Most of us spend major portion of our lifetime in sense gratification driven by our ego and selfish attachments. Our goals, our aspirations revolve around these and we hardly have any time left to harness our inner potential and experience the inner bliss. We remain ignorant about the purpose of our life and how to discharge the duties assigned to us by the Almighty. Everyone of us knows that the sunlit path of righteousness is the path of eternal bliss but only few know how to proceed along that path and even fewer actually trade that path.
The plight of the ignorant being
Because of our ignorance and the strong influence of the forces of degeneration, we abruptly engage the invaluable opportunity of human life in earning and gathering materialistic means in the name of the bread and butter and the basic needs of survival, getting married, expanding and raising the family…. All our attention and potentials remain focused at moneymaking, business, worldly transactions and self-obsessive interests. The domains of life largely get confined to the body, family, finance, power and politics…. Like the ox revolving around the oil churner, man keeps cycling around these rigid peripheries and reaches nowhere despite all the rush and hard work throughout his life-span.
Imprudent imitationThe sheep blindly follow their horde and fall in the ditch one behind the other… The drive of mob psychology or tendency of feeling ‘safe and secured’ in following the trends and customs of the society without any thought is not less absurd and insidious. There remains nothing except repenting and crying there after. It is ironical that even the learned, brilliant and supposedly wise fellows too do not often realize what exactly is good for their life and for the society. The fallacious attitude of negligence and ignorance about the value of life drives people cut their own roots; it is this folly and illusion of the intelligent beings that forces them to load unnecessary burdens beyond their capacity and rove around helplessly, in a trampled and broken state… Eating more than the capacity of the stomach is bound to give the troubles of indigestion, the same is true of our unmindful acts in all facets of our life.
The incident of MahabharatThe astray state of being is a delusion of our intellect that makes us accept the wrong as the right. In the plush palace of Draupadi, the glare of granite floor gave the Kauravas an impression of water and its reflections in water appeared to them like the floor; thus putting them in an embarrassing situation. It is a bitter fact that most of us – inadvertently or being compelled by the untoward pressures and circumstance, also make mockery of our own life during our long sojourn in this world. It is indeed a pity that the crown prince of the Omnipotent forgets his originality and scornfully shuns the sunlit path of evolution, illumination and sublimation. As a result, he can’t even get a glimpse of the beatified bliss that could be attained while trading the path of righteousness.
The Maya consuming most precious giftIn spite of knowing and experiencing the perishable nature of the body, most people are dragged by the bodily pleasures and comforts. Childhood passes in playing; the phase of youth flies fast driven by sensual passions, self-adoration, daydreaming and extrovert hasty activities…. By the time this intoxication pacifies, one’s family is grown, so, all his time and efforts are engaged in fostering it. By the time matured thinking or wisdom gets a chance to ponder over the value of life, it is too late; body gets old and weak and gets prone to number of diseases and handicaps. The vices and untoward habits adopted so far also establish their firm roots by this age and begin to harass with greater force and intensity. Body and mind are squeezed of all energy by then. What is use of awakening the wisdom at this stage? It would have been meaningful if aroused earlier, when there was some time to attempt refining the tendencies and improving the mode of life; when there was a possibility of understanding and adopting virtuous practices. Then one would have had some content at least for moving few steps ahead towards the true progress and worth of life….
As you saw so shall you reapAt the time of final departure, the individual self sees the replay of his misdeeds, sins, perversion and feels restless in the burden of panic… But there is nothing, no solace, no hope in the last moments except deep regret and pains…. There is darkness everywhere, even no chance of penance and expiation, the present life ends…; the blessed opportunity is missed forever…. The wealthy assets, power, prestige, name, fame, children, relatives and friends, for whom the rare chance of human life was sacrificed are of no help in these tragic moments. These people, for whom, one had assembled and bore the unnecessary burdens, blemishes and sins, turn their face and isolate themselves from sharing the penalties. One has to face the consequences of his karmas all alone, the gamut of sins and the untoward assimilation in the mental domains are carried forward in its successive lives. What is the use if this eye opening realization comes at the last moments? By this time the amazing pearl of human life is sold in worthless pennies, the sandalwood is burnt into coal…
An Inspiring Story
The following story seems to materialize in most of our lives today. Once upon a time, a king went for hunting in a distant forest. He was lost on his way in the hazy darkness of the evening and somehow reached a nearby village. He got shelter in a poor farmer’s hut and returned back in the morning. As a mark of thanksgiving, he gave his address and offered open invitation to the latter to contact him whenever there was any sever need or problem. Next year, that area was trapped in a draught, the helpless farmer recalled the king’s words and went to the royal palace. The generous king thought that giving jewels and gold coins would not be appropriate, as the poor chap would not be able to protect them from thefts. Instead he gifted a garden of sandalwood, which was located near the village of the farmer. Overwhelmed by this grand possession, the farmer thought – “why should I work hard and take the trouble of cutting and selling the wood every now and then? Rather, I would burn many trees in one shot and do more profiting business of coal. Almost the entire garden was finished in this craze. He did make some money by selling coal. One day, when some wood could not be processed to make coal due to heavy rains, he took the wood pieces to the market. The smell of sandalwood attracted big traders and the small lot got him thousands times more than what he used to get from the coal. Now he was shocked to note his blunder… He had charred the gifted treasure by his own hands!
This is the mistake we often commit in one form or the other. Every day of our life is like a tree in the blossoming garden of life bestowed by thee. We continue cutting it through the roots and destroying each branch like ‘making coal of the sandalwood’ till the last piece remains.
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