"To be or not to be is the question" or so said Hamlet. Life as we know it has always revolved around duality. To be, or not to be. Was there never a third path out?
And so pondering over questions of such gravity, i set out on my quest yet again. The recent past had been revolving around the mentioned duality and its ensuing conundrum. Needless to mention, it brought alongwith it, the pain of anticipation. Every action produces a reaction which in turn is an action for yet another reaction, and so the cycle of life simply moves on...
In short, if you're a participant in the vagaries of life, you will undoubtedly be coloured by it. How to choose to accept those colours, is your state of mind.
Walking along the stretch i'd like to call Smokersville. Quite literally the Biblical Valley of Death, people come here for a moment's worth of relaxation. The relaxation here, is a moment's worth of peace. It comes at a price but there may be difficulties which may be so grave, that even the exorbitant price demanded by the cancer stick seems affordable, or so i'd like to think.
Observe carefully any random incident or event in life, and you'll find the solution to life's troubles written large all over it.
Smokersville wasn't the place i'd find people sipping Cappucino, so let's take the example of a cigarette. Even the humble cigarette has much more to offer than its share of momentary pleasure and eventual cancer.
The first and the last puff of the ignominious cancer stick (which's now getting the attention of a TV spiritual guide!) are the toughest parts of the whole. Can we associate it with birth and death? Let's say we do. It's true that these two are the toughest transitions in the whole journey, the rest is just smooth cakewalking :)
The smoke wavers here and there, variable with the wind. Take a deep breath (needn't take the puff from the cig though!) and think, isn't the wavering wind somewhat similar to life itself...??
Just as the smoke dances to the tune of the wind, our emotions dance to the tune of life's music. There are those who've learnt to waltz through that music and walk out when the music ends, but for the rest of us mortals, doesn't it make more sense to still the mind from such excessive variability...??
If the mind learns the art of stillness, music or no music, there'd be the state of bliss forever. This bliss far exceeds mere pleasures of the senses. There's a great pleasure when the senses which were born to look out turn inwards, as if the river suddenly decided to run back to the mountains. Happiness and sadness then become states of mind, and not of being. The only state of being then, is immortal bliss...
Paying respects to the humble cancer stick and its patrons, it was time to move along. The road i was walking along had its share of eccentricity. Pain transformed into pleasure within the next 150 meters. How'd this happen? The road from Smokersville led directly into a Lover's Lane.
"Amour's pleasure and bachelor's pain; welcome one and all to Lover's Lane!"
Free from the prying eyes of society (or so they thought!), couples secretly and openly engage in what's democratically termed "Public Display of Affection". As much as i'd like to give them their space, the city does not afford such luxuries for us both.
Even the lovelorn couples have something worth sharing (beyond their love of course!) In Hindu mythology, action is termed karma and the reason for action is rasa. Action earns merit and demerit and the same cycle of action reaction follows again. All this can be brought down to one element called rasa.
If the rasa can be indulged in but without the longing for result, would it not change the world forever? How beautiful would it be to love and love freely but expect nothing in return? Jealously, longing, pain, grief; none of those emotions would ever hold true, ever...
The mind firmly withdrawn and set in its place, every action engaged in will then be only a means to an end. It's impossible not to engage in action in a world that's ruled by action and reaction. Solace in the distant Kailasa is not an option for us all, but to live life with detachment, aye that's quite feasible...
What's the reward? Bliss. Sheer undisturbed bliss. Freedom from dualities, freedom from pain and emotion, freedom from life's vagaries, a small measure of peace...
And so pondering over questions of such gravity, i set out on my quest yet again. The recent past had been revolving around the mentioned duality and its ensuing conundrum. Needless to mention, it brought alongwith it, the pain of anticipation. Every action produces a reaction which in turn is an action for yet another reaction, and so the cycle of life simply moves on...
In short, if you're a participant in the vagaries of life, you will undoubtedly be coloured by it. How to choose to accept those colours, is your state of mind.
Walking along the stretch i'd like to call Smokersville. Quite literally the Biblical Valley of Death, people come here for a moment's worth of relaxation. The relaxation here, is a moment's worth of peace. It comes at a price but there may be difficulties which may be so grave, that even the exorbitant price demanded by the cancer stick seems affordable, or so i'd like to think.
Observe carefully any random incident or event in life, and you'll find the solution to life's troubles written large all over it.
Smokersville wasn't the place i'd find people sipping Cappucino, so let's take the example of a cigarette. Even the humble cigarette has much more to offer than its share of momentary pleasure and eventual cancer.
The smoke wavers here and there, variable with the wind. Take a deep breath (needn't take the puff from the cig though!) and think, isn't the wavering wind somewhat similar to life itself...??
Just as the smoke dances to the tune of the wind, our emotions dance to the tune of life's music. There are those who've learnt to waltz through that music and walk out when the music ends, but for the rest of us mortals, doesn't it make more sense to still the mind from such excessive variability...??
If the mind learns the art of stillness, music or no music, there'd be the state of bliss forever. This bliss far exceeds mere pleasures of the senses. There's a great pleasure when the senses which were born to look out turn inwards, as if the river suddenly decided to run back to the mountains. Happiness and sadness then become states of mind, and not of being. The only state of being then, is immortal bliss...
Paying respects to the humble cancer stick and its patrons, it was time to move along. The road i was walking along had its share of eccentricity. Pain transformed into pleasure within the next 150 meters. How'd this happen? The road from Smokersville led directly into a Lover's Lane.
"Amour's pleasure and bachelor's pain; welcome one and all to Lover's Lane!"
Free from the prying eyes of society (or so they thought!), couples secretly and openly engage in what's democratically termed "Public Display of Affection". As much as i'd like to give them their space, the city does not afford such luxuries for us both.
Even the lovelorn couples have something worth sharing (beyond their love of course!) In Hindu mythology, action is termed karma and the reason for action is rasa. Action earns merit and demerit and the same cycle of action reaction follows again. All this can be brought down to one element called rasa.
If the rasa can be indulged in but without the longing for result, would it not change the world forever? How beautiful would it be to love and love freely but expect nothing in return? Jealously, longing, pain, grief; none of those emotions would ever hold true, ever...
The mind firmly withdrawn and set in its place, every action engaged in will then be only a means to an end. It's impossible not to engage in action in a world that's ruled by action and reaction. Solace in the distant Kailasa is not an option for us all, but to live life with detachment, aye that's quite feasible...
What's the reward? Bliss. Sheer undisturbed bliss. Freedom from dualities, freedom from pain and emotion, freedom from life's vagaries, a small measure of peace...
