What is life, is the most complex question, almost as complex as the origin of life and universe. Atleast there is a theory in place for origin and evolution of life- Darwin's theory, but there is none that defines 'What is life' from a human perspective. In the end both remain unanswered.
Today evening i drove down to the Golden Gate Bridge inorder to break the same daily routine of coming back home late from work followed by eating with Fred Flintstones on my TV and then sleeping. Although it was a thursday evening, i had the enthusiasm to go since its Friday tomorrow, finally! Yes, i am one of those who look forward for the weekend.
On my way to the bridge i saw the hills of San Francisco and the low black clouds hovering over them, which reminded me of the Mordor tower in Lord of the Rings :-), although there is nothing evil about these hills. Maybe just a little fantasy running across my brain after seeing the LOTR triseries last week. The moon suddenly peeping through the windshield brought an unexpected smile on my face. Well, these unexpected smiles are a must once in a while to get the blood pumping through your jaws. Finally i was at the GGB. Quite some people had turned out there, with their cameras to capture the bridge and the Sf city shining on the bay in the night. The first thing i noticed was the Big Dipper in the sky, visible very clearly. I was quite happy to recognize it.
And then i was doing what i had gone to GGB for. I just stood there looking at the calm ocean in the dark cuddled by the bay bridge, the city and the golden gate bridge. Looked like somebody had painted a painting in front of me. I was trying to find answers to the questions which keep cropping up in everybody's mind once in a while. What is life, and what do i want to do? Huh, thinking and thinking but no answers. And then i just looked in the distance and thought maybe this is what is life:
Traveling to the unexplored lands, far and distant never seen before, experiencing the wonders of the pristine nature untouched my man, musing and shocking yourself by composing a rhyme , singing a song long lost and forgotten, feeling the drops of rain, the colors of sunlight and the frail breeze on your face, seeing the stars twinkle in the dark sky, loving someone.
I dont know whether thats the answer or not but for now my soul is satisfied with these thoughts that came across my mind. But, not for long!
Today evening i drove down to the Golden Gate Bridge inorder to break the same daily routine of coming back home late from work followed by eating with Fred Flintstones on my TV and then sleeping. Although it was a thursday evening, i had the enthusiasm to go since its Friday tomorrow, finally! Yes, i am one of those who look forward for the weekend.
On my way to the bridge i saw the hills of San Francisco and the low black clouds hovering over them, which reminded me of the Mordor tower in Lord of the Rings :-), although there is nothing evil about these hills. Maybe just a little fantasy running across my brain after seeing the LOTR triseries last week. The moon suddenly peeping through the windshield brought an unexpected smile on my face. Well, these unexpected smiles are a must once in a while to get the blood pumping through your jaws. Finally i was at the GGB. Quite some people had turned out there, with their cameras to capture the bridge and the Sf city shining on the bay in the night. The first thing i noticed was the Big Dipper in the sky, visible very clearly. I was quite happy to recognize it.
And then i was doing what i had gone to GGB for. I just stood there looking at the calm ocean in the dark cuddled by the bay bridge, the city and the golden gate bridge. Looked like somebody had painted a painting in front of me. I was trying to find answers to the questions which keep cropping up in everybody's mind once in a while. What is life, and what do i want to do? Huh, thinking and thinking but no answers. And then i just looked in the distance and thought maybe this is what is life:
Traveling to the unexplored lands, far and distant never seen before, experiencing the wonders of the pristine nature untouched my man, musing and shocking yourself by composing a rhyme , singing a song long lost and forgotten, feeling the drops of rain, the colors of sunlight and the frail breeze on your face, seeing the stars twinkle in the dark sky, loving someone.
I dont know whether thats the answer or not but for now my soul is satisfied with these thoughts that came across my mind. But, not for long!
13 comments:
Wow! Profound ha? Very profound :)
Your post made me think about a movie/documentary that I watched in the recent past. It is called "The bridge". Apparently, GGB is a favorite spot for people contemplating suicide....
So, don't go there to think about such complex questions.. :):)
Its very good that you are getting the very questions that the Stalwarts this world had seen in their quest for the Knowledge and Wisdom that made them conquer the world by way of spiritual enlightment rather than a material level aggression. Keep it up.
I will give some answer when I get some time shortly, to your very deeper question "What is life".
Since, this is not a question that can be answered by mere words coming out of the mouth, but needs some strong intuitive and wisdomful state of a person to truly answer such questions.
I remember Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa saying "An individual should be very fortunate to get the life of a Human being, rather than get the life of an animal, and if given this precious gift, what good is it if the person donot realize the purpose of life is , or atleast try in that direction?"
Imagine this is the same Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, on whom Swami Vivekanada said "By a mere sight of Ramakrishna, 1000 vivekananda's will come to earth, such is the power and Wisdom of Ramakrishna". If enlightened person like Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says this about the Human life, then, its worth giving a thought towards seeking answers & try to unravel the mystery of life.
Good to see people like you in this world, who, even after being in between so many material pleasures, instead of completely indulging in them, are trying to focus on seeking answers to the subtle secrets of life. God bless you.
Thanks Anonymous, that was some encouraging advice from you..keep writing.
The mind, I mean the thinking mind, of ours is just too small a party of our life's festivity. And trust me when it drives you to the extent of questions like these I am sure it creates illusions and nothing else. It certainly drives us away from the celebrations of life that includes all the pains and pleasures of ours, the pains and pleasures that are experienced in raw form without any analytical baggage.
Shubhika, the more we analyse the life the farther we go from the taste of it. Its like when we are thirsty and drinking water (recall ur thirsty-India-summer days)we never analyse about the composition of water and all sorts of wisdom stuff. There we have just the water and the thirst interplaying.
To me at times all this analysis appears nonsense, absolute nonsense in fact.
To me there is no difference between me and life, I find it absolutely integrated. Just one, U, me and the whole existence all of it.
This analysis is a byproduct of our education. Remember u r analysing becqause u r trained in a particular language. Another person absolutely untrained (imagine) would have enjoyed the sunset more profoundly than you. Because when u were observing the sunset u were analysing as well and the poor uneducated fellow was only enjoying the beauty.
Subhika, our education is only a baggage of soft-load in our mind. Dont burden urself with this when u r amongst the raw nature. Just be one with that, that moment.
And u will get another meaning of life.
Does it make sense.?
Hi Anonymous
Thats a very interesting perspective towards life. I agree with your comparisons..Good way to think about life! Keep writing..
I am editing ur last paragraph (poetry) of the blog (excuse me for that):-
Traveling -- far and distant -- experiencing the -- nature - musing -- yourself by -- singing a song -- feeling the drops of rain, the colors of sunlight and the frail breeze on your face, seeing the stars twinkle in the dark sky, loving someone.
All this with an innocent heart of a kid may take one a bit closer to life.
How is that.? are we on the same page?
Hi Anonymous,
that was not intended to be a poem :-), just some thoughts..yes we are on the same page..
"Its like when we are thirsty and drinking water (recall ur thirsty-India-summer days)we never analyse about the composition of water and all sorts of wisdom stuff. There we have just the water and the thirst interplaying."
As long as you are lurking around the pleasures of life, with out having a realization that you are above the nature, you are getting illuded to think that you are enjoying the life, while infact, you are actually a bondd labor to the nature. For example, if you are watching a movie, then, if you have no realization that you are more than the movie, and let yourselves completely involved by forgetting that you are above the movie, then, you made yourselves a slave of the movie, in that you are actually controlled by the circumstances, which in this case, are the good and bad moodes of the movie. BELIEVE ME. WHEN THESE CIRCUMSTANCE ARE SO BAD FOR YOU IN REAL LIFE, THEN YOU WILL START COMING TO HAVE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS, LIKE "WHY ME GOD, WHY ONLY ME" KIND OF QUESTIONS. AT THAT TIME, YOUR ONLY URGENCY WILL BE NOT ANY WORLDLY PLEASURES, BUT TO FREE YOURSELVES FROM THE CLUTCHES OF NATURE AND ITS BONDAGE.
BUT WHEN YOU WATCH THE MOVIE WITH THE REALIZATION AT ALL TIMES THAT THIS IS JUST A MOVIE AND YOU ARE FAR MORE BEYOND IN EXISTENCE THAT THE SCENES OF THE MOVIE, THEN YOU CAN SELECTIVELY ENJOY THE SCENES, BE THEM HAPPY MOMENTS OR THE SORROW MOMENTS, WITH OUT THE SCENES ACTUALLY BOTHERING YOU BEYOND YOUR THRESHOLD.
SIMILAR IS THE WORLD. Enjoying the world is OK, but ONLY AFTER REALIZING THAT WE ARE ABOVE THE NATURE AND ITS BONDAGES AND AS LONG AS YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE ABOVE AND MORE POWERFUL THAN THE WORLD OR CIRCUMSTANCES. OTHERWISE, ALL YOU GET AT THE END IS NOTHING BUT SORROW, SINCE POSITIVEs AND NEGATIVEs OR Duality(or cycle of good or bad, pain or pleasure etc) is inevitable part of the life of those who DONOT HAVE THE REALIZATION THAT SELF IS ABOVE THE THE NATURE AND ITS ENJOYMENTS.
OF COURSE, WE MAY TEND TO BE TOLD TO ENJOY THE LIFE TO THE FULL EXTENT AND WHATEVER HAPPENS, MAY BE TAKEN CARE OF LATER. But, ONLY WHEN NATURE SLAPS LEFT AND RIGHT, BY ITS RUTHLESS BEATING, then only will we CRY FOUL, WHICH AGAIN IS A NON-SENSE.
Instead of this approach, why not rise above the circumstances, and then with a complete self control on our body & mind, then start enjoying the life.
If we give a taste of worldly pleasures to the body or mind unconditionally, with out having any control over them, then, at the end, we will become slaves of them, and ultimately, very very very valuable life will be lost with out achieving anything. Many incidents, we are seeing in this world, where heinous crimes are happening, with out any discrimination (among father-daughter, mother-son, brother-father, friend-friend,husband-wife, human-human),which is purely due to the lack of very basic control of oneself over ones own body or mind.
AND IN THE END, ONE HAS TO BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF OWN ACTIONS. NO GOD OR NO RELIGION WILL COME TO THE RESCUE AT THE TIME WHEN WE ARE PAYING FOR OUR SUFFERING. EVERY SMALL INCIDENT/THING IN THIS WORLD GOES AS PER VERY PRECISE UNIVERSAL LAWS, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE MAY THINK THAT THINGS MAY BE HAPPENING AT RANDOM. Its their distorted vision via the lense of EGO, that makes the inescapable laws of nature, appear escapable, but at the end, when time for accountability comes, all that will be left out is nothing but BIG SHOCK. Just like the way, a criminal in the society thinks that he can escape the LAWS of the society, but when the COPS catch, then, all the person gets is nothing but PAIN and SHOCK. Even though, in the human implementation of laws, there may be still some escapees, but NONE CAN ESCAPE THE UNIVERSAL LAWS, WHICH ARE IMPLEMENTED RUTHLESSLY BY THE MOTHER NATURE. As long as you are yielding to the urges of the material and Mind level pleasures, wiht out control, so long, you are under the jurisdiction of the ruthless mother nature and its UNIVERSAL LAWS.
"As long as you are lurking around the pleasures of life,...."
Hi,
Dear anonymous,
Are you not lurking around the pleasure of "preaching"?
That you think you are the only one who supposedly thinks superior to anybody and everybody else!
Do you have any idea when this thinking/analysis process and consequently the preaching process of the humans started? Perhaps not more than 10,000 years before (at the most). By the way I am not interested in any debate, neither I intend to be categorised as a preacher. The oldest civilization is perhaps the Egyption one which is at the most 7000 years old. And remember humans existed even before that (much much before) when they did not have the wisdom of idenfying the 'SIN' and the so called -
"but NONE CAN ESCAPE THE UNIVERSAL LAWS, WHICH ARE IMPLEMENTED RUTHLESSLY BY THE MOTHER NATURE...." blah-blah.
My dear, your analysis is too young to be face-to-face with "mother nature". Why you are uncomfortabele with the idea of being friendly with one's senses? Be friends to your senses first and then to your mind. Mind is just a borrowed one. All the letters, words, even your name is not yours. You got all of it from some one. Just think what in your mind is yours? At least senses and their sensousness is yours. Why you are afraid of owing them?
This does not mean that one should be slave of one's senses. What I mean to say is if you are fully awake in being one with your senses, fully aware, alert you can never be a slave of it. You become commander of your senses.
Just recall:- if you remember each sip of your tea/coffee. We have become so mecahnical in eating and drinking that we dont enjoy it, we are never part of it anymore. We have become so much analytical that even the eating time is devoted to this fully. Next time you take tea try being one with every sip and you will find how tough it has become/ how tough you have made it to be.
I meant only this when I said
"Its like when we are thirsty and drinking water (recall ur thirsty-India-summer days)we never analyse about the composition of water and all sorts of wisdom stuff. There we have just the water and the thirst interplaying."
and trust me it is all garbage, all that is being said here, by you, by me or by any body, in comparison to the showerings of this existence. It is so overwhelming one can not talk about it. At the most one can be a witness of it.
A witness fully alert, fully aware with all the senses awake. Why make senses feel inferior as if they are not there. You learned everything from them only. Be grateful and thankful towards them not scornful.
With love
If you read below one, the essence of all religions or the words of the Enlightened ones, you will realize that there is lot more to be done in life in the path of spirituality. As per below, lurking in the sensual pleasures by making friendship (having friendship not by having control over them, but because we donot have control over them), is the lowest or most ignorant state any one can be. We all are trying to come out of the slavery of the senses that once we were masters of and in this process, we should be careful, rather than careless and be with the postponement attitude towards the senses. Of course, you can be a friend of the senses, only when you have a complte control over them, but till then, you are not friend, but should be cautious of them.
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Here is a simple explanation and the core of all religions(Purpose of Life) and some religions only told only partial info since there is no point in telling at those times,to general populations,when they are not ready enough to understand the higher aspects of the world.While mere words cannot explain GOD but only self experiences,here is a small try to explain the phenomenon of the world.
Every individual,in the process of regaining the lost universal counciousness state or the STATE OF GOD or ALL PERVADING DIVINITY,will go through the following stages. The reason why its a regaining of divine state,is because this is what the ORIGINAL state is for every individual,the state of infinite hapiness and bliss and that of universal counciousness,of omnipotence and omnipresence. For some reasons, individual SOULS or specks of counciousnesses self-impose the individuality and limitedness under the influence of EGO (or the "I" feeling):
STAGES:
Body Counciousness-to-MindCounciousness-to-WillPowerCounciousness-to-SoulCounciousness(or realization of self as nothing but a speck of counciousness)-to-Seeing/Identifying Existing Of UniversalCounciousness OR UniversalPower-to-RealizingSelfAsPartOfUniversalCounciousness-to-Final Realization of self as all pervading UNIVERSAL COUNCIOUSNESS with onmipresence,omnipotence & existing with in the creation & beyond creation.
THE ATTITUDE OF A PERSON CHANGES AS THE PERSONS LEVEL OF ENLIGHTMENT CHANGES FROM ONE STAGE TO OTHER STAGE.
1.Body counciousness or the realization that self is the body (or mere senses). Perceiving the world and acting in the world with this counciousness is the lowest that any one can fall to.
2.Mind counciousness or the realization that self is the mind (or realization of self as the mere mind, still yet one more sense, but is more powerful than mere body senses)at of being more powerful than the bodily senses). Perceiving the world and carrying out actions in the world with this level of realization is a bit better than the previous body level, since Mind is superior than the body or bodily senses. Here is an experiment done recently to prove the control of mind over body: brownDOTeduSLASHAdministrationSLASHNews_BureauSLASH2001-02SLASH01-098DOThtml
I could only give modern scientific proof of the phenomenon up to this level, since modern science is still evolving and as of now, it is limited to material level and to some extent mind leveland not beyond that.
3.Will Power Counciousness or the realization that self is the will power.Perceiving the world and acting in the world with this counciousness is higher state than that of previous 2 states. This is because, in truth, Will power is more powerful than the body or mind.
4.Soul counciousness or realization that self is an ever existing entity. Perceiving the world & acting in the world with this counciousness is higher state than that of previous 3 states.It is in this state,that the person sees self as an ever existing entity & not subjected to the cycle of life and death & is not vulnerable to the material & mind level limiting aspects of the creation like indestructibility by materials etc.This state is more powerful than any individual qualities an individual may have possessed. When a person regains access to this state, even for a split second will be able to start perceiving the next states, that are above the individuality & leading to universalness. This is the state in which Sri Adi Shankaracharya had spoke of NIRVANA OR AATMA SHATKA, THIS IS THE STATE IN WHICH LORD JESUS CHRIST SPOKE OF WHEN HE REFERS TO HIMSELF AS "I" IN HOLY BIBLE, This is the state that lord Krishna refers to In Geetha and countless other enlightened Individuals had experienced this state in the past across all over the world. There is a saying that an individual who attains and retains this state or any below states at ease, can be trusted and no one else.
5.When an individual realizes self as a speck of counciousness or Soul after coming out of the outer sheaths(steps 1,2&3) of illusion, then the individual starts perceving that self is not alone in this creation,but starts identifying the existing of an unknown power,A POWER THAT IS MUCH BEYOND THE GRASPING power of the self.This is the initial stage of knowing the universalness.Sometimes,when we have developed an affection towards someone,then we would have a realization that there is no difference between that person and self.
This means,a persons counciousness or the sphere of awareness or influence (perception or action) is beyond the individual body or mind or will power.This is the starting point towards realizing or regaining the universal counciousness.
6.In the intermediate stages of realization of the universalness, the individual perceives that he/she is actually part and parcel of the universalness.
7.In the final stage of enlightment, the person has no individuality at all, and is fully in tune with the universal counciousness irrespective of time and is Omnipotent and omnipresent. This is the state of GOD or referred to as GOD in various scriptures by the saints of all religions across the world who had realized what is GOD.
Most probably, there is a possibility of a person getting access to the highers states of realization, for a brief periods of time, including getting access to the highest universal counciousness either intentionally or unintentionally, but those who can go into and retain the higher states at their will are the really enlightened ones.
A simple example of the above phenomenon is the example of a person watching a movie. When the persons counciousness is fully involved in the movie via the bodily senses and the sense of Mind, the person is tuned to the moods of the movie. When a sad scene comes, the person becomes sad, and when a happier moment comes, the person becomes happy and so on. As long as the person forgets that self is different from the movie and lets the movie(which is nothing but a combination of lighter and darker shades of light) illude, due to self imposed restrition to the movie, the person is tuned by the movie.
But the moment the person realizes or re-remembers or regains counciousness that this is just a movie, then, the person selectively enjoys the movie scenes and is not forced to be affected by the unwanted scenes. Similar is the world. The more a person lets self fall to the pull of the senses, the more the person is binded to the nature and environment, but the more the person realizes that self is above own body or mind or even will power, to that extent the person gets freed from the nature and its environment. If the person realizes even more further above the soul level, then to that extent the person gets free from the external aspects of the creation, and rises above the illusion of the creation, which again is nothing but the ALL PERVADING GOD's power that ultimately is responsible for the drama of the creation.
"........lurking in the sensual pleasures by making friendship (having friendship not by having control over them, but because we donot have control over them), is the lowest or most ignorant state any one can be. We all are trying to come out of the slavery of the senses that once we were masters of and in this process................."
O dear anonymous can you answer the following..?
1) In what state of the individual's consciousness a human life is conceived or takes birth?
2) What is your explanation about the life of humans when they had no language and so called wisdom and the religious blah-blah yet they lived a much longer (pre-historic) life..?
3) In what stage of enlightenment you are in- like 4th, 5th or 6th or nth...?
4) How is this enlightenment helping you ..?
5) Do you not have a list of liking-foods, drinks, fruits, people, etc..? If you have a list of likings, is that not an indicator that you are being governed by the sensual commands. Liking is a subroutine of sensual slavery that is created in our evolved mind of we humans.
Thus if you have any specific liking of even a particular kind of philosophy you are also a slave of one kind of spiritual rules(principles). I am not a hardliner.. Not a fundamentalist.
I accept and welcome all that I see in this sky. Whether I like it or not. I am choiceless. Even "no choice" is not my choice.
I am not attached to any particualr kind of spiritual dogmas.
All are my friends, all my senses and everything. Even if they become my enemy sometime that is acceptable to me. I am fine with that. I love all of it. I love u in toto.
And I am welcoming your all views.
Thank you for this lively debate.
Good luck.
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