During moments of self-introspection, after all thoughts belonging to all the categories - pity, sympathy, love, anger, affection, friendship, motherhood, and what else, have subsided, and have swept over me, the last one to go past me is always one of being tired - tired of chasing something.
The burden of mere existence I guess. The little games, the lies, the fake realities, the unrealistic dreams, the greed to live and not let live - nauseate me...
I always wonder what everyone one of us is running after. Don't we all believe we have a goal so well defined, and that we are so in control of things around us?
But, how painful are those moments when the realization of how small our existence really is, sets in? How many of us have even experienced such humbling moments, where we realize how atomic we are in the grander scheme of things?
There is an eternal quest in search of having it all...where is the end?
Among the various stages to this ultimate realization, Jnana Yoga is first must. It fundamentally teaches two things:
Viveka - Discrimination: The ability to differentiate between what is real/eternal (Brahman) and what is unreal/temporal (everything else in the universe.)
Vairagya - Dispassion: After practice one should be able to "detach" her/himself from everything that is "temporary."
Detachment from everything is what has been emphasized upon over and over again in all of Vedanta to be able to achieve eternal bliss.
I was very impressed by the following excerpt from Vivekananda's speech on Our Real Self (take the time to read it):
Great is the tenacity with which people cling to the senses. Yet, however substantial they may think the external world in which they live and move, there comes a time in the lives of individuals and of races when, involuntarily, they ask, "Is this real?" To those who never find a moment to question the credentials of their senses, whose every moment is occupied with some sort of sense-enjoyment--even to them death comes, and they also are compelled to ask, "Is this real?"
He further says:
We may talk about seeing nothing beyond and keeping all our hopes and aspirations confined to the present moment, and struggle hard not to think of anything beyond the world of senses; and, perhaps, everything outside helps to keep us limited within its narrow bounds. The whole world may combine to prevent us from broadening out beyond the present. Yet, so long as there is death, the question must come again and again, "Is death the end of all these things to which we are clinging, as if they were the most real of all realities, the most substantial of all substances?" The world vanishes in a moment and is gone. Standing on the brink of a precipice beyond which is the infinite yawning chasm, every mind, however hardened, is bound to recoil and ask, "Is this real?" The hopes of a lifetime, built up little by little with all the energies of a great mind, vanish in a second. Are they real? This question must be answered. Time never lessens its power; on the other hand, it adds strength to it.
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8 comments:
I like your new layout.
I have been studiously thinking about this sort of stuff every now and then, and do some reading of it quite frequently. What I have found are the vagaries of the human mind. At the root of everything, I find is a strong tendency to hold on to a point of view, after once having stumbled upon, earned, or otherwise having reached a conclusion. Until a very short while ago I chose to approach this in a brute hurl-yourself-against-a-wall kind of way, but very recently realized that approach is itself irrational, not to mention quite unfruitful as well. I know I am all over the place and potentially off-topic in response to your post, but my interactions and discussions with others on these topics eventually lead me to say the above things. Perhaps some things are better said over cups of tea :)
Thank you -
I agree that we humans tend to hold onto a belief, but these strong impressions, which we term as beliefs or thoughts get created because when thrown into an abyss, there is nothing else to hold onto. When pushed to the extremes is when I think you create conclusions for yourself, and train yourself to stick by it/ live by them. It is the human ego. It is so easy to live a lifetime nurturing this ego, and bloating it, to the point where it overtakes us - but that much difficult to let it go!
I agree that extreme situations make people pick up strong beliefs. However, I find that people pick up beliefs in the most mundane of situations. Now, that in itself is not remarkable to me. What is remarkable is how strongly people get attached to them.
However, as I said above, I am way off-topic regarding your post :)
True - like I said then the ego comes into play. Don't you agree? It becomes, me and my beliefs, and there kicks in a sense of loyalty to your own thoughts because you feel that you have gone through so much to earn them or the very fact that they are your own!
It is the ignorance where we cannot differentiate - between the various shades of right and wrong. May not be distinctly defined - but, the distinction is always there. We get blinded - by everything that is supposedly 'ours'.
No, you are certainly not off-topic. All of this eventually leads to the same thing - what is real and what is unreal. If we get that Viveka, the Vairagya will come - one day!
rendezvous,
I do have a few comments. But first, please excuse me for I am very often very literal. I tend to go for literal meanings - very often the metaphorical ones are deliberately complex.
First, on the ego. To me, the ego is as what Freud would describe. Even by the common usage, the ego is more a tendency than an explanation. I mean, what we call ego is actually a name we give for a behavioural or cognitive pattern, which in my opinion, needs further explaining.
What I mean by that is:
Q: Why do we do X?
A: We do it because of our ego.
I feel that A has not really explained Q at all!
I am not offtopic in the sense you mean, yes I agree. Regarding real vs. unreal, I suspect we may have different ways of looking at this division.
Regarding Viveka and Vairagya: I am all for viveka. In fact, it is, to me the top redeeming quality. My own thoughts on Vairagya is a bit different. I do not want to choose an interpretation of Vairagya that suits my way of seeing things. But I have my concerns on the traditional or common meaning of Vairagya.
You are very welcome with the comments - infact, it makes my writing more thoughtful. I evolve everytime!
For me, ego in it's simplest definition is the act of catering to the 'self'. The need to satiate the feeling of 'Me' as the center of the universe. It is the 'Aham'.
I agree with you that the question and the answer you cite are completely off-key and event hint at being evasive from answering the actual question on the part of the person responding to the question. No, ego cannot be used as an excuse.
Viveka and Vairagya when seperated out, I think render different flavors - I believe that one leads to the other!
Not trying to preach here but the root cause of most of the issues that people face are because they become dependent on material things or on other people to massage their ego. If there was no one to shower praises for an individual (and thereby massage his / her ego indirectly) there would be so much more progress on one's inner-self. Oh well...every man for himself :)
Great discussion here. Just to bring the Vedantic twist to this. Ego is not to be condemned at all. Because without it, there would be no world. Ego is to be expanded. Upanishad says this beautifully: "Atmanastu kaamaya sarvam priyam bhavati". Everything is pleasing in this world because of self(ego). When I love someone, he/she is sweet to me. It is love, true, but that love makes that someone "yours". That is why he/she is pleasing. So to be happy - love the entire world. What is Vairagya then? Vairagya and love go together. Since you are not in love with a limited circle of definition of the world, you are not bound by any small circle. You are in touch with the boundless - hence unattached naturally. Vairagya is not causing yourself a deep pain to give up something. You simply do not feel the need to be attached. Then you have attained the state of Vairagya or detachment.
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