One of the lines that I read, during my journey towards
learning the religion in depth… The line struck my attention, got transformed
into a #WhatsApp Status and today there seems to be a chaos between the left and
the right brain and probably the matter can be discussed in detail. Since childhood
when I looked out of the window in the middle of the night at the stars I would
always ask myself a question – why this life? What is the meaning? Where do I have
to go and where have I come from? The feeling would be transitory and lasted
for few minutes of the road journey. Next morning would be the same. But as it is
said the seed was always there, no matter it used to get lost in midst but with
the enriching input the buds would open, hungry for the knowledge and the
answers that my soul had been looking for.
Being a Jain, I’m advantaged to be between the souls who have
solemnized their life for a higher spiritual enlightenment. They have in any
case understood the meaning of life a step more than what we have. For they
have done something revolutionary and yet rather than being criticized are
looked forward to, unlike we who dress up like Halloween for a birthday party and
expect the host to give them a special prize for being the “ Best dressed”.
They surely have interpreted the scriptures and the canons much better for a
transformational life. I went there,
visited them with complete conviction to be fulfilled with the answers to my
questions. Well, I would ask and ask and ask. Some answers satisfactory but
some still not fine enough to persuade me for what I was looking for… I started
reading books on different religion - Buddhism, Islam, Jainism to perceive a
non- absolutist view on the topic. The thoughts in these epics are definitely
striking and provoke the good soul to go deeper to comprehend the true meaning
of life and the way to live. Everyone in today’s world come across varied
preachers from different facets of life
who either with their past experience have turned into godly figures to alter
other’s life or some who are on the way to attaining something immense and take
some more along with them to achieve the same. The matter of the fact here is
that you choose the path or follow. I read the books every day. Jainism makes a
lot of sense to me as it’s scientific and non – biased. It does not separate a
human because of its caste or the fame he carries. The poor is as eligible to
decipher the information from the scriptures as much the rich. It totally believes
in equality and one path for eternal bliss.
We understand that there have been scientific developments
and innovation at the finger tips for making life even more comfortable but
have we ever thought of the fact that the happiness is momentary and lasts till
the law of cause and effect applies and does a relay in the vicious circle of
life and death. Ofcorse we know this. But do we want to accept the reality and
move or just want to accept things we like for the sake of our convenience. It’s
like wearing an eye mask because you don’t want to see wrong things happen yet
ask the supplier to make the eye mast with a transparent cloth. I read every day about controlling the five
senses and restraint as the core value of Jainism and yet when it comes to
applying the convenience of self falls prior to the words of wisdom. Because the
mind does not run on a single track the power of making decision is invariably
faulty leading to further a state of guilt and anguish. Well I was given a
quote in my autograph book when I was 15 years old which said, “Live your life in such a way so that you do
not have to turn back and say what if”. Somehow the sentence made a lot of
sense to me. But today I feel that it has multiple meaning . It can to some extent
make yourself very important for you whom are also termed as being selfish or
can also mean that each and every step taken in life should be cautious enough,
not to leave you with guilt or remorse of having done it the other way round.
Well striking a balance between the two is a real art. Life takes constant
turns and twists, transition from one phase to another, encounter with humans
who may not all be like you but the way of living happily is the acceptance of
the fact that if you want things your way, it’s easy to change yourself and not
the others. Living with the imbalances and striving constantly to strike poise is
a matter of time. However knowing that the fact that the factor called time is out
of the purview of control, the transformation has to be quick.
Every day in the morning we meditate to be positive and not
to repeat the mistakes that we just did the previous moment yet the end of
meditation is the beginning of a new tunnel again. We promise to make life
simple because that’s its inherent nature yet complicate our own processes in
the vogue of our convenience. Giving up yourself and working towards making
others happy is like dart on the bull’s eye because it’s a one point solution
for the purity of the self conscious that you endeavor for. All known, yet it’s
a thorny task. The act of sacrifice does not come easy because the fruit it
reaps are sweeter than any honey available in this LOKA. The quandary is that patience today is just
limited to “RIGHT NOW”. This entire dilemma creates delay in the decision
making ultimately leading to wrong one. Why the life is almost wasted in #thinking#doing#analysing---
rather than just LIVING?
Nobody reins us or can. The world is an open book and the
Books are your source for wisdom. Learning is everyday. The only part of the
sentence which does not end in a full stop but question mark is, are we making
the Transformation from the knowledge that we attain on a daily basis? It is
not that difficult to forgive and forget – it just requires a big heart, it is
not complicated to Keep yourself aside and understand unspoken words of the
other soul – it just needs a slightly higher level of maturity, it is not that
convoluted to accept that you are needed even without having said – it just needs
a higher sense of awareness, it is not that complex to make an erroneous decision
and not regret about it – it just needs loosening of the mind particles to
accept it and move on, it is not that difficult to rectify your mistakes and
make a confession anytime – it just needs the courage to recognize that there
is a better tomorrow, it is not that tricky to do what your heart says sometime
– it just needs a heart that pumps, it is not that difficult to empathize when
you know they need them – it just requires some corner of compassion in the
heart, it is not that difficult to be content on other happiness – it just needs
internal satisfaction of self, It is not that difficult to respect the ones who
deserve – it just needs you to bend your back front and then downwards, it is
not that complicated to be in high spirits in any situation – all it demands is
the recognition of the fact that it was the best that could have been done at
that point of time - it is not that complex to stop thinking over unwanted
issues – all it requires is to start LIVING…
However the only thing difficult is having known and yet not
applying. We know it all and yet fall in the pit of ignorance and utter
Darkness. Coming back to the question about life and its meaning from my
childhood – probably I have not got the exact answer and my search still
continues however one point of contentment is the understanding that the key to the lock of life is YOU.
Transform every day to turn into a finer soul because “WITHOUT POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION LIFE IS A MOCKERY”.
