘whole’.

“Within nations this sort of peace has been secured,but it does not prevent occasional civil wars and revolutions and politicaloutbreaks and repressions, sometimes of a sanguinary character. The same mighthappen to a similar world-peace. Sri Aurobindo has never concealed his opinionthat a nation is entitled to attain its freedom by violence, if it can do so orif there is no other way; whether it should do so or not, depends on what isthe best policy, not on ethical considerations of the Gandhian kind”

I think Aurobindo hit the nail on the head when he pointsout that “whetherit should do so or not, depends on what is the best policy”. He has embodied the quintessence ofanother virtue – ‘having perspective’, which I think is the most essential virtue.Perspective is the guiding force that helps us to make decisions no matter howsmall or big they are. Said that, having perspective requires incorporating a strong,formidable, undoubting, unfailing depth of character. Depth of thought. Depth of intellect. Depth of emotion. Depth of individuality. Depth of mind andsoul. This ‘depth’ can only come out from our inner self, the spiritual part ofour selves. In a literal sense, it may be incomprehensible and unrealistic.But, I do not think we have a choice if we want to become masters of our lives!

The Hypocrisy Of Suffering!

2011-04-14T06:28:00.001-07:00

Why suffering?

Buddha asked, found an answer and preached!

We ask every waking moment to ourselves, to everyone and even God....

This is a world where we accept that suffering is an integral part of our lives.

"Oh you need to work hard, sacrifice your time and energy to be successful in life because Life is not fair! Adversity brings out the best in you...Suffering makes you realize the importance of happiness and love!."

However,at some point, we want our suffering to stop, to disappear and to be eliminated for good. So, we go reverse and take a U-turn to Religion, Philosophy ans Spirituality (Till that point, we would have been absolute atheists... Doesn't matter, Anything to remove suffering)- Praying, Fasting and Abstinence, Reading all the scriptures and philosophies that have been preached until today, Daily visit to temples and churches, Elaborate methods to please our Gods including man-gods and modern Gurus.

What happens to our life...We spend most of it to make a secure and comfortable (even luxurious) living and the rest of it to deny all the comforts and pleasures (that we earned) so that we will attain true freedom! And throughout the life we are suffering! Do you see the irony?

Hang in the Past or Live in the Present or Die in the Future - Our Choice!!!

2011-04-14T06:27:00.002-07:00

Verbatim conversation with a 5 year old (intelligent) girl.

Girl (Sad face) : Do you know something. Animals are poor...especially the dogs.

Me : Oh yes...poor stray dogs..

Girl (Angry) : Stray Dogs are BAD (She said it with so much emotion that the cup in her hands fell down)!!!!! I am talking about the "house dogs" (she coined the term).

Me (out of words!) : Yeah. They don't have freedom. Chained and all...

Girl (Contemplating) : No(no--o--h). But you know something, they miss their "parents" when they are outside!

Me (Baffled but sympathetic) : You are right! Dogs should stay with dogs..Isn't it?

Girl (Agitated and Violated) : My God!!! I am tired of you...When the "house dog" go out won't he miss that "boy uncle". He is dog's father.

It took me a while to understand the exact thought that was going through the young girl's mind. She was talking about the dog's owner. Apparently, she had just watched a movie about a faithful pet-dog.

Children, amazingly and fortunately, only think about the immediate circumstances. They have no kind of long-term plans except for occasional (rare) outbursts. As adults, we don't understand that process. And sadly, that is what every spiritual guide (person, book, groups, even experiences) tell us - LIVE IN THE PRESENT. It is difficult to follow through because the world we live in, demands a totally contrtadicting attitude. That is the crux of the conflict.

Unless EVERYONE (I mean it because even if a single person is left out, the system wouldn't work) believes and actually practices to a point till we become one with the PRESENT MOMENT, it will remain as an age-old wisdom in the hundred-thousands of spiritual and philosophical 'corners' available in the world....

So let us give a chance to ourselves and make this world a better place so that beautiful children like this 5 year old child canl live in happiness and peace.

The Path That We Lost!

2011-04-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

“ When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss “

Jainism like all the other native religions and philosophies of India believe that every living being has a soul which is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge, perception, power, blessings and bliss but they have a shadow, a mask of “Karmas”.

Incidentally, I came upon a Nataraja Guru quote, which unleashed many new thoughts and also rejected some common misconceptions and interpretations. He says –

“ But there is a secret that none of them know: knowledge releases from all sin. Understanding releases from all Karma ”

Do they?

We search for happiness and peace which is eternal and which we rarely find. All our actions are based on this eternal search. In the course of our lives, we do so many things that end up being wrong and unfair to ourselves and others in the long run. According to the laws of Karma, we will suffer its consequences not only in this life but also in the lifetimes that are to follow. And, we are caught up in these never-ending circles, in confusion, in a deep despair. If understanding and knowledge releases us from these inflictions and sins which are the end-products of our actions, then why these hardships? That brings us to my point. The hardship is to attain that Knowledge and Understanding.

For further explanation, I would like to quote Rabindranath Tagore. He paints a picture of the origin of Indian thought on which the Vedas and Upanishads are based on. He also explains the contrasts between the Indian thought and the Western thought. In simple words, He lays a path that we lost as a humanity-

“ Thus in India it was in the forests that our civilization had its birth, and it took a distinct character from this origin and environment. It was surrounded by the vast life of nature, was fed and clothed by her, and had the closest and most constant intercourse with her varying aspects. Such a life, it may be thought, tends to have the effect of dulling human intelligence and dwarfing the incentives to progress by lowering the standards of existence. But in ancient India we find that circumstances of forest life did not overcome man’s mind and did not enfeeble the current of his energies, but only gave to it a particular direction. Having been in constant contact with the living growth of nature, his mind was free from the desire to extend his dominion by erecting boundary walls around his acquisitions. His aim was not to acquire but to realize, to enlarge his consciousness by growing with and growing into his surroundings. He felt that truth is all-comprehensive, that there is no such thing as absolute isolation in existence, and that the only way of attaining truth is through the inter-penetration of our being into all objects. To realize this great harmony between man’ s spirit and the spirit of the world was the endeavor of the forest-dwelling sages of ancient India. The West seems to take pride in thinking that it is subduing nature, as if we were living in a hostile world where we have to wrest everything we want from an unwilling and alien arrangement of things. This sentiment is the product of the city-wall habit (the principle of “divide and rule” in our mental outlook, which begets in us a habit of securing all our conquests by fortifying them and separating them from one another) and training of the mind. For in the city life, man naturally directs the concentrated light of his mental vision upon his life and works, and this creates an artificial dissociation between himself and the Universal nature within whose bosom he lies ”

Why hardship? The answer is in the last paragraph. The phenomenon that Tagore has described is no more an attitude or mentality that belongs to the West exclusively. It has become our way too. It has seeped and been spilled all over that we can’t escape from it anymore.

Tagore goes on to say what went wrong with us. In the following paragraphs he talks in detail about our actions, which keeps us away from the real “Understanding and Knowledge” –

“ When man’s consciousness is restricted only to the immediate vicinity of his human self, the deeper roots of his nature do not find their permanent soil, his spirit is ever on the brink of starvation, and in the place of healthful strength he substitutes rounds of stimulation. Then it is that man misses his inner perspective and measures his greatness by its bulk and not by its vital link with the infinite, judges his activity by its movement and not by the repose of perfection “
“ By physical and mental barriers we violently detach ourselves from the inexhaustible life of nature, when we become merely man but not man-in the universe, we create bewildering problems, and, having shut off the source of their solution, we try all kinds of artificial methods, each of which brings it own crop of interminable difficulties When man leaves his resting place in universal nature, when he walks on the single rope of humanity, it means either a dance or a fall for him; he has ceaselessly to strain every nerve and muscle to keep his balance at each step, and then, in the intervals of his weariness, he fulminates against Providence and feels a secret pride and satisfaction in thinking that he as been unfairly dealt with by the whole scheme of things “

In spite of the differences in contexts as in, the world that Tagore lived in and the world we live in, the understanding of universe holds true. It is eternal!

We may not agree with certain points. It doesn’t matter. What we badly need is the quality to absorb those things that we require and eliminate the unrequited. What we really really need is VIGILANCE!

And then I think we would embark on the journey to the real “Understanding and Knowledge”

"Too much" and "Too little" - A Search for the Real Balance

2011-04-14T06:26:00.001-07:00

It is a cool morning. Sky is beaming with joy. Sabarmati seems to flow into eternity. Trees, birds and butterflies are dancing along. A peahen is staring at me as I am writing this, making me a bit uncomfortable. Music and the sound of dancing all around, nevertheless there is a strange but calming silence surrounding Darpana.

As usual, the office computer is not working. Some things never get better in life. Like poverty and unemployment in our country. I had a great discussion with my friend this morning. About “too much and too little”. Too much is not good, harms us but too little is extremely dangerous. Yes, we are talking about confidence, precisely self-confidence. Self-confidence that becomes arrogance as it skyrockets upwards and self-confidence that turns to negligence and disapproval of one’s self as it goes down like one of those multi-coloured graphs of poverty level in our country. The second scenario, according to me, is the worst state of living considering that we have to live on this earth.

Everyone talks of maintaining a balance. Philosophy must be the last thing that we need to worry about. It is the most abundant natural resource available in our country – in different forms, sizes and shapes and for all age-groups. However, balance is a tricky word. Vedas and Upanishads call it Yoga. Meditation. Zen Buddhists call it “middle path”. Different names in different religions. Oh my god! So many names. I guess, the modern philosophers might have found some catchy names too.

However, it is not as easy as we think. To actually think, act and live as a well-balanced individual, after being used to a very different, almost contradictory set of living conditions that encourages us to think only about ourselves - we must really be an avatar of one of the million gods in our country. No, I am not discouraging. I am just trying to give a picture of the reality. We can try. Keep on trying till we lose meaning and finally think of suicide. And, a miracle will happen at that point, changing the course of our lives, which will certainly force us to try once more. Some people succeed and some don’t. What happens to those who don’t succeed and become miserable day by day. They can satisfy themselves with some warped up philosophy or decent stuff like Our fate! Karma or something else. Easy and convenient for all of us.

It is high time. For a change. For a real change. For a release from this boring and meaningless existence. The real balance is a product of hard work. That’s all I can say. What should go into that hard-work is upon each of us to decide because our lives are different. We should find a long-lasting solution for ourselves and therefore for the others because we cannot essentially enforce a particular idea or philosophy for a society. Of course, unless everyone decides to change their egoistc attitudes. All we can do for ourselves and others is to provide a safe, secure and nurturing environment where an individual is free to learn, to think and to decide what is good for him, without misusing his responsibilities and destroying the environment along and the lives of other people, and where he is guided to use his energy for constructive and meaningful purposes. Once he is capable of looking after himself, why bother him. After all, the process of learning never ends. With that, I really hope someday we will have well- balanced graphs and tables in our life and in our world too!

For those who keep trying and never succeed, please try not to lose hope. Like my friend says hope is the only thing that works when nothing works. I know it is hard to follow. But, the dark phases pass too. :)