Birth

It was a mid-summer morning, British summer so nothing exotic. I had finished over one year of IB and of living in the UK. It felt different. There was a change in me, I could feel it. I might as well call this a transformation, or metamorphosis to be more precise. I was sitting in my window, looking at and talking to the clouds (which is only my second love in life). There was a sense of renewal, freshness and fragrant joy. It may just be that first I was looking at clouds, had just finished my Epistemology essay and a sudden realisation of the change in me...but I was new. This is the first time in my memory, that I actually gave some serious thought to this concept of 'birth'. Is it just the day we were born? If it were then there wouldn't have been so much fuss about it with regards to the essence of this word. We are born every moment. Everything there is, is too. Whether it be the leaves of trees which are born again every spring, the cells of our body, drops of rain or even our very thoughts. Everything.

It really is all about change. Like the day mentioned above when I was feeling all new, challenges, obstacles and moments of truth in life kill and renew us every moment. There are three parts to it - Conception, Birth and Renewal. Conception or the seed of life, once sowed, will leave an impression. If it survives and is actually is born, then it leaves a greater impression. Finally if it survives to mature and realise the mystery of renewal, then it leaves the highest possible imprint. Impression on what, one may ask. It's simply the impression that's left on the mirror of our self. Most of what is conceived is not born. Most of what is born, does not reach renewal. However, once the renewal is achieved one can be sure to have found the right path. It is possible to forget these moments of renewal and the lessons learnt, no harm done there. Slowly though, the sincere one realises the immense power of these renewals. Essentially, I believe that having born is not the ultimate thing in the hierarchy of importance. We all get a chance to renew, to start again, to make a new beginning. Life is kind. The problem is, however, that we are clinging on the that which was lost so much that we find it hard to embrace this renewal. We are not able to celebrate this moment of birth! Every moment when you unravel a deeper layer of yourself, you are born anew.

There are two very important things I'd like to mention at this point. These are just the lessons I've learnt so far which made me reach this conclusion. First, the book by Paulo Coelho, 'The Pilgrimage'. In this, the author has related a pilgrim's journey to the journey of life. One of the things he talks about is How to be born again. The elaborate procedure is not of relevance here, but to summarise, it's all about digging deep within, rather than reaching out farther and farther. The farther you stretch, the sooner you'll snap. The deeper you dig, the more easy it becomes to access that immense potential within. So, if one is determined, it's never that hard to be born again. Second thing is what I learn't from a Gypsy's Tarot deck. Cards XXVIII (18) - Conception, XIX (19) - Birth and XX (20) - Renewal of the Major Arcana, contain the secrets to what may be the first lessons of life. She said one thing which I can never forget, "Everyone who is born, dies; but everyone who has born again by renewal, is immortal! For him, there is no death. His body may go back to earth from where it came, but the deeds he does, and seeds he sows are never wasted. They always bear sweet fruit." It was profound.

If we realise these moments of renewal and seize them, then we can enjoy them all and celebrate the birth. Every such moment can then become a flash of enlightenment, and numerous such flashes are bright enough to drive away the thick darkness which dwells in our minds. Darkness has no existence of it's own. It is simply the absence of light. Ignorance has no existence of itself, it is just the absence of knowledge. Death has no existence of it's own, it only comes in the absence of birth; death of the body, a thought, or that of renewal. It's the same state as stagnation at one level. Whatever stagnates, is destroyed...for good!

P.S.: It's been over a month since some of my blogger friends and I decided to begin group-blogging. We decided the first topic to be this, for obvious reasons, and since then had been making excuses every time the topic of not having posted yet comes up. Having said that, time has now come to really begin. So to introduce this quickly, me and my friends Introspective Blogger andMystery of Life will choose a topic for every week, on which we will all post. This will be open to comments and any further debates.

Clarification about the previous post, 'Hare and The Tortoise'

Following my previous post, a reader asked a few questions about the validity of my argument. While replying I realised that the explanation is too long for a comment. So here it is as a blogpost. All follow up comments can be posted on here or the previous post. So referring to Nukul's argument, it's all a matter of how you look at the matter. One can either take a reductionist, rationalist, pragmatic or an inclusive view. The only way to try and answer your question would be to go deeper still and start from the beginning.

A reductionist will simply say, there is race, there are good and bad guys and there is a carrot at the end. I want the carrot, rest can do as they please. Rationalist will analyse every aspect of the argument and in the end will say, well, each to his own. Pragmatic people will think of this as an unrealistic thing and would say that as long as you get that carrot, nobody really cares how you managed to get it. The one with an inclusive view, however, would say that ok the fact is that there is a race, there are good and bad people, there is carrot and there is the need to attain that illusive state of detachment. How shall I go about it? Firstly, the fact that I am suffering due to this stress of rat race implies my own deeds in the past which brought me here. Now that I am here, there are two things I must do. Identify how to be detached while being a part of this world and master that thing in a way that once you are successful, you can lead by example. Nobody takes a looser seriously. A winner, on the other hand gets accolades even the court of fools.

So if one is intelligent enough to ponder over these complicated concepts of detachment, eternal happiness, etc. then one must consider himself lucky, become a winner in the material sense and while doing all this, still remaining calm, detached, peaceful and have a humble attitude of surrender.

Simply put, the answer to your question is, you can't escape the need to work in this world, then do it in a way that you don't get entangled at least. So that you are a part of the race, but not stressed out like the rest. You can then even concentrate upon enjoying the race itself and learning along the way. It's like Mario...he has to cross levels and collect gems on his way to the final stage after which he is happy. It's the same with us. We are helpless only so long as we resist the flow of destiny, and make the mistake of thinking that the doer and enjoyer is "I"...the moment one realises what the real "I" is, questions simply dissolve. Pragmatists, reductionists and rationalists should try this approach. There is no harm in trying. If one is still not convinced after experiencing this for thmselves, then so be it. All izz well, regardless of the outcome. We change, truth doesn't. Only that which is stable despite changes can be real.

Hare and the Tortoise

I've been thinking for a while about the topic for my next blog post. While a friend was visiting for dinner tonight, he recommended me to watch a 1970's hit bollywood flick called 'Katha' (which means 'story'). It was inspired by the popular bed time tale of the Hare and the Tortoise, the one where the tortoise (who is slow and steady) wins the race...!BUT!...adapted to the modern society and how things have changed since then. The moral of this story was bit of a double entendré, so you decide. This post is not going to be a film review, but rather a narration of how another piece of puzzle fell in it's place in my mind after introspection.

Before I begin though, the nature of this post necessitates that I briefly introduce the plot and characters. Usual spoiler warning applies. So then, it begins with a stereotypical "nice" guy living in a big city, possessing the usual typical traits of excessive honesty, altruism, overly principled life, rigid notions of rights and wrongs, unambitious nature and a general inability to understand the machinations of this big bad world! He loves the girl who lives next door but can't gather the courage to tell her. One fine day, along comes one of his smart, forward-thinking, open minded, fast-talking friends who quickly makes himself at home. Mr. Nice Guy obliges and does not resist. Using his quick wit and charm, Mr. Friend manages to land a very good job at Mr. Nice Guy's company, that too as his manager. Effectively, Mr. Friend is a "bluffmaster", a conman who always manages to find his way by fooling vulnerable folks. Eventually he manages to woo the company owner's wife AND daughter at the same time, and while demonstrating his excellent multi-tasking abilities, he ALSO manages to woo the girl next door who Mr. Nice Guy loves like anything. Finally, he fools them all, and fooling an Arab Sheikh, flees to Dubai ready to carry on his business there. The girl next door is deeply saddened, but Mr. Nice Guy marries her. The film ends with a cartoon...the tortoise did win the race after all, but the hare arrived sitting on the tortoise's back and took away all the limelight, making the tortoise look like the hare's slave. Tortoise did get awarded with a bouquet, but of dead flowers, while the hare got fresh ones. Quite suggestive.

Apparently the script writer wanted to suggest that if one has to win in this competitive world then one has to be cunning, yes that's the word I was looking for. Perhaps honesty, polity, kindness, etc. are better left in the past, like museum specimens where the world could laugh at them. This is open to interpretation.

However, what difference does winning, indeed even loosing makes if all one is doing, is playing just for the joy of it? After all, the most successful sportsmen are always those who don't play to win but for the sheer love of the sport! Somebody's victory is another's defeat, and vice versa. Who looses now, may gain tomorrow. Change is the very nature of life. Just think for a moment, is it really needed to participate in this race? What we are experiencing right now, is an effect of what we did in the past. For instance, I am still not able to sleep because I drank too much coffee today. Then why create more causes and invite more effects and keep being obliged to participate in these races? What's the point anyway? I am not trying to say that being ambitious is wrong, but I strongly believe that it's not WHAT you do, but WHY you do it that matters. Intentions determine consequences.

¬¬Time and again I can't help but feel helpless for having to write in English...it's such a dead and superficial language! No offences intended but I feel so fortunate to have a mother tongue in which at most times, a single word is enough to express the deepest feelings of the heart! ¬¬

Anyhow, back to the point, and taking this at a deeper level of understanding, I feel that the excitement of victory or the lamentations of defeat only affect those who are rigidly attached to these concepts. Concepts, that's all they are. Would we ever trust a fickle friend? Then why do we trust our mind, who is not only fickle but only pretends to be a friend?

It's funny to be a bystander sometimes and observe life. We tend to complicate it so much! It's always those thoughts which arise from passion or ignorance which complicate things and create suffering. Why not just be a free bird and make the entire existence a part of our being? The infinite joy of that feeling of oneness is beyond words; its brilliance outshines a million suns! Is it really that hard to be innocent? Is it really that hard to be righteous? It's only being cunning that takes more effort. When one experiences detachment even while living in this short transitionary world, which is inherently unfair; then alone one understands, in fact experiences even the futility of this rat race. Then alone, shall the hundred petalled lotus bloom! Lifetimes after lifetimes, we keep running like a guinea pig on a treadmill, never even sighting the perceived finish line, let alone reach it! All it really takes is simply realising that if I want to reach it indeed, then I simply need to get down from the treadmill and just take a real step ahead. The freedom one experiences thus, is truly incomparable. We just feel that these little victories make us happy. In reality, however, they are just pushing us deeper and deeper into the quick sand of suffering. There is only one way out, reaching out to those who have succeeded before you, they are right there beside you...just ask them!

There are over 7 billion people in this world, I wonder how many think out of the box, how many understand the need to wake up! People always run after objects of sense gratification...some are mad for more money, some simply want to eat, some are crazy in lust, while others still are haunted by the desire to achieve material success which they guise under the term, ambition; some others are just too lazy to be even bothered to wake up from their slumber! If I had one wish to ask for, then all I would want is to never become a part of that group of people, and for this feeling of detachment to deepen and blossom. Sadly due to recession most types of genie lamps are out of stock, so looks like I'll have to fend for myself. So be it.

P.S: If anybody is interested in watching the movie, then you can click here to go to the link on YouTube. There are 14 parts, but definitely worth it I'd say.

The Tale of Three Cities II: 24 seconds...

I recently came across an interesting piece of information. At any given moment, there is only ever one thought in our mind. This one thought lasts only for 3 seconds. Not more, not less. Next thought may be a continuation of it but it's a new thought nonetheless. Unfortunately I can't remember where I read/heard this so can't credit the source. If reader's know then please let me know.

Now comes the tricky bit. Upon observation, if one realises that he/she has 8 thoughts consecutively which are focussed on the material aspects of life, then sadly they are too materialistic! So that means, 24 seconds of material thoughts and you are exceeding the limit already. Ideally, they say, that one shouldn't have 8 thoughts in a row anyway, implying that you should have such a pure and uncluttered mind that it shouldn't need to distract from that peace which has taken root in it. If at all you do have that many thoughts though, then worry not as long as at least one of those thoughts focusses inwards or is introspective in nature. How many people have this kind of a mind? Some serious stuff here. We may not realise this, but we are so much into materialism, that it silently nibbles away our life from us. We may then live to the ripe old age of 100 or perhaps a bit more, but what use of a 100 empty years? Lucky are those who remember the only one worth remembering at least for once every 24 seconds if not more.

When the only joy for your heart is that of unmoved, immovable and deep silence, then it doesn't take long for the tree of love to blossom. All it needs then, is a shower of unmotivated selflessness.

Peace^3!!!

The Tale of Three Cities I: A Traveller's Memoirs

Losing all track of time, when you enter the loving embrace of of life, everything feels so good, so auspicious! No past to regret, no future to worry about. Just this very moment. Its a different joy, something never before experienced. Only god knows how long have I waited for this moment to come. Though it lasted but a moment, it seeped right into my soul, where all was good. No strife of opposites, no pride of the ultimate is-ness...just bliss, pure, untainted. My smile too lost its joy, as it gently vanished in the fickle night. When will it come back, I do not know. Neither is there any anxiety. If it has to, it will. If not, still good. I feel weightlessness. When there is no burden of memories on your shoulder, walking the tight rope is so much easier, much more enjoyable as well in fact. Whatever we feel is owing to our memories. Life as we know it, is simply a memory. Past WAS a memory. Today IS a memory. When tomorrow will be today, it shall be a memory too. So where is time? Have you seen it somewhere? Well, I can't seem to find it any more. It only existed in our minds. This reminds me of the incident from Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist; when Santiago is rescued by the wind. When all there is in your mind is just a collection of ideas and memories which are after all only apparent, then once you lose them...why can't you become a bird and enjoy it's flight, why can't you become the wind and carry the fragrance of flowers around, why can't you become the dew and quench the thirst of earth at dawn? Don't we hold our mind too tightly? If only we let it go and let the mind do what mind does best, let the body do what the body does best, and while all do what they do best, there is a perfect chance to escape from their prison! Transcendence into the next level of truth becomes so much more convenient this way.

This is the tale of three cities. The way to the city of gate-less gates passes through them. If you are but a traveller heading towards what lies beyond them, the vast kingdom of bliss which lies beyond the boundaries of these three cities, then why not just remember you are a traveller? Why get engrossed in the business of locals of those cities and consider yourself as one of them? Just do your bidding and keep walking. Eventually we all get there. It's just a matter of time, a moment, or an eternity...we choose it the way we want it. While crossing these three cities which are on your way, its risky to make a move during the bright daylight. During the day of those cities, disguise as one of the inhabitants. At nightfall, move briskly in the cover of darkness. When the guards sleep, the chance of escape is highest. Also, we will inadvertently make friends in those cities who would be more than willing to help us, for one day when their time comes to escape, they know someone grateful who is waiting for them on the other end to give a hand if they need. It's all about knowing who they are and reaching out to them.

I love riddles and puzzles. Puzzles are a good way to lose your mind and run further away from it. Fickle beast. That which can't be tamed by strength, can be by wit and intelligence. Better even, leveraged intelligence. It's like connecting different servers together in a network to make them faster and sharper. Hacking into and using what others have but are not aware of, is perhaps good enough. As long as someone uses it. Why leave it to rot? I guess it's too late now...sleep needed so the end for today. I wonder if somebody has experienced feeling less tired because their "mind.exe" process is using less of their CPU power. Battery life is enhanced so much if you just hit "end task"!

A smile can change the world

"When someone has a tendency of causing sorrow, know that they are under an influence. Let your attitude be merciful, so that not only will you be unaffected by it, but also increase the possibility of transformation in them"

There is a certain someone I happen to know, and he is perhaps the "archetype" of arrogance and rudeness. I always wonder why is that so. Initially I always felt that he is just a crack head and should be ignored. I even felt angry every time he opened his mouth, at times even rage! But I always felt bad for him. Eventually I realised that many people feel the same about him. Some even hate him. As the time passed, however, and I got to know this stranger better, I couldn't help but notice this behaviour as an obvious defence mechanism he had created for himself. It was still a game of speculation but I was sure by then that what he does is only there to cover his weak inside which is so vulnerable to the unfair world. Some people just are quite tender and have a weak heart. Realising this, I decided that I will always be nice to him regardless of what he says or does to me. I was sceptical in the beginning but then I could see this work. He opened up bit by bit. One day he came and sat next to me and said he was sorry if he ever hurt me. I was surprised but then I was happy too. He couldn't control himself and began to cry. Never having seen a guy cry like this before did put me in a bit of a messy position but it was all for good. His own good I suppose. He said he didn't enjoy behaving like this. In fact he never even realised he was being bad until someone reacted differently to his behaviour. It gave him a chance to introspect. The reason he closed himself in this imaginary cocoon is because it made him feel less vulnerable as hardly anybody then approached him. He had been terribly heart broken in the past, for many different reasons and this made him believe everyone is bad.

I guess being a part of this race, and being so very social, it's everyone's job to make people feel loved and accepted. It doesn't cost us a penny. Plus you get to make people smile. Now going back to the thought for today above, such an influence can negate any previous conditionings which may exist in people's hearts. We cram too many emotion based conditionings inside...layers upon layers of them, which we can't even remove. One good thought can create a safe haven within the collective consciousness, just like a drop of pure water can make a clear area in a jug full of ink. Imagine innumerable such tiny clearings in our consciousness...how nice would we all feel? I am sure most of us, if not all of us would know such people who are controlled by their conditionings perhaps including ourselves. Just once, if we smile at them or speak kind words to them, it would make so much difference. I refuse to believe we are bad. Inherently, we are all pure and good. This reminds me of the 'hundredth monkey' phenomenon. It's very intriguing. But that, for the next post. Until then, keep smiling. Spread the joy. Life is too short to hate.

The three dimensions of reality

I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts and thought it's better to finally refer back to it. Just a quick reminder though, this blog is just to share my thoughts, or rather a bin for my cognitive waste...so whether to ignore or recycle it is up to you lot who will read it. Don't take my word for it. Anyhow, so talking about reality, if we observe carefully, it has three perceivable dimension. Special emphasis on perceivable. There may be or perhaps quite surely are other dimensions to it which are beyond the scope of our understanding. We saw how reality is linked to thoughts. So the first dimension is mental. When you think a "thought", having a certain subject, it manifests into reality in your mental plane. When you express that thought using one of your five sense organs, it is converted into what we could call as the subjective reality. This dimension refers the reality being subjective in nature, attached to the personality of the one who expresses it. If I say what I think, my manner of expression will be subjective to myself, in terms of my character, my life experiences, my conditionings, etc. In this dimension, reality is still in a state of flux. It may or may not convert into the third dimension which is objective reality. Objective reality is what has a fixed net effect and value. I know it sounds like maths but the point is, objective reality is fixed. It cannot be changed back to the previous versions or converted into anything else. It is just there. It's effects can be measured objectively by those who perceive this reality.

A good example might be that of a murderer. This person thinks in his mind of committing a murder. This is a mental reality. Real only in his mind. When he shares his thoughts, he expresses them using his motivations which may be driven by one of the three modes of material nature (in this case passion). This is subjective reality. It's effects will only be linked to that person. Whether he actually commits the crime or not is still in his control. If he decides to finally do it, then he converts this kind of reality into the fixed objective reality. Nothing can then change it or it's consequences.

You must be thinking, what's the point of all this brain gym? Well it may or may not matter to the most. But if our goal is purification of our being, then it is essential to be aware of this principle. If a bad thought comes up in our mind, remember its still real, albeit on a mental plane. Real nonetheless. The crime has already been committed on our mental plane and we start accruing the karma for it. If we don't nip it in the bud, it becomes subjective reality and along with it the intensity of the karma being accrued rises. Finally if we still can't control it, then we make it an unchanging fact and the result is a full blown equal and opposite reaction to this action. An objective reality. Our aim must be to make sure that only healthy, positive and righteous thoughts reach this dimension of reality. All the rest must be gotten rid of. ASAP!! We may still be liable to face consequences, but then it's better to suffer for a bad thought than a bad deed. Of course, only until we reach a state where no bad thought ever crops up in our minds. Not many are fortunate enough to have reached there but we must all strive for it nonetheless.

There's my penny worth of intellectual trapeze for you. Hope it makes sense.

Adversity, inner strength and rewards

"To tolerate and maintain good wishes in the face of adversity requires tremendous inner strength. However, the rewards are immense"

This is like burning gold in extreme heat so that it glitters even more, all it's impurities having been washed away. No matter how much you subject gold to heat, it only gives more pleasure to those who behold it. Gold, however, can only derive the strength to do it from its innate qualities which enables it to bear all this heat and still make others happy. Real gold is tested thus, so is the character of a man who is sincere and strong. Adversities will come regardless, it's how we face them and what we do in their face is that matters. Rewards, needless to say, is that we become extremely precious, one in a million, the one who glitters more than other raw gold nuggets around, fetching more value for our what our worth is.

Gifts in life

"If you consider the gifts you have received in life to be given in trust, then you will have great value for them and will use them wisely"

Having a human body, a sound mind, a loving family, good education and camaraderie of the wise, if a man/woman wastes the life, then there is no bigger fool than him/her! Animals do not have body or mind able enough to comprehend the mysteries of life. Humans generally don't value them, although they are gifts given to them. A healthy mind cannot be possible without a healthy and disease-free body. Having these two, knowledge cannot be acquired without a proper teacher, our parents (family) being our first teachers. These conditions are perfect for spiritual realization. If we consider them as gifts, we will value them. We all make mistakes, nobody is perfect. If we were perfect we would not have been here. Point is to overcome them and not repeat them. Learn the lesson, dump the guilt and move on. Time won't wait for us even if we keep sulking over our misgivings. It will keep moving. Change is the unchangeable law of nature. We can either carry the burdensome emotional baggage with us in this journey or simply feed off of the things we experience, gain what we must gain, embed it in our being, make it our nature so its easy to use and carry, jump in the flow and relax. Destination shall arrive when the time will come. All we need is inspiration and determination.

Thoughts

"A useful thought is that which brings value to you and others"

Thoughts create life as we see it. Thoughts are the seeds of existence. Reality cannot manifest itself without first being real on the mental plane of thoughts. The subject of various planes of reality is an entirely different topic in itself which there is no point talking about in this post. Thoughts either pollute or clean the mind. The aim is to have a mind uncluttered with thoughts. Calm, serene, focussed, silent, disillusioned. Good thoughts make it easier, bad thoughts make it hard. Anything that creates bad thoughts should be considered as poison and discarded. Anything that creates good thoughts should be welcomed and accepted whole heartedly. Thoughts direct our senses. A thought of killing somebody, if strong and intense enough, will make our hands actually kill! A thought of loving, if strong and intense enough, will make you overflow with love not just for your friends but even your enemies. Its all down to thoughts.

Ultimately even good thoughts have to be gotten rid of. However, it is easier to get rid of good thoughts than it is to get rid of bad thoughts. Bad thoughts will thicken the existing conditioning of our being which is already making it hard for us to realize the true purpose of our existence. Good thoughts will unwrap those conditioning layer by layer. Eventually leading to a state where your mind will be blissful. The field will then be ready to bear the crop of an enlightened soul. As everything, thoughts only have utility value. Thus, referred to here as useful thought instead of good. Good indicates duality. Aim is to go beyond it. Way is here. No scope really to complain and say I have no time for good thoughts. It can be a process running in the background, it won't hamper your download speed or any other applications of job, study, family, etc. which may be running simultaneously on your system. Not so hard then I guess.