A CHAT WITH LIFE AND DEATH – (6)

With a complete shutdown, the nation has almost come to a standstill. There are no movements, no transports, no journeys, no gatherings, no parties, no celebrations, no games and no meetings. Has Life come to a standstill? No, the wind is blowing, the clouds are gathering; the birds are chirping; the animals are roaming free; and our essentials are being attended to by our organized sectors of establishment.

What do we tell a person who feels life has come to a standstill?

People don’t believe that our mind is the universe. It can travel anywhere it wants. It carries our cosmos within. It thinks. It dreams. It ideates. It articulates. It generates ideas.

“The Mind is its place; and in itself, can make a hell of heaven or a heaven of hell” says the great poet Milton. It is said “When the mind is weak, the situation is a problem; when the mind is balanced situation is a challenge; when the mind is strong, the situation is an opportunity.”

Therefore, the way each of us handle the mind indicates the way we would live. It would indicate the way how we handle our life. Lao-Tzu, the renowned Zen Master says “To the mind that is still the whole universe surrenders.” We need to let the mind be at rest. There could be a number of ways and each way may be unique and special to you. You need to choose what comforts you.

Let us, therefore, realize that life is all about how we handle the mind and its latent universe. The famous Hollywood actress Merlin Monroe said “The sky is not the limit; your mind is.” It is indeed true.

Talking about the nature of the mind, Kathopanishad says that the mind seeks either “preyas” (that which is pleasant) or “Shreyas’ (that which is good). It adds “The good is one thing and the pleasant is another. Both of them serving a need binds a man.” So, the mind has to discriminate between them and chose the best which will help the self to realize higher goals. How do we do it?

The power of discrimination (Viveka) is therefore the dire need for the mind. In the absence of the power of discrimination, the individual is haunted by ignorance. Says, the scriptures “Ignorance is the failure to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, the bliss ad the suffering, and the self and the non-self.” It must be understood that only the power of discrimination helps us to lead a life that is balanced, righteous, virtuous and that which leads to good. On the contrary, most of us pursue the principle of pleasure, the principle of the immediate, the principle of profit and subject the self to a lot of experiences that inflicts pain and suffering. To get away from this situation, the mind adopts either the ‘fight’ or the ‘flight’ mode. We become either aggressive or we learn to be escapist. Both are states of psychological inadequacy and conflict.

Given the current scenario, when several lakhs of people are confined to their own selves and their doors, with inability to move, inability to perform their routines, inability to engage themselves in alternate engagements, seem to be fighting with themselves. “It is boring”; “it is sickening”; “I feel imprisoned”; “I never thought I will have such tough times in life.” Well, there are several modes expressing their anguish, their personal inadequacy, their helplessness, their sense of fear of the self and more. They forget that nothing of the above affects their life.  It goes on. All the above are only temporary manifestations of their conflict between ‘Being’ and ‘Becoming’.

“Becoming” is an excited state. It is not in harmony with the nature of the Self. It is a manifestation of the ego to keep comparing with every other ‘Being’, thereby killing the ‘Self’ – the nature of Being. Its attempts, its success, its failure, its disappointments bring sorrow to the mind. In this process of continuous engagement with external self, we remain continuously in sorrow.

Sorrows are like the darkness

Seen through closed eyes;

When the mind’s eyes open

In the evenness of light,

There is no sorrow!

When sorrows sing their soliloquy,

They become cancerous,

They kill us before we are dead!

When the windows of the mind

Are open and ventilated,

Sorrows come and go.

Sometimes,

Roaring, thundering,

Lightening, and showering

Scavenging the head and the heart!

Don’t let yourself to be succumbed by sorrows… pains... let them come and go. Raise thyself. Accept Life. Life is a celebration. Be a participant!