A Psalm of Life...

Again, one of my favourite poems, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This one talks about Life, and how it should be...and it is truly divine...

Thanks to my dear friend Taru, who sent me this one sometime back....and i dedicate this to her ideas and deeds....may there be more people like her in the world!

             A PSALM OF LIFE

     WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN 
               SAID TO THE PSALMIST




    TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
        Life is but an empty dream ! —
    For the soul is dead that slumbers,
        And things are not what they seem.

    Life is real !   Life is earnest!
        And the grave is not its goal ;
    Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
        Was not spoken of the soul.

    Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
        Is our destined end or way ;
    But to act, that each to-morrow
        Find us farther than to-day.

    Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
        And our hearts, though stout and brave,
    Still, like muffled drums, are beating
        Funeral marches to the grave.

    In the world's broad field of battle,
        In the bivouac of Life,
    Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
        Be a hero in the strife !

    Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
        Let the dead Past bury its dead !
    Act,— act in the living Present !
        Heart within, and God o'erhead !

    Lives of great men all remind us
        We can make our lives sublime,
    And, departing, leave behind us
        Footprints on the sands of time ;

    Footprints, that perhaps another,
        Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
    A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
        Seeing, shall take heart again.

    Let us, then, be up and doing,
        With a heart for any fate ;
    Still achieving, still pursuing,
        Learn to labor and to wait.

Love...

"I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found."

These lines from Bertrand Russell's autobiography is, in fact, the most simple and beautiful way to define why people seek love (romantic love, to be precise). And yet, unlike the great writer, people often are not lucky enough to have it. As he himself says, it seems too good for human life!

What is love? And how is it so powerful, so attractive that everyone wants it? Scientists will tell us something about Endorphins, Poets will go on about its beauty, Spiritualists will preach about it being God's manifestation and so on...but I think Love is more than all this. Love is the capacity of man to reach out from the small, closed world of his to put himself out there, to make himself vulnerable and yet grow strong, and to feel a certain ecstasy and contentment that simply isn't possible otherwise.

But sadly, this once simple, pure and exalted emotion has now been made a tagline. It has been used so frequently and carelessly that it has lost its meaning. And even more sadly, it is now driven by Lust, Infatuation, Attraction or whatever you choose to call it. The genuinity is gone, and what remains is a shallow, consumeristic, selfish, confused and non-committal shadow of an emotion.

How should love be? Or what is ideal love? Sadly, people have considered Romeo-Juliet, Laila-Majnu and other such fictional, tragic couples to be the highest ideals of love. Yes, they died for each other, but that does not make them perfect, because they threw away their life for love (which in my opinion is quite stupid!). It gives rise to an important question - Is wanting to be together all that there is to love?

At the same time, we have the story of Shahjahan building the Tajmahal, the "monument of love" for the wife he loved. And what did he do? Spent the resources and men of a country already getting impoverished...that too at a time when the rest of the world was developing science and entering the enlightenment era! On one hand, we have a King (Lord Ram), who sacrificed his love for his duties towards his people, and a prince (Lord Buddha), who gave up a loving family life to attain enlightenment. And on the other hand, this megalomaniac emperor, who discarded all other things to build a tomb...and yet he is an example of love's greatness?!!

Love isn't simply falling for someone, getting married and living your life with that person...nor is it dying for that person. Love doesn't mean hugs and gifts and holding hands and staring into each other's eyes (Those are just outcomes of love, for the few lucky ones it works out for). Love is, in its purest form, unconditional and selfless. It means wanting the loved one to be happy no matter what. It means patience and tolerance and understanding for the other person. It is an experience, an all-encompassing emotion which lifts you spiritually, which leaves you elated. And that is why we worship Radha-Krishna, because they represent love bereft of all wants, all desires and all externalities. It is love just for the sake of love.

Love brings joy, but it also brings heart-break and pain. In that way, it is like life - happiness and sadness are its two inevitable aspects. But the trick is to manage the pain, to learn to live with the emptiness we feel whe love doesn't work out...not to take rash steps like committing suicide, resorting to emotional blackmail and the like. Love should necessarily involve conscience, a lot of reasoning and logic besides feelings and passion. One should neither get blinded by emotions nor restrict life's view to love alone. Love may be a key ingredient of a happy life, but life itself is much bigger than love. Love should support life, not destroy it.

Is it all too hard to practice? Of course! In fact, it is so difficult that I think it can only be imagined. Since love gives birth to dreams and desires, it is extremely difficult to overcome them and reach the state of true love. But yes, one can reach close - one can put most of his desires aside and one can put as few conditions as possible. If not perfectly, atleast one can love genuinely. One can sacrifice even if one doesn't naturally feel inclined to give up on his/her stance. And it is because we have that strength inside us - that strength we never seem to realize we have. Even when not reciprocated, we can choose to love a person for the sake of it. Even in moments of pain inflicted by them, we can choose to wish happiness for them. And even while suffering the excruciating, tormented, darkest hours of our lives, we can choose to pray for the well-being of the loved one.

If one has made an effort to do all this, even if one has failed, then he/she has loved. And if one has loved selfishly, then one has not loved, even if he/she has succeeded. Because ultimately, success or failure is not important, what is important is how you have lived your life and whether you have tried to live upto the highest values imagined by man. Everything else fades away - Romance, Attraction etc. etc. - but true love, inner strength and values persist, and to achieve that should be the goal.

If only the world would realize that...

Hope..

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things....and a good thing never dies.."

This line from The Shawshank Redemption, the immortal film, sums up both the essence of the film and the essence of life. In fact, the very last line of the movie is "I Hope...", which comes from a person who has lost hope, rather, lost the idea of having hope. That is the beauty of the movie, and the beauty of life...

Everything in a man's life - his hopes, dreams, ambitions, values, conduct - is ultimately based on hope. Even those who commit wrongs do it on the basis of the hope of deriving some happiness/advantage out of money or fame or power. Those who do good are inspired by the hope of having good in lieu of doing good. Hope is what drives a man to do the seemingly impossible, hope is what directs him in taking up things that seem way beyond his capacity....and this hope, when combined with man's will, becomes the most potent thing in the world. Of course, after that, it depends on man's conscience whether he wants to use it for progress or destruction.

But a common mistake is to lace Hope with Ambition, and there is a very fine line between ambition and over-ambition - just like there is a fine line between self-respect and ego, or self-confidence and overconfidence. Ambition can turn a man wicked and ruthless. It can drive him to destroy everything, even something he considered to be a goal once. That is why, the most important thing is to back hope up by morals and values, and to remember that everything is transitory and nothing is permanent.

As we see around us, we find the situation in utter despair. Corrupt system, incompetent and coward leaders, money ruling the world, crime, moral degradation through media or any other way, ruthless power struggles...and no concern whatsoever for the planet or mankind. This is what philosophers predicted as Kalyug. Seeing what we are turning into leads the mind into believing that we are in a vicious cycle, perhaps doomed forever! We question the utility of it all, utility of even trying to change things, because we know that man will always return to his original nature of vanity and carelessness. We do not know how much more the good will be able to take in this world ruled by the bad. We do not even know whether at the end of it, we will survive or not...

...And that is where Hope comes. It is the last refuge and the absolute last means. It may be false sometimes, but it is good to hold on to. When a person has lost everything, the only thing through which he continues living is hope. Similarly, when nations have lost their senses and people have started worshipping the bad, the only thing good can cling onto is hope. Yes, everyone has to work towards making that hope come true, but most important of all is not to lose that hope, at any cost.

I hope too, about things to come. I hope that one day man will find it in himself to solve every one of his problems substantially, even if they do not go away permanently and keep coming back; I hope that one day good will rise again and establish itself overwhlemingly; I hope that man will be able to salvage himself and his planet from the deluge of money, power and ambition that he has created. I hope that my motherland takes its rightful place in the world, and becomes the bearer of the most conscientious, virtuous and powerful people in the world. And I hope that I keep working tirelessly towards achieving that, and never become cynical enough, nor lose courage ever.

I hope...

If...

One of my favourite poems, written by Rudyard Kipling. A fascinating description of what it takes to be a man...


If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!



And yeah, the following lines from this poem are inscribed on the players' entrance to the centre-court in Wimbledon, something I noticed in this year's Men's final (which in itself was an amazing battle of spirit and nerves)...

"If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same"

Morality (The Dark Knight)

And as long as we are on morality, let me talk about a movie. I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie last year, which dealt with morality very intensely. "The Dark Knight", though based upon comic book characters (The Batman Franchise), came up with a brilliant premise, well-sketched characters, and of course the usual commercial elements...but the inter-play of morality and values was simple outstanding. It was, indeed, the best thing about the movie. The last movie of the franchise, "Batman Begins", also had a theme about morality and ends-and-means, and I've got to say, I have become quite a fan of Director Christopher Nolan.

The movie revolves around 3 characters, in a way, the 3 shades of human character - Black, Grey and White :-

a) The Joker - Amazingly portrayed by the Late Heath Ledger, the Joker inspires fear and awe in one at the same time. He is the self-proclaimed "agent of chaos", and he is different from every other criminal the world has seen. He is not interested in money or any other material thing. As Alfred puts it, he is the kind of person who "just wants to watch the world burn". No ideologies, no honour, no fear, no desire, no strings attached - just a guy who enjoys what he does. In short - pure, unadulterated evil. He is a curious observer of humanity, and notices, quite profoundly that the people who are considered good, are "only as good as the world allows them to be". He is more interested in finding out who Batman the do-gooder is, than killing him. He knows that Batman plays by the rules, and he wants him to break his rules. He knows that Batman always makes a choice for the good, and so he, very cruelly, presents him with the choice of saving either Harvey or Rachel, trying to make him fall from grace. He wants nothing but to prove that the world is as sick, people as fickle as he imagines. During the last part of the movie, as he wreaks havoc on the city, he conducts a social experiment, playing a game with people's mind - kill others or get killed yourself. He fails in that game, but succeeds in converting Harvey Dent to Two-Face. The Joker, with all his tricks, is truly a masterpiece!

b) Harvey Dent/ Two-Face - This is the most interesting character of the tale. Harvey Dent is a man who wants to do good, to restore law & order in Gotham city and to lock up the city's criminals...and he does it without a mask (with a little help from Batman of course!). He represents the common man who wants to get rid of the bad. He is brave, and "makes his own luck", leaving nothing to chance, as shown by his coin. He is also ready to make sacrifices, and puts himself in the line of danger, claiming to be Batman, so that the Joker can be caught. But his weak point is his love for Rachel, and he cannot bear the manner and tragedy of her death. He has suffered a great personal loss (although he was always at a risk for that), and wants things to be fair. He flips out, tosses all his original values out the window, and after a conversation with Joker at the hospital, starts believing in Chance. He lets Joker go, and starts killing and sparing people randomly. In the last sequence, he makes some powerful statements - "You (Batman) thought we could be decent men in an indecent time"...."The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance - unbiased, unprejudiced, fair". Truly amazing, this transition from Harvey Dent to Two-Face...very emotional, very natural, and very human.

3) The Batman - "You truly are incorruptible, aren't you?", says the Joker. And he is absolutely right. Batman faces adversity, hostility, pain, great personal loss in the form of Rachel (who he believes wanted to be with him)...and yet he refuses to budge from what he has held sacred - The good of Gotham City. He has dedicated his life to it, sacrificed everything, and to top it all, doesn't even want glory or popularity. He doesn't kill Joker out of "a misplaced sense of self-rigteousness", as according to Joker. He believes in the means rather than the end...and so he wants to bring Joker to the book, rather than avenge his own personal loss. In the last sequence, he knows and understands Harvey's pain, but advises him to stop goin down the road he is going. He says "You're the one pointing the gun, Harvey", which means that Harvey has a Choice. In the end, he is shown ready to be hated, so that Gotham keeps its faith in the idea that was Harvey Dent. He is "Not a hero, but a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a Dark Knight".

The two bold things that the movie brings before us is Chance and Choice. Two-Face is right when he says that the world is cruel. As in earlier posts, I maintain that things in the world are random...or at the least rate, ordered in a very very large time-frame, one happening over many generations. Bad things happen to good people and vice-versa. Those who walk the line of good and ideal suffer the most, while those who walk the other line get away with all the spoils. Is it fair? Absolutely not!...and that is why most of the good people turn away from goodness - Chance, or Circumstance, is biased and prejudiced. And as Joker says, "Madness is like gravity, all it needs is a little push". It is the case with common people everywhere. An honest person becomes corrupt under pressure, a person wronged turns to terrorism and a person hurt in love becomes a Devdas. One stops caring about what is right and what is wrong - one just wants to bring some kind of peace, some kind of sense and some kind of balance in his/her life. The one question everyone asks is - "Why Me? What did I do wrong? Why should I suffer?"....Hence, the selfishness, the lack of regard for others and the turning to wrong. Chance truly can corrupt.

But there is that second thing - Choice. As the Batman indicates, even when we are seething with anger and frustration and pain, there is always a choice - a choice to do the right thing, to keep walking the same line one has been walking. Yes, it hurts...and it is guaranteed that it will hurt in the future. One may lose everything - name, fame, money, love, family and even life - in this battle between the good and the bad. But the important is not the things you have lost, the important thing is the way you have led your life. If you don't let the circumstances get to you, don't let life dictate terms to you...then you have won the battle, even if you have lost everything that seemed important.

98% of the people in this world are Two-Face, 1.5% are the Joker...and only 0.5% are Batman. Does that shake one's faith in humanity? It does. But be sure that it is that 0.5% who will rise, and keep rising generation upon generation, to bring dawn upon the darkness that prevails in our times. How do I know this? I don't. But I rely on one thing, and one thing only - Hope...

Morality & Spirituality (Concluding Part)

In my opinion, morality and spirituality both work together as well as in stages. Morality comes first and Spirituality later. But they also develop different things in a man, both equally essential. Morality's aim is to develop Conscience (Vivek) in a person. Spirituality's aim is to develop Bliss (Anand).

However, speaking of morality, there are 2 things we need to consider - (1) Keeping track of changing morality, as discussed earlier and (2) Morally ambiguous situations.

The changing nature of morality, in my opinion, is best illustrated in Mahabharat, the eternal saga. There can a whole book written about the fabulous play of morality in Mahabharat, especially with characters like Yudhishtir, Bheeshm Pitamah, Karn and Sri Krishna. Lets take them one-by-one -

a) Yudhishthir - He is called Dharmraj, and he demonstrates why in the yaksh-prashn episode of Mahabharat. It is one of the most enlightening episodes of the epic, one which answers a lot of questions about man and life. His philosophy throughout the Mahabharat war is to have a Dharm-Yuddh. His conduct earns him heaven, and a small infraction in telling the truth is duly rewarded. But his conduct during the Dyut-Kreeda is less than Dhaarmik, and it is obvious that the Mahabharat war could not have been won if he had been at the helm.

b) Bheeshm - The epitome of dedication and how-to-keep-a-pledge. His knowledge is vast and his valour is unmatched. Yet he, tied fatally to the throne of Hastinapur, watches the massacre of his family helplessly. His lapses at so many places, like Chir-Haran and failing to persuade Dhritrashtra & Duryodhan, cost him dear in the end.

c) Karn - One of the most complex and intriguing characters of the epic. So many wrongs are done to him throughout his life that you forget counting them, and the "bad" thing he does is stick by his friend no matter what. Agreed, he participates in Chir-Haran and Abhimanyu-Vadh, but his virtues far outshine his vices. His major fault - not giving good advice to Duryodhan as his friend. But seen purely from the human aspect, he is far greater than almost every other character..

d) Sri Krishna - The Lord himself! His morality is unbounded, unguided and undeniably controversial if valued in the human idea of mortality. But then, the Gita isn't called divine just like that. He employs all means, fair and otherwise, to win the war. He clearly shows that ends are more important than the means, provided that the end is THAT good. His style of functioning is unique because of the simple fact that he does not attach himself to his actions and other worldlinesses. He can be very fond of one thing at one point, and then be completely detached to it at the next. That is the supreme ideal of living, and that is why he is the Lord!

The first 3 have some inherent weaknesses associated with them - some form of ideal, or pledge or value. But Sri Krishna is above all these things. As he says, morality and immorality, good and bad come forth from him, and so for him, these things are nothing. But then, that is possible only when you have attained complete detachment, which is virtually impossible for an ordinary mortal. Hence, Karmanyevaadhikaaraste....one of the most profound philosophies ever! And that is what brings us to spirituality - When one is spiritual, morality seems like basics. A spiritual man can take even big moral decisions with ease, because he has had a realization of himself and he is far more aware of what should be done than a non-spiritual man.

Spiritual here, of course, does not mean a religious man. He could be an atheist in societal terms, but as Swami Vivekanand says - He is not an atheist who does not believe in god, he is an atheist who does not believe in himself.

There are also many morally ambiguous situations in a person's life. A fine example is Lying to save someone's life. Others include issues like Euthanasia, Capital Punishment etc. How does one deal with these? I don't know the answer to this. Of course, if we apply Sri Krishna's philosophy to it, there does not remain a dilemma - Live and act as per your Dharm and surrender the fruits to the Lord. But on a more realistic level, I feel that the real question here is that whatever the decision we make, do we have the courage to live with the consequences? If a man's Vivek really is well-developed, and if he knows the circumstances and the consequences, and then makes a decision fearlessly and boldly, there is no dilemma for him.

The measure of a man's life is not mainly by what he has thought or done; but mainly by the feelings, values and ideals behind his actions, and his ability to live with the outcomes of his actions. It doesn't matter whether you lean more towards morality or spirituality - it matters that you keep moving in life, keep trying to remove desires, keep trying to develop detachment, keep trying to realize your self and the truth of life.....and of course, the eternal 2 - Vivek and Anand....

Morality & Spirituality (Part 1)

Morality & Spirituality...Do they co-exist or are they the antithesis of each other? Is one superior or are both equal? Is there a transition involved or are the two at the same level? Various questions galore, considering esp. that while there seems to be a fine line between the two, upon greater scrutiny, the two seem quite different...but then again in my opinion, not as different as they are made out to be.

One of my dear friends Girija had sent me an article about Morality and Spirituality. The essence of the article was that the two are different because while Morality is rigid and does not allow for variations, spiritualism is at the level of the individual and free for interpretation. Morality is essentially human, and spiritualism divine. Classification of worldly subjects into good or bad, as done by morality, is a vain attempt...as these things are relative and not absolute - What's good for one may not be so for the other.

A few points come to mind. The classification of things into good and bad is done so as to (a) bring order into the society and (b) set people on to the path of realization. Morals give direction to society, give rise to civilization and safeguard humanity, because we all know that inside every man is both a good aspect and a bad aspect (Something like the angel-and-devil conflict depicted in cartoons and movies). Morality, therefore, is essential for us to control the devil aspect and make the transition from homo sapiens to human beings. Those who look at morality as inferior are not thinking of the society and the world at large, especially the spiritualists - at least they ought to know better...its like the college graduate looking down upon primary education! Even Gautam Buddha, in his 8-fold path to remove suffering caused by desire (the essentiality of spiritualism), prescribes a whole lot of "right" things to do - right thoughts, right action and so on. The question is not whether morality is inferior or superior...it is just what it is - the start of the journey that later transforms into spirituality, which then transcends into realization. This journey is like a river's journey - the change from morality to spirituality to realization can be seen as a river changing from a gurgling one to one gently flowing, to ultimately becoming one with the sea.

As to morality being man-made, even spirituality is something that has come about gradually as a result of man's increased questioning, awareness and realization. So would it be wrong to call it as man-made? Spirituality is referred to as "divine", but divinity is also an idea thought up by man. So let us rest this point of divinity vs man-made.

The real question is - Can morality be the be-all-and-end-all of life? Can one be a good person, a righteous person upholding essential human values, not care about the spiritual aspect of life and still gain the essential human experience? The answer is not easy. It depends on one's interpretation of morality. And there lies the problem with morality - while it is perceived as rigid and universal, it is not constant and keeps changing. If one understands that and acts accordingly, then it is fine. Otherwise, it is better to be more spiritual and look within yourself before going out and practicing and preaching values which are ambiguous and antiquated. Rigid morality is definitely a problem. And an even bigger problem is when conventions and customs slowly develop into morals. Any type of Self-righteousness is quite a bit, if not as much, of menace as immorality.

But that is not a victory for spiritualism. The other question - can spirituality be the be-all-and-end-all of life? - also presents its share of problems. The answer depends upon one's interpretation of spirituality. Some might think worshipping daily is enough, some will perform yagnas, others will keep fast and visit pilgrimages. But the common thing is that most of them never ever have any realization of their own self, which is the aim of spirituality. Spiritualists will argue that the things I'm talking about are external features, more to do with religion than spiritualism, and that the real spiritualism is different from it all. I agree with them, but then i'm not talking about the theory, i'm talking about the ground reality. And in reality, these very external things that were supposed to carry one towards realization (the agents of spiritualism if you will) take him away from it. Similarly, ideal practice of morality means to keep track of changing times and changing with it, keeping some universal desirable values as they are. But in reality, morality's degradation and rigid interpretation and practice is there for all to see.

So what is the purpose and the connection of morality and spirituality? and what kind of morality should a man practice, given the times we live in? Let's address this in the next one.

My Religion (Concluding Part)

The religion of self...the age-old but often neglected concept of finding god inside oneself...making oneself - and only oneself - the medium of achieving one's goals...this is my path now.

For too long have we attributed our problems to god and sought a solution from him. Truth is, all the solutions lie within us. In our so called "humbleness" before god, we go even to the extent of calling ourselves "moorakh-khal-kaami". What we don't realize is the immense strength that we have - the human will/spirit - which is all we need to overcome our problems.

Let us understand one thing first - a superior force does exist. We can call it time, energy, fate, chance, god or anything else. Anyone who looks at the universe and the world that we live in, with its virtually unimaginable magnitudes and complexities, cannot deny the existence of a superior force. But the sway of that force exists to our natural world, or our physical life. Nature with all its glory and its disasters, Our own body with its amazing complexities and so many conditions and diseases, and death itself - these are all part of natural life.

The human life, which arises out of interactions with other human beings, is different. True, luck or fortune does play a part in a man's life. But man's attitude and resilience is the deciding factor in his life...period. All emotions, all thoughts, all morals and values, all complicated issues and situations in man's life have come about as a result of man's interactions with fellow men; and so it is only natural that the solution to all the problems must come from within man. After all, Heaven and hell are here on earth; and good and evil are not two entities formalized by god - they have come forth from man's understanding of life and living.

But then, we are a curious species. Throughout the ages, we have seen examples of human spirit conquering all - nature (though that is becoming unfortunate), obstacles, barriers and the most daunting of all challenges - our own temptations and desires. And yet we find ourselves to be weak, afraid to the point of cowardice and think ourselves to be utterly helpless at times! What can be more pathetic than worshipping the strength of human spirit (as shown by our mythological and historical heroes), and yet not realizing it in one's own self!

Man is the maker of his own destiny. He decides his own fate. You can tell me that he still is limited by circumstances, but I say that he always has a choice - to rise above mediocrity in which he dwells and achieve godliness, overcoming any and every circumstance. Of course, it takes a lot to realize this choice. He has to have amazing will, strength, courage, hope, persistence...and fearlessness (The last quality, of course, is the most important of them all). But that is the beauty of it, that is the task of life, to develop all this within oneself. Not money, not fame, not any other material thing. Those are things that go away with time. The sum of our experiences, virtues, emotions, and this rising-above-the-ordinary; is the sum of a man's life. Through this, he achieves the peace and joy (Anand) within himself. These are things that no one - not even death - can take away from him. And at the end of his days, when this man looks back at his life, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he gave life his best, led his life right and that he has no regrets...which i think is the essence of living a conscientious (Viveksheel) life. 2 things, hence, summarize our living - Vivek and Anand (and guess who was a combination of both!)

A man has to build in himself these virtues, though in most cases, life does it for him. Removing desires is the absolute best way to go about it. Desires, expectations etc lead to misery in one way or the other; and it is better removed (Most of the time again, it is life which removes it for us!). But desire is human, and so very difficult to remove. The next best thing is to develop a capacity, a tolerance for suffering. One should believe that one will achieve his desire/goal/aim through his sheer will, but upon failure, one should not lose heart and not give into the pain (though pain itself is not really a bad thing!).

Of course, we do not realize the beauty of crises in our lives, ones that teach us all the above-mentioned virtues. I guess pain is essential to the human experience. One cannot learn to rise high if he has not been put through the tests of life. In fact, the pain should propel one further to achieve his goal. The difficulty though is that people refuse to rise above the crises. They indulge in their pain, torment themselves, remaining stuck in their problems...but they never care to learn from the pain and move on. We want life to be a bed of roses, and pricky thorns are just the thing to throw us off the road. What we fail to see is that if life remains a bed of roses always, we'll never achieve the essential human experience. We'll just come, survive, consume and go...not living at any moment in between. Pain and failure is what teaches you to the importance of life, the importance of everything, so that you appreciate everything much better. Of course, to achieve anand, pain must be overcome; and pain can be overcome by developing a resistance, a tolerance within yourself. And this tolerance comes from having suffered pain. It is something like consuming a little poison each day to be immune from poisoning. Pain is the enemy and also the weapon to defeat the enemy. So one should stop fretting about misery and suffering that befalls him - in a way, that is one of the best things to have happened to one.

The only true religion in the world is believing in oneself, believing in one's own ability to overcome pain, to do the right thing no matter what it takes, to live and live joyously, bringing happiness to the life of fellow human beings. Knowing that you are the solution to all your problems. Finding the strength inside you to face the circumstances and proceed on to the path of truth. And the truth is simpler than we think - that we have limited time on this earth, and we should utilize it to bring good to the world, to nature and to humanity.

Of course, What is good and what bad, what is right and what is wrong, ie, the subjectivity of morality, is a topic that need another post to do justice to it.

My Religion (Part 2)

The problem with the conventional scheme of things is the expectation from the "almighty". If you pray, he will listen...If you do good things, good things will happen to you...He will take avatar to save us all and the world and reestablish dharm - There are just too many things I find us all wanting and asking while looking up in the sky. We can't explain a lot of things in life, and so we attribute it to some sins committed in previous janm. We accept everything as "happening for good", because god does it. We meekly submit to an unknown, unseen authority because (a) we feel powerless in front of too many circumstances in human life and in front of nature and (b) we feel the need to justify so many unjustified things around us.

And what have we achieved with this? complicated philosophies and explanations, confusing claims of knowledge/realization/divinity, concocted beliefs, a plethora of useless customs and rituals...and still no peace of mind!

I feel these are some of the myths we hold -

a) Do good things and good things will happen to you - Which effectively tells you to do good things in anticipation of a reward, like bribing a child with a lollypop to keep him quiet.

b) Praayashchit - We feel that repentance will cure us of our sins. So will confessions, special poojas/havans, holy dips in ganga etc etc.

c) God is all-forgiving, kindest and most compassionate - We exhalt the "almighty" to be everything we are not, maybe because we find ourselves incapable of achieving that level.


All of it is nonsense!


Truth is that the people who do good in this world suffer the most, truth is that repentance does not wash away anything (should be done nonetheless), truth is that "almighty" is the meanest and most incosiderate in his doings.

Its very simple - Noone knows what relation Karm has with Phal. Whether you have done good things or committed sins, whether you have repented or not...it does not matter. There will always be good and bad circumstances in your life, and it is upto you how you take them. Do not think for a second that good will fetch anything - it is bad which makes the most in this world. Look at history, look at the situation around us, and you will understand what I'm saying. A person with greed, ambition and selfishness gets all the good things; and the honest, selfless person is harassed the most.

3 logics are used to justify this -

1) Rebirth - The most convenient one. Explains the source of all your miseries and exonerates the "almighty" of all his injustice.

2) This is fleeting happiness -All the good things that being bad fetches is temporary. Bad conduct will be punished, either in this life or the next, either directly or through some indirect way such as constant tension and stress. In any case, it's not worth having material happiness - all you need is spiritual upliftment.

3) THIS is what he wants! - That suffering is what we need to go through to achieve him. When god loves you and wants you to achieve salvation, he takes away all your material happiness to make you remember him...thus bringing you closer to him. It's all part of a grand scheme!

...and yes, all the unfair things going on in the world are supposed to make you turn to him even more, and pray harder and devote stronger, so that he comes down to set things right. It's all a test about whether you remember him or not.


What it shows is that we will go to any lengths to justify "almighty's doings"!


The truth is if there indeed is an almighty, he does not care whether you are good or bad. He is unfair, unjust, unkind and unreliable. How fair is it to punish someone for some sins he/she committed in previous janm, of which he/she has no memory? How is rewarding bad conduct and punishing good conduct justified? In any case, if god wants good people to come to him, he should reward their good behaviour to encourage them, not discourage them the way he does! And why is material happiness frowned upon, if it is utilized in a good way and does not mislead the person receiving it?

The only good thing this "almighty institution" has brought us is a fear which leads most of us to do good things. Of course that, in a way, is a testament to the failure of our race - we cannot even stay good on our own...we need a fear of punishment or retribution to prevent us from being bad!

Gautam Buddha had discovered life's great truth - Desire is the root cause of all suffering. True, it is. But my enquiry goes beyond that - Why does goodness invite more suffering than badness in this world? Is it any use being good? And what should one do given the state of things in the world?

And the answer, in my opinion, lies in the religion of self...

My Religion (Part 1)

Over the years, I have seen the various forms of faith - worship, knowledge, devotion...I grew up in an environment of intense spirituality and unwavering devotion to god, firm belief in the samskaars of a normal Hindu household, numerous festivals and enthusiastic celebrations. I had heard the stories of Ramayan & Mahabharat, read Vivekanand, discussed Vedant with my father, read up on philosophies from around the world, and I thought that I had sorted out what I believed in and what I don't...

I was proved wrong...

Some things haven't changed from back then. I still believe in the virtuous life - Truth, Honesty, Courage, Commitment, Determination, Perseverance, Spreading happiness around, Live-and-let-live...and Fearlessness. But as for my belief in god, my experiences have led me to conclude something very different from what I believed in.

The 2 most important things I believed in (and still do) are:

a) Death is the ultimate reality of Life - This keeps ego and ambition in check, 2 things which lead to a plethora of problems like greed, possessiveness, an inflated sense of self and so many more.

b) Karmanyevaadhikaaraste - You only have right/control over your actions. In life, do not expect anything else, and from anyone else other than yourself.

But the thing that has changed is how I perceive god. As many others, I used to have this image of one omnipotent, omnipresent, all-knowing almighty being, who controlled this world and the worlds beyond it. After some growing up, I thought that God is more like a force, an energy that drives this universe. And now, I think God is nothing but the manifestation of the highest order of realization of your self. That's right, your own self...

What is God? An ideal, an epitome...the highest degree of perfection. The idea of perfection, of an all-powerful being, has always existed in man's mind. He worshipped this ideal, and that is what led to the first religions. An example is that of Lord Ram - an idea of a perfect family man and a perfect king. But along the way, the imperfect man forgot what was important - that he had to realize this perfection within himself...and that has led to his downfall, to the formalities of religion and to so many unnecessary complications.

And so after intense thinking, sorting out and analyzing, I have found my own religion (quite literally!)...and it is the religion of self. My quest in life is not to attain moksh or nirvaan; but to realize a perfection in myself, to raise my self to live upto the highest ideals imagined by man...and in doing that, attaining perfection for my motherland.

This is my new philosophy, and this is my new religion...