Life Vs Death

It was a strange evening I have had so far. Being a administrator in a corporate company is a tough job though – I used to think like this at times. The earlier day I have had got a call from one of my subordinate so close to me asking for an off day. His father was not feeling well it seemed. I was always conscious of my duties and responsibilities in all ways. They often acted as masks one of which I have to wear at one time and another at in some other situation. This time the call was from him related to my duties as an administrator of my office. In a small authoritative voice I said “Please look into the matter that you arrive back soon within two days”

This day he called to my office and informed his friend, my another subordinate that his father is no more. When he informed me of this thing, the day looked so strange for me. What is all this duty consciousness, even without understanding this reality in life am I living the right way? Do I have to be really duty conscious when there is no certainty in life? What is it actually to live? What is it to be happy? Why I mean to be so strict as an officer but I struggle hard to reason myself as a man? Lot of questions arouse in my mind and made me silent for the day. That night grew up very long and my silence was broken with phone call of that another subordinate who received the call. It was clear that his voice is broken so as is his heart. I wanted him to join with me in the dinner. I got prepared myself to face him and the weariness he had thinking myself that the universal abundance will help in facing and answering him.

My silence was broken during that meet with his weeping eyes, rolling tears and broken voice.

He: Sir, what is it this life sir?

Me: Why do you get that question my friend now?

He: You know sir, he called today two times, first time right half an hour before the last call, he said his father is okay and they are moving to a bigger hospital. But within the next thirty minutes the whole scenario changed. And so what is it this life all, so uncertain.

Me: Uncertainty is universal principle don't you know that and now my question is whether do we have to really cry or shed tears for knowing this?

Theory Vs. Practical

Running a Corporate Entity is so tough nowadays especially with those who don't understand what is this business all about. After all why do we earn, is it not making a materialistic earning, it is all about earning a living. But no one understands living in itself is a movement which no knowledge can buy as it is with a printed paper called money. I can see a lot of youngsters are dumped to the society as professionals but who is not making a living. Even though they earn money their day to day life ends up with conflicts in everything – in relationships, in profession and everywhere. I often use to feel this is because the education been provided to them is merely for creating academics who are none other than money making machines. I cannot see a glimpse of humanity in that.

It was a time when I imposed the zen way of teaching practicality into life, to the job tasks in the team I am leading for my project. I always use to ask the people to experience and learn. It is one such event I asked my team members to prepare a practical feasibility report on what they are doing on their own. I always insisted to have a real genuine quest in any job they do. Only then one can be able to find out what exactly they are doing, where they are now and where they are supposed to go. That young boy one of my team member after my repeated meets about corrections in the report wanted to see me.

He : Sir, I want to ask you something.

Me: Yes, my friend. You are free to ask anything, if at all I have answers about it.

He : Sir, it is nothing personal. I just wanted to talk about the project. When we will get into real work sir?

Me: What, isnt it what you are doing is your real work?

He: No Sir, I meant we are actually wasting time to prepare report like this. Our project is all about to create an output and we have already heavy jobs to do. Is it necessary at all to do the report now, that too on our own? 

Me: Do you feel that preparation of this report is irrelevant? Is that not a part of your project? Don't you realize this will help you further develop your skillset?

He: No sir. I didn't said it as irrelevant. I feel it is not extremely necessary as we have acquired all our skillset while we are studying. We had two exams in our school. One is theory and another is practical. This report seems to be a theory for me. I am just wondering when would we get into practicals.

Good Vs. Bad

It was a hot steamy evening in the mid-july. Chennai has suffered the maximum heat in the past few months and it is the period the summer started declining. Still I can feel that it is hot. In front of that bakery I cannot resist it and my sweat glands were always active. I don't know really is there something called Global Warming or a Climatic Shift as scientists say. How could a climate shift. Ahh, anyway it is Nature, and she is unpredictable. But I was thinking as my father said about Chennai when he was young. A city with more trees less occupied buildings, necessary air-space everything. Wouldn't that be the reason people have felt about Chennai as Heaven those days and when for their need, when they occupied and destroyed almost what is called Nature, making the city more a Concrete Jungle, now the same feel the place as Hell. I was wondering is that the Climatic Shift or Human Thought Shift.

There was a visitor this time, a friend of mine from the South Tamilnadu. Being suffocated with a youngster boy smoking out there he started murmuring

Friend: Nowadays people especially youngsters don't know What is Good and What is Bad. (in a whispering tone) See this fellow is smoking like anything even without knowing the harms of it.

Me: Smoking seems to be a harm for you and not for him, I think so.

Friend: It is because now the society teaches what is not necessary.

Manifest vs. Unmanifest

I don’t know why always Eternal Father reminded me of the Uncertainty of Life.  I was often reminded with the Law of Impermanence in my journey of Life until now. Is it the question of stability or instability or else the supreme consciousness wanted to say something about this through me? I was in a deep inquiry. It was when the young man who used to ask lot of questions to acquire something from my knowledge, left me stranded as everyone did, I was deeply inquiring myself on what forced us from this separation. What is with this Law of Detachment? What does it denotes? What people do have to learn from this Law which the Eternal Father, the supreme Consciousness framed out. My inquiries were stronger and stronger as time passed. 

Before I get into my mind’s conversation, a small recap: The man who questions me always was deeply discontent with the Life he lives in. With lot of knowledge acquired through books, religious texts and his own bitter experiences in life, he already swapped happiness in his life with emptiness. But I can feel that is not the real emptiness. It is not actually nullified. The actual nullification in life requires greater deal of consciousness. I know he is a struggling piece of wood, in a heavy stream of water. He is conscious that he is flowing with the stream, but I can sense that unconsciously he is trying to get into any one shore but is confused which shore. He felt that “Nothing” is there in life and everything is “Vanity”. But he was not able to understand when I said “Life is nothing I agree, It will fulfill only when you understand that “Everything” lies in that “Nothing”.  According to me What we see, What we conceive, What we perceive is “Vanity”. But what would we call the sense of perception, touch and feel. What causes it? Though everything is Vanity, all living beings, everything lives in it right. Knowing Life is Nothing, is that good neglecting life completely? It would be a mere pretension. I sensed it from the Young Man. 

Most of the times I was reminded of this “Nothingness”, especially through this youngster, but I had to put forth a series of questions to get the answer and still seeking...

Conscious: What is it? Don’t I remember that this world is “Nothing” and all is “Vanity”. Had I not incurred losses in my whole life? Didn’t I lost my Friends, My lovable ones, My hard earned money, etc., 

Subconscious : Yes. The life itself is impermanent. Nothing will stay here, physically. Don’t you know anything too emotionally attached will create a state of unhappiness. What happened in your life is also the same thing only. It is only to make you understand the Law of impermanence.

Conscious: Aren’t people living in the same way?

Destiny vs Destination

It was a long day. The sun took little bit to set in the west. What an amazing site, especially when it is viewed from somewhere near the seashore. Nature has set all her beauty in smallest things like this. Sunset, a single silly dew drop on a green grass, greenish mountain tops, tall growing pines. I have seen such sites in sivannah hills. People do call it as God's Dwelling Place. Now this site is somewhere in a place called God's Own Country. I always run to sleep in her lap. Mother Nature's lap. Visiting this place is always nostalgic.

But unusually now this time everything looked so new to me. As new as a new born child's face. The place looked new. The people looked new. I wish everyday should rise as new as this. Still it is an expectation with an image of today. Suddenly something itchy in the mind. The friend who took me for this trip, started talking about my physical difficulties.

Friend: So, you are not going to take up the treatment.

Me: Won't you understand my friend. These treatments are for those feel this as an ailment. But I never felt the same way. I never felt it is an ailment. I am living as it is. I felt it is the way I am going to present myself to the world, 'I' as it is. Moreover I am not ready to borrow and dump more money into something which is of no use. No medicine can induce my speed, No ailment is going to stop me forever. I am happy as I am, as it is.

Friend: But have you heard the doctor said. Your complete muscles may become numb and insensitive. Ayurveda is only natural. If you follow his directions, he will make you okay.

Me: Within two years. Right. That too, not a complete recovery. A 60% development from the current situation.

Friend : Yes. So what? At least you will not be like what you are now. Think it like this, it is only two years.

Me: Okay. Can you assure or predict what will happen tomorrow or the next moment, my friend?

Friend: I understand what you are saying. No one here in this world is keeping mum knowing that they are going to die one or other day. Tomorrow is unpredictable, so, why can't you live today?

Relationship Vs Relativity

As usual we were standing in that roadside restaurant in Chennai for morning breakfast. I made my life so simple and delegate. Many of us would not be aware of what is happening inside a top-chef's kitchen. But some delicious high class hygienic food can be obtained from normal restaurants like where I am standing in Chennai. Since I eat philosophy as my food, and already I am weighing so much caused as a side effect by the intake of some psychiatric medicines, the numbness of my limbs and nerves has made my food intake lesser but hygienic food. I had to depend on somebody to take me for my breakfast or food. One such young boy started talking with me

He: Anna, you are always talking in the sense of whole humanity. But nobody is thinking in the same way. Everybody is cheating others. Nobody is having respect on each other. How could a whole human kind as you talk of will appear in the society.

Me: You are right. We are divided into individuals, groups, communties, religions, states, nations etc, But can you deny the fact that all belong to the same race, Human race – The Whole Mankind. No one can deny it. Who has made such divisions. Isn't it we ourselves? We divide ourselves as races, by language we speak, by the color we have. The only thing I know is Human can be divided into Gender – Male and Female. Rest I don't know.

He: I know it Anna. I have heard from you, from J.Krishnamurti everyone. But the whole humanity as you speak off is stuck up at one thing isn't it? The Culture?

Me: You are talking about culture. I will call it as civilization. Civilization in history actually sculpted culture. Do you know one open bare fact, you can find it in wikipedia, In India they discovered a skeleton of homosapien of about more than 12000 years old proving man existed in this land even 12000 years back. India is also having a known civilization history of about 5600 years. It is what we are following. But the same in terms of America, a known history of about only 500 to 600 years. We don't know the actual history of Native Americans called Red Indians. There are also other group called “Mayans”. Years long of human history also tells us about how we got civilised and how we get culture.

He: Yes. Still this is groupism right.

Me: Yes. But can you tell the answer how there is a significance of same sound(sonance) in what we call “Mother”, “Father” - Ma, pap, Mom, Papa etc., How nations far away too have the same words. Languages have been lent all over the world, is it the right answer? That too in a period of no significant communication as of now. No mobiles, no facebook nothing that time.

He: Won't there be any travellers, who crossed the borders?

Questions vs Answers

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We had finished that fine deal of the meal that day. It was one of the costliest meal in that restaurant, vegetarian though. Had a good food after a long time in my life. I use to think man often run after money for this one basic thing isn't it? Nature has splendid of matters in herself which we just have to pick and enjoy. Food is such as augmentation. But now it is packed in foil covers, A/C restaurants where it is considered healthy. And I am one among that silly humans who enjoys that tasty meal baked inside that packed roof. Our argument about the Dignity and Discipline continued as we entered the auto-rickshaw back to where I am put up.

He: So you are saying that an alert mind will not do something wrong and you call that dignity?

Me: It is not my statement sir. If you put yourself the question, deep inside into your mind, you will get the answer for it. One thing you make sure, the alertness what I am talking is not the mental and physical alertness, like a thief who hangs on with a burglar. I am talking about the whole conscious alertness. Mental, Physical and Astral.

He: Okay sir, I understand. So one with this total conscious alertness will not do anything wrong you are saying, right?

Me: Again, its not my saying. And what do you call as right and wrong sir? Is it your statement of something as right and wrong or somebody else's?

He: We have a very common norms in our society, right?

Me: The very common and generalized do's and dont's?

He: Yes, exactly. We have to run our life by them only. Isn't it? As you say if I am so alert and do something as I said, I will be okay. But what the society will call me?

Me: You have the answer, I think so.

He: Yes, I will be called the wrong doer in the society. I am doing something which this society calls a mistake or wrong anything.

Me: Okay. So you are alert like a thief to a burglar. You want to do something which your total conscious mind says you have the right to do. But there is a burglar set in the society. The table of Do's and Dont's. You sneak into your activity like a thief, but you know there is a burglar set. You are so careful that no one should be alarmed else you would get caught. Now which one you want to do, your intended activity or a good image to the society.