Thoughts on World Meditation Day

 

Somehow it’s been on my mind about the general trajectory of our human race. Had it not been for a life changing event, there is high likelihood that I would be flowing like everyone else around me. I would have no inclination to observe and understand the trend from a different perspective. 

Jise bhi dekhiye woh apne aap mein goom hain!

( whoever you come across is absorbed in himself.)

Not quite. Some are concerned about a loved one or others more than themselves. Yet the concern is limited to this lifespan, either their own or that of someone else. The world is defined by what they have seen since birth and will be seeing until death. There is no practical concern of before or after these demarcating events.

For that fraction of population which believes in God, the role of God is primarily to solve life’s problems. Mend relationships, cure diseases, provide wealth/ get rid of poverty, resolve legal or other issues. Thus even God, though acknowledged, is pertinent only in terms of worldly matters. The thinking does not extend beyond that with much seriousness. Such thinking is irrelevant to most believers.

If one considers the doctrine contained in the Bhagwad Gita, human life can conclude with four options. Those who seek a better life after life and pursue virtuous acts with that goal would go to heaven. Those who do not believe in the consequences of actions and live their lives without righteousness would be condemned to life in sub-human species( reptiles, birds, animals etc). Those who are neither completely virtuous nor evil may come back as human beings in varying strata of life depending on their accrued merits. These three options are not permanent as per Hindu tenets. Merits can exhaust with time and beings in heaven may see themselves to downgraded existence. Sinners may reform and get upgraded to better lives. All three options i.e fully virtuous, fully sinful, partly virtuous and sinful, require no special efforts. Action and results thereof are automatic. Much thinking is unnecessary. Efforts are not required. 

The fourth option of moksha( liberation) or God realization calls for contemplation, reflection, study and understanding. It takes extra effort beyond automatic mode living. And that’s exactly what most people are disinterested in. 

Even the believers in a God figure use faith to provide hope for a better ending but don’t care to think beyond that. Tat Tvam asi or Aham Bramhasmi or Sarva khalvidam bramha ( Mahavakyas) have no practical relevance to these people . These are merely of academic value if any. 

The tempo of automatic living continues for the entire lifespan. Any suggestion to search for God or understand God is dismissed, whether politely or otherwise. Thinking calls for time. Who has time? 

Paradoxically time is consuming each of us. In the domain of time, the graph of  balance is unidirectional. It is shrinking right from the moment one takes the first breath. The one and only way to exit the countdown of time is to understand the truths proclaimed by the mahavakyas. Thus to stop the clock from ticking we need to devote time. 

It s a vicious cycle for most humans who are unprepared to understand the essence of their true being and therefore inadvertently sacrifice themselves under the unrelenting cleaver of the Time Machine. I was musing the other day that if there was a transparency to the transition of every living being from one life to next, imeaning if our eyes could see Mr X die in human form and emerge as a newborn pup of a wolf somewhere, only then people would trust the teachings. Without trust, teachings have no meaning. Consequently learning loses value. Ignorance propagates indefinitely. 

The teachings are available to all in the present day. It’s a mystery why only a few people have trust and lend themselves to learning from them. Why mistrust is more powerful? I may not find the answers. The baffling fact will remain that most people don’t care to know their essential nature. 

Today incidentally was winter equinox. It was also World Saree Day and World Meditation Day. Met with a few saree loving friends in Mumbai before heading back to Pune. Theme for the meeting was Christmas colors. I draped this beautiful Bhujodi from my dear friend Pachanbhai Siju from Kutchh. He has used fine cotton yarn and vibrant colors for this one. The saree is additionally adorned with mirror work embroidery.