Before I came to the land of "milk and honey" , I was told by a friend to read the "Inscrutable Americans" .....a book journeying through the mind set of an Indian guy in USA......
Nothing what I experience here matches what the book endorsed.......American's are very organized, in the sense , every day is slotted into compartments, each minute justified ......and it unsettles them if things don't go according to the plan......there is no concept of "jugaad".....rules are meant to be followed.....what is the point otherwise??? there is no "workaround".......
A very organized set of people......and given very much to politeness and grace....
Then we have us.....the lack of "jugaad" is very irritating.....be it any institution...we try to find loopholes....ways to enter the organization in ways which an organized mind cannot think of...because of artificial limitations of rules and conduct.....
It' beautiful to see the two opposing forces merge and entwine in Boston where I stay.....The americans surprised at the resourcefulness of the Indians and the Indians wondering whether there exists such a place where things get done in time and people actually honour their commitment.....
The other day my roommate expalined a beautiful concept...in which destiny of an individual doesn't depend on him alone......its also the effect of the collective or group to which he belongs.....sort of a corollary of the "butterfly effect"......i.e. the triggering and happening of significant events by apparently uneventful and insignificant trifles......
USA to some extent has made me lesser of a misanthrope than I was.......maybe its the collective karma of the country.......here oppurtunity is not gained by hiding the event from a fellowman....rather it is thrown open to all....and since the americans respect individualism......the person who stands out the most wins......since he has the potential to bring change to a sleeping society....it is the iconoclast who is revered.......the fear of non conformance melts into the sense of doing things differently.......where the society doesnt punish you for being radical.....
Not to say less about the collective indian Karma.......friendships bred in the soil of the indian subcontinent cannot be withered away by even the harshest chills.......friendship which blooms with no ulterior motive.....but only for a few.......a place where doing nothing "akarma" among the mendicants is revered.....achievement is not everything....being part of a flock is acceptable...nay encouraged......as safety lies in not standing out but merging.....
So what is the right way.......on one side are the people who live life dynamically.....but lose out on relationships...on the other hand we have people who are blessed by the gods as regards family and relationships.....but do not propel the society ahead.......
The more I contemplate , the more I realize the way lies in being a hypocrite........why is it wrong to change your views everyday.....what has the world gained by steadfastedness......Being a hypocrite is not wrong...its just conforming to the current trend of events....being malleable ..to extract more out of life......what is life ...if not a set of contradictions.....people married to spouses who they dont care about for their entire life...people hurting the ones they love the most.......isnt it the only way to behave in a life where being steadfast just makes you passe.....
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Will of Tripura
Anyone who has experienced the beauty of silence...also understands the presence of a will, which crafts the intricacies of the mundane life......
This "will" decides that part of life which not even the west has been able to organize or compartmentalize and which the east refers to as "naseeb"....
Whatever maybe the effort , the ability , there comes a point in the event of things when "naseeb" has to take your side.......
Till late my vacillating mind did not approve of either "naseeb" or disapprove of its existence.....
This has led finally to a dilemma which may finally culminate in a major lifestyle attitude......., in the sense that paths at this crossroad are spaced out too far to find a middle path.......
empirical evidence has failed .......i.e. I have tried walking down both of the paths and have realised that both of them behave differently in different circumstances.....
The "eastern" part of me insists that the path of vairagya "detached enjoyment" is the golden road.....in the sense......the individual should be like a lazy python , devouring whatever comes to him but never disturbing his own lethargy to find even the basic necessities of life.....
When for a few days , I took up this attitude towards my daily routine........I felt great peace...as there was nothing to plan for....nothing to look forward to, spontaneity went to the utmost extent ..as in every moment was enjoyed without thought of it's consequence.....
and ......."naseeb" took over......things unplanned and unsought for came into my hands......as if I was being rewarded for making the right choice......
"naseeb" is peculiar in the sense for when things fall into your hands they would be much more better and fulfilling than if sought for.......but......the "cloudy lining for this silver cloud" is answering questions which arise periodically questioning the goal of life...since spontaneity doesn't allow even the presence of the next instant....forget about the five year plan....
In interviews I was stumped when I was asked what do want to become in life.....what was my 5 year plan.....these questions cannot be put to the follower of any spiritual discipline......He is already that...what more planning could be done....the goal is to enjoy the spontaneity of every moment.......without taking to heart both the good as well as the not-so-good events of life....
Then things didn't go my way, I was denied oppurtunities, whatever I touched was doomed to a fatal finish...making me wonder what went wrong......again the presence of the "will"......I slowly realised that "naseeb" has only one motivation.....to exhaust whatever proclivities of the mind are present so that the individual experiences the peace of the undisturbed mind....
To understand the peace of an undisturbed mind, the mind has to be shown the presence of the"peace" first , to clear the misconception that such a state does not exist...to make the individual a believer....not by hearsay but by empirical practical experience........after soaking the individual in the peace , the "will" decides to disturb him.......and this is the most difficult phase........the individual has now become like the pupa in a cocoon...he doesn't want to make difficult choices.....he is happy in being docile......He wants no hand in changing himself......a belief that if "I am away from the world I will not be disturbed" takes root....
But the "will" , is all knowing....in fact it is present in each individual making them go through the rigmarole......but this is the point where major aspirants buckle.....
the misery does not end until the individual lets go of his conception that he will not mingle with the world......he has no option, the presence of a body and mind entails action.....not even the gods escape action.....now he has to learn to keep his mind peaceful even in times of turbulence.....which is what the "will" wants, a "peace" that has been earned and not bestowed....
For this to happen the grace of the "will" has to be withdrawn first , for if the child has to walk the mother has to let go......lot of the aspirants don't want to walk.....they will never walk...atleast not in this lifetime.......lot of them do walk....for they have truly felt the bliss of the "will".......its infuriating to be not so peaceful again...:D.....
When this agenda of the "will" is understood.........again the grace shines forth....the path to the goal has been set....now the aspirant will not meander in the grassy meadows of mind-pleasures.....and the "will" has achieved its purpose....life has gained a meaning.....as a sentence is meaningful only when its terminated by a full stop.
This "will" decides that part of life which not even the west has been able to organize or compartmentalize and which the east refers to as "naseeb"....
Whatever maybe the effort , the ability , there comes a point in the event of things when "naseeb" has to take your side.......
Till late my vacillating mind did not approve of either "naseeb" or disapprove of its existence.....
This has led finally to a dilemma which may finally culminate in a major lifestyle attitude......., in the sense that paths at this crossroad are spaced out too far to find a middle path.......
empirical evidence has failed .......i.e. I have tried walking down both of the paths and have realised that both of them behave differently in different circumstances.....
The "eastern" part of me insists that the path of vairagya "detached enjoyment" is the golden road.....in the sense......the individual should be like a lazy python , devouring whatever comes to him but never disturbing his own lethargy to find even the basic necessities of life.....
When for a few days , I took up this attitude towards my daily routine........I felt great peace...as there was nothing to plan for....nothing to look forward to, spontaneity went to the utmost extent ..as in every moment was enjoyed without thought of it's consequence.....
and ......."naseeb" took over......things unplanned and unsought for came into my hands......as if I was being rewarded for making the right choice......
"naseeb" is peculiar in the sense for when things fall into your hands they would be much more better and fulfilling than if sought for.......but......the "cloudy lining for this silver cloud" is answering questions which arise periodically questioning the goal of life...since spontaneity doesn't allow even the presence of the next instant....forget about the five year plan....
In interviews I was stumped when I was asked what do want to become in life.....what was my 5 year plan.....these questions cannot be put to the follower of any spiritual discipline......He is already that...what more planning could be done....the goal is to enjoy the spontaneity of every moment.......without taking to heart both the good as well as the not-so-good events of life....
Then things didn't go my way, I was denied oppurtunities, whatever I touched was doomed to a fatal finish...making me wonder what went wrong......again the presence of the "will"......I slowly realised that "naseeb" has only one motivation.....to exhaust whatever proclivities of the mind are present so that the individual experiences the peace of the undisturbed mind....
To understand the peace of an undisturbed mind, the mind has to be shown the presence of the"peace" first , to clear the misconception that such a state does not exist...to make the individual a believer....not by hearsay but by empirical practical experience........after soaking the individual in the peace , the "will" decides to disturb him.......and this is the most difficult phase........the individual has now become like the pupa in a cocoon...he doesn't want to make difficult choices.....he is happy in being docile......He wants no hand in changing himself......a belief that if "I am away from the world I will not be disturbed" takes root....
But the "will" , is all knowing....in fact it is present in each individual making them go through the rigmarole......but this is the point where major aspirants buckle.....
the misery does not end until the individual lets go of his conception that he will not mingle with the world......he has no option, the presence of a body and mind entails action.....not even the gods escape action.....now he has to learn to keep his mind peaceful even in times of turbulence.....which is what the "will" wants, a "peace" that has been earned and not bestowed....
For this to happen the grace of the "will" has to be withdrawn first , for if the child has to walk the mother has to let go......lot of the aspirants don't want to walk.....they will never walk...atleast not in this lifetime.......lot of them do walk....for they have truly felt the bliss of the "will".......its infuriating to be not so peaceful again...:D.....
When this agenda of the "will" is understood.........again the grace shines forth....the path to the goal has been set....now the aspirant will not meander in the grassy meadows of mind-pleasures.....and the "will" has achieved its purpose....life has gained a meaning.....as a sentence is meaningful only when its terminated by a full stop.
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