As we​(Indians)​ get messages of Happy Republic Day we need to pause for a minute to reflect on the significance of it. 

Over time​,​ ​h​umans have drawn imaginary lines over the earth​ including the airspace above it and all the rivers flowing​ ​on it ​and have claimed dominance over it​​. Whoever falls within the boundary are citizens of the nation and are obligated to perpetuate the protection of the boundary, the local culture, commerce, etc. ​All the flora/fauna/animals/natural resources falling within the territory are considered fair game for consumption/commerce…​

History is made of people(wolves) with aggressive and violent tendencies who constantly try to expand their boundaries whilst there are the people with peace loving(sheep) tendencies who are unable​/not interested​ to defend their boundaries and the imaginary boundaries get redefined by conquests​ or armies are created to help maintain the boundaries​. And the show goes on.

All this stems from the fact that we as individuals have also drawn imaginary boundaries around ourselves (I/Me/Mine) and feel that we are somehow separate from others around us.​ We extend this individual boundary to family, society, nation and by extension​,​ alienate the rest of the world. ​Then it is a show of one-upmanship – mine better than yours… and the show goes on…​​

In reality, ​love is sufficient as a way of life but ​unfortunately ​​​aggression/violence​ has become such an integral part of the world we are born and live in that we cannot even imagine a world without it. ​Unless a sufficient number of people ​adopt love as a foundational quality of living individually and as a collective society, the aggressive tendencies would find expression and there would be a need for defending against aggression. ​If you observe, ​Terrorists/Aggressors and Defending Armies are two sides of the same coin – drop one and the other ​needn’t​ exist.​ 

Everybody accepts that love is better than violence but unfortunately, no one wants to let go of violence and hence “One World” remains a poet’s dream as expressed by John Lennon – Imagine…

Happy Republic Day

If you see suffering all around you, can you ever truly be happy? A question that all of us must answer for ourselves. Most of us mistake happiness for obtaining pleasure or enhancing our self import which stems from the fact that we consider ourselves as separate from everything around us which is the illusion. We are all One but unfortunately, save a few realized souls, the rest of us cannot see the unity of things and keep chasing pleasures/self import as means of happiness, consequently experience suffering as the inevitable cyclical end of the chase… And life goes on and people wonder why there is so much suffering in the world since the happiness as experienced by us is just a blip in a series of suffering…

The only way out is to realize the unity of things through the path of silence (not only of words but also of urges that take you without instead of within). It is just a matter of dis-covering your true nature that is covered with such a lot of accumulated dirt that it takes sustained practice of silence to break through. Instead we start with all gusto to change the world to make it a better place….

Umar bhar Ghalib ye hi bhool karta raha.

Dhool chehere par thi aur aina saaf karta raha…

I just recovered from a bout of the dreaded COVID 19 – Omicron strain and luckily it was no different from a flu treated at home that one would have had. However the uncertainty of how my body would react to it, whether I would need hospitalization or not, certainly was unsettling. And to add to the uncertainty was the contradictory information available on the news – with one expert saying one thing and some other saying exactly the opposite, so you don’t know who to believe… Then of course is the list of well wishers who have their own set of anxiety issues that sometimes are passed on to you FOC 🙂 In such a confused state all you actually need is a Pyar ki Jhappi but that too can’t be in person and you have to make do with hugs emojis on WhatsApp. 

One learning that was reinforced during this period of quarantine was that there is no use worrying about anything. On the contrary, it is actually helpful to be cheerful since your body responds better to the crises. Take all precautions/course of action for treatment as per your maturity/wisdom/resources but then worrying about the result ain’t gonna help, so let the worry go… The “worried” people are those who think they have something to lose. When you accept that all that you are clinging to was never yours in the first place and all of it would have to be left behind in any case, you experience a sense of freedom that takes your worries away. So lose your worry instead.   

“Hakuna Matata” – which means “There are no problems: Don’t worry about it.”

With the 3rd wave raging across the world like wildfire, the pandemic is putting things into perspective, it pushes you to re-examine your priorities and timelines (Short term/Long term) given the uncertainty of life itself. In such times, the best way to deal with it is a day at a time. Don’t miss out on the small things in daily life trying to chase the “Big” things assuming a long life. 

Regardless of whether you want to chase the Big things or enjoy the small things, you have to be physically, emotionally, intellectually, financially fit to enjoy them, so invest time & energy on a daily basis to remain fit and enjoy the day. Above all practice meditation that will take you beyond all fears since you would know that you are pure eternal awareness having a temporary body/mind experience…

We make new year resolutions assuming that “achieving” something would bring us fulfilment. We do this since we don’t accept that we are complete here and now. In our experience life is yet to be completed and is still a work in progress even though we have lived as many years as we have and it would be so till the last day of our lives which is when? we don’t know…Then what is the use of making resolutions? We enjoy the chase? It gives meaning to life?…

Unless we experience the completeness of our being and then decide what is to be done, we would always be chasing mirages and living life outside – in, instead of inside – out. You have to know thyself. Most of us are not even facing the right direction and instead are enamored by the show that life puts up – some pleasures, some pains…

This year, take up the most difficult challenge of all times – face yourself to know yourself.

In is the only way out…

I witnessed my first “Euthanasia” when I was a school going boy performed on our beloved pet dog in her last stages of cancer. In the decision between compassion and suffering, compassion won but can we do so where humans are concerned?

The debate over acceptance or not of euthanasia continues worldwide and I am told that Switzerland has not only legalised it but also has invented a “Sarcopod” that assists in such cases and the patient passes on in less than a minute in a relatively painless way. But this only kills the body/mind apparatus, not what lies within… 

Nisargadatta Maharaj gave an interesting reply to the question “Is it not obligatory to live out one’s natural span of life?” – His reply was “Natural—spontaneously—easy—yes. But disease and suffering are not natural. There is noble virtue in unshakable endurance of whatever comes, but there is also dignity in the refusal of meaningless torture and humiliation” 

I am not on the point of whether euthanasia should be legalized or not, I am on the point of being brave enough to perform it on our own attachment to “I/Me/Mine”. Such an euthanasia is absolutely essential for all and can only be performed by self and the best part of it is what dies within actually makes your life more beautiful than ever…

This quote of Rumi doesn’t prescribe inaction but instead asks to be patient with the results. ​

In today’s “Instant” World, everyone wants everything, as in yesterday and seldom wants to be patient for results or to put in the sincere efforts required to get them. Wants are unlimited, needs are limited. The distinction between the two is blurred with the “Dil Maange More” attitude and that is the cause of all the stress and anxiety in the world – it is ruled by “wants” and chases them relentlessly. 

There is a terminology in the Corporate World based on which performance of an individual is evaluated and that is “KRA” – Key Result Area ​which is something that the Corporate ” wants” ​and upon which vests the Quarter to Quarter survival of the CEO and the entire organization. The same works even for personal/family/social roles wherein the KRA’s are not even formally defined and yet are expected to be achieved and mistakes are not tolerated…Then we wonder why so many people complaining of stress related disorder, heart attacks, Skewed lifestyle imbalances that make people run only after their KRA’s whether at work or at home…. 

If you observe, once you get what you “want” it loses value – whether it be goals, things or relationships and your mind moves on to what next? This living from one want to another is the root cause of stress and anxiety. The only way to reduce this stress is to know​ and accept​ that you​ already​ have everything you “need” and will never have everything that you “want”.   

This is possibly the state of most of our Guardian Angels, most times​, since we simply refuse to do what we already know needs to be done. The journey of our lives is in trying to align with what we already know to be true…

Verb	Should be	What is
Love	​All​	​I/Me/Mine​
Discipline	Self	Others
Patience	With Everything	With Nothing

But I’m sure the Guardian Angel has the last laugh since whatever we refuse to learn comes back to haunt us till we learn it…

We are born with nothing and go with nothing, so what exactly are we achieving by all the running around? We are seeking glory and riches to be enjoyed in this lifetime and for which we feel that all the pain and suffering is incidental. That’s where we miss the whole point.

Transcending the cycle of pain/pleasure is ours for the asking but we are so busy chasing that we don’t have time for anything that asks us to pause and take a look at what is happening.

Before you start running at least ask yourself what are you chasing and whether that is what you wanted in the first place. The great kings like Alexander the Great, Emperor Asoka felt remorse even after winning and they also finally died with nothing to take away from this world. 

So ask yourself – What is it that “I” want from this life? and more importantly what is “life” and who am “I”?

There is an interesting video circulating on WhatsApp of Vir Das- titled “Two Indias” which is a satire on the present state of polarized affairs in India. It made me think that this is actually a reflection of our own internal struggle wherein we are constantly succumbing to our desires and remain attached to our comfort zone, very well knowing that a transformed life is waiting for us beyond our comfort zone but that requires changing our habits… 

There are two voices in the head in most people(that doesn’t make them bipolar or schizophrenic :)) – a voice of conscience/sanity/clarity that is nudging us to take the correct (possibly difficult) path and the other is the voice of habit that wants us to indulge in our long standing habits/ not leaving our comfort zone. I needn’t say which one wins 😉

It is only those who commit sincerely to something who bring about a revolution, not only in themselves but also in the world around them. With commitment begins the journey to Self and with sincerity, it is accomplished.

Travel(journey) is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits…