GOOD TIDINGS FOR NEW BEGINNINGS

Ring out the old,

Ring in the new,

Swipe out that which is worn,

Usher in the new morn.

That which once started as new with warm wishes of happiness and prosperity filling the air, has become obsolete today. A few more hours and we would finally bid farewell to another calendar year and welcome a new year with its promises and challenges.

For many, ushering in a new year spells plans for festivities and celebrations. After all, we need to enter into the unseen with positive vibes and merriment around us! For some others however, there is not much reason for celebration. The year behind has shown them so much pain that they shudder to think what more the coming year would hold for them.

There are another category of people for whom each day is alike. Each day holds similar challenges – nothing new to anticipate, no merriment, no enjoyment. Think about the daily wagers around us. They may not even have enough money to buy a box of sweets to celebrate the incoming of another year. They hardly have a track of the days and months that pass by – depending upon the more fortunate to give them updates about the days, months, years and events.

No matter which of the above groups we belong to, all would agree that each day, each moment casts imprints that stay etched in our memories. Some episodes are such that we would not want to remember, while some events are such that we would not want to forget. However, who can ever claim a control over the power of the brain!

As we step out of this year and let it go out of our hand, let’s take some time to reflect on the events that have gone by. The way we started the first day of this year and the way we are about to bid it good bye – we have treaded so many steps, dreamt so many dreams and may be even got some of them fulfilled, seen many newborns, bid a teary-eyed farewell to many loved ones, struggled through sicknesses – our own and/or that of family and friends, tolerated difficult colleagues and friends, waded through financial struggles, endured certain criticisms and ridicule, basked in the glory of praise and appreciation, many regrets of things done and of those left undone, the delights of novelties experienced and so on.

Surely, the year that is about to pass by has had its highlights. And if you and I reflect on all things, we would agree without doubt that many of the occurrences were beyond our control. They just happened and we had the choice whether to accept them and move forward or lament over them and curse our fates.

However ways things have gone by, as we find ourselves at the threshold of another year, let’s take a few moments to thank God Almighty for His Sovereignty over our lives. Let’s also take some time to confess our wrongdoings before God, before our loved ones and before those whom we may have hurt by our words and actions. Let external celebrations not mask our internal shortcomings.

I want to wish you hope, joy, peace and love for the year that is to come. No matter how the last year has been, tomorrow springs newness. New dreams, new hope, new milestones, new happenings – all meant to strengthen us in this journey of life.

“. . . all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”

Wishing you all new beginnings with good tidings – a wonderful year ahead in which you choose to walk closely with God and experience His goodness in your life!

LIVE – MEANING OF LIFE

Albert Camus

‘You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.’

Religious texts, prophets, saints and the newest fads in wholesome living all advocate you to find the meaning of life – find out your purpose and live the way you ‘ought’ to live life.

Quite frankly and I’ll be blunt about it, I don’t get it. I don’t understand why we are so preoccupied with the true meaning of life. What I don’t understand even more is what finding out the meaning of life has to do with religion, because life, in my opinion, came before we found religion. In fact, at the cost of being branded an atheist, I’ll admit here that I feel life is far bigger and more complex a concept than religion. It may be just a four letter word, but it encompasses within itself concepts that none of us mortals will be able to figure out within one single lifetime, and that religion is only a part of life itself. Even if someone served us the meaning of life on a platter, it will take a much more evolved human brain than ours to grasp its entire meaning. For who are we, but puny human beings, living on limited air and time?

To me, the exercise of devoting one’s entire life to finding the meaning of life is a life not lived because life has so much to offer than trying to figure out what it’s about. To me, the question is rather subjective. The meaning of life could mean different things to different people. If a saint comes and tells me that the meaning of life is blah, blah, blah, I won’t nod my head in mute acquiescence. I’ll say, ‘that’s your way of thinking, not mine’.

To give you an example, a few months back India was witness to two parents abandoning their toddler to the care of her aged grandparents, in order to become Jain monks. They relinquished the world and embraced monkhood. For those of us who do not know about this, please read about it here. I don’t know about you but when I read the news I felt that they had wronged their toddler daughter by relinquishing her to care of their parents. They relinquished their duty as parents, something that should have come over and above everything else to them. But that is not what they think. To them the true meaning of life lay in religious pursuit.

My reason for giving you this example was not to tell you my opinion of whether their action was wrong or right, it was to show you that there is a difference of opinion in what matters in life most. There is thus, inherently, a difference of opinion in the assumed answer to the question ‘what is the meaning of life’.

To a pauper, the true meaning of life may be to earn enough one day to leave the footpath for good. To a rich man, it may be finding a balance between his work and home life. The purpose of a mother may be to ensure the good upbringing of her child, but the purpose of a career woman would be to be the CEO of a good company. A priest may find peace in devotion to religion, while a scientist may find it in a new invention. Who do you think is right or wrong? None of them!

So when two people, their desires, the way they think, the way they attain their goals, their very raison d’etre are different, how can they concur on what is the meaning of life?

Life is so many things to so many people, it’s meanings cannot be ascribed to a few set ways in which a few of us perceive it. To me, life is about a careful balance of pleasure and duty, ambition and sacrifice. I believe there are a set of duties that all of us mortals were born to fulfil, and some pleasures that every one of us must be entitled to enjoy. If we have ambition then we must remember to let it not trample on the lives of others. That is a kind of sacrifice and a duty. And that is not the only sacrifice that a human being must make in his life. When a person achieves a near perfect balance in these two sets of extremes, is when I believe we have found meaning in life.

My point is, and you may not agree with it, but that’s your opinion, that figuring out the meaning of life is keeping you from fulfiling your very purpose of existing on this planet – living your life – which is why you have life running in your veins. All of us have a life because we were supposed to live it. We have different ways of living it and that is fine, because there cannot be a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ way of living. We all live according to what our circumstances allow.

I believe that we have only one life to do and be all that we wish to do and be. I feel that if we do not forget to be ‘humane’ at all times and lead a life of peace and harmony, balancing our duties against our pleasures at all times, is when we will not need to search for the meaning of life.

MEANING OF LIFE – WHO CAN EXPLAIN?

Award winning world-class novelist Jack Higgins was interviewed after his award winning book “The Eagle has landed” and he was asked,

“Mr. Higgins,What do you now want to know as you wished to known as a younger man?”

He replied, “I wished to known then what I know now that –

“When you get to the top, THERE’S NOTHING THERE…”

This has been already mentioned in the Mega, last Sunday.

It’s been 8 years for me working among the young influential urban youths, every time they quote me “Zindegi do din ka, khao, pio aur aissh karo…” which means “Life is for two days. Eat – Drink and Enjoy it…”

But my question is “WHAT IS NEXT???”

Even going to the top WHY we don’t find anything there?

Why still there’s EMPTINESS within?

Why we are happy but NOT joyful?

The last three wishes of Alexander, the Great was,

“My Physicians alone must carry my coffin”

(Reason is, “the world will know that even best of best doctors are helpless about DEATH”)

“When my coffin will be carried to the graveyard, the path leading to the graveyard must be strewn with Gold, Silver and precious Stones that I have collected in my treasury”

(Reason is, “even my wealth cannot save my life it is sheer waste of time to chase wealth”)

“Both of my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin”

(Reason is, “I came with empty hands to this world and is going back with empty hands)

Alexander’s last wishes have great analogy with Bible. The Bible says,

‘I have seen all the things that are done under the sun;

all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.’

In fact it’s true! We toil day and night to earn Gold & Glory but what do we carry with us by our death bed? Even by our 4^th generation we are a forgotten person in this world.

In midst of life, death & knowledge the greatest achievement is to understand the meaning of our life and living it purposefully yet the question remains

“WHO CAN EXPLAIN ME THE MEANING OF MY LIFE?”

Is it possible by another human being? Every human is uniquely created for a unique purpose. Though probably there are 4 people just like us in this world yet each one is different from another. Since our childhood to till our death we all are busy in chasing to discover ‘Life’s meaning’.

A handful of mud never knows what shape it will get and how it will be used. But the potter knows it very well, as he holds a picture in his mind before the creation of a pot.

God in his Infinite knowledge and Eternal existence

Knows better than any human being and can explain individually….

We just have to SEEK, and we will find.

DON’T DEFINE LIFE, JUST LIVE IT

Me then:

Sitting in computer class, learning Microsoft office package, trying my hands at different fonts available, scribbled down few lines in a poetic style:

“Life is a book, read it;

Life is a game, play it;

Life is a dish, taste it;

Life is lesson, learn it”

Me now : While thinking of all that stuff, ” Oh please cut the crap, what were you trying to do, you ain’t Shakespeare and that’s anything but poetry and last thing to be beautiful 😁.  But as they say you grow only when little wisdom is added with every passing day, I have realised one thing – there’s no need to draw comparisons and parallels, life is meant to be only lived.

Are we living in true sense?  We eat, drink, sleep – are we living?  We are chasing our dreams, celebrating occasions, mourning losses, hating people, loving things, loving to hate but are we essentially living?  Perhaps NO.  We are just filling the gap between our date of birth and death which is nothing but a number.  And everything in between in our lives is about numbers – age, number of hours you sleep for, calories taken, weight gained, targets achieved, number of bedrooms in-house, digits in salary, number of likes and follows on social media, price of accessories….. Typically everything under the sun, but where is life in our lives which is beyond any such quantification?

Happiness is the essence of life:  All our actions in our lives aim at attaining happiness.  Grabbing an ice cream at the wee hours of day gives happiness, parking that newly launched beast in the backyard is happiness, catching that extra five minutes of nap when the alarm is hell-bent on throwing you out of the bed is happiness.  I can go on.  What’s happiness for me might be a matter of indifference for you.  It’s a subjective issue.  But everything mentioned (not mentioned for that matter) doesn’t even constitute an iota when it comes to the real essence of life – the Eternal Happiness, that lies and comes from within, that’s once attained never dries up, the one which our supremacy intend us to unleash from within.

It’s not that we are completely aloof or oblivious from what our destination is.  Accidentally listening to spiritual talks, our festivals, times of distress do draw our attention towards important questions like “What’s the meaning of my life” , “how to get closer to the one and only supreme power called God”.  But again for majority of us (that includes me, I am not ashamed to admit the obvious) that’s a passing cloud before we fall to the trap of materialistic bliss of this world.

How to march towards Eternal Happiness?

Well that’s a continuous evolution before He can say that you have finally evolved.  And to begin with it’s an uphill task for sure.  That reminds me of the fact that our skin is weak that gives in easily before our souls could reap the fruits of eternal happiness.  Prayer, chanting, meditation are the three tools to keep our efforts from falling apart midway.

And here comes two fulcrum to utilize the aforesaid tools.  Two simple rules to apply in life:

Act without expectation:  When was the last time that you dropped a message wishing your long-lost friend without expecting a reply?  Or when was the last time you just picked up a big boulder impeding the way just to make a safe path for others without expecting appreciation?  Such instances for us may be countable on fingers for we all are so self-absorbed and self-centered  that we want every action of ours to be noticed even if it is for near and dear ones.  When expectations are tied to our actions, non-fulfillment of such expectations brings in gloom.  So the first rule of our journey towards Eternal Happiness is to act without expecting.  Begin with petty things and closed circles, practice and practice, just do your part with all your heart and soul in it.  See the difference of being indifferent to the laurels, soon criticism won’t affect your inner peace.

Forget and Forgive:  How I wish the first part was easy.  I simply can’t forget the words exchanged in the heat of argument that occurred two years back then how to expect  (again expectation 😁) people to forget the misdeeds of others directed towards them?  But without forgetting the past forgiving stands next to impossible.  And if one can’t forgive, can’t let the baggage of past and grudges go, there’s no way that a person could march ahead in the path shown by the supreme power.  Forgiveness is a way of easing the burden from our souls that renders us from being able to identify God in every soul.  And with God all around us what’s there to stop the stream of inner happiness from flowing.  When nothing but change is constant why let the past be stagnant in our present to disturb the future?

The idea is to commence the process of detachment from emotions that could lead us to sin and finally deviate us from the way that could lead us to our Sole (soul) destination.  Indifference to the happiness, worldly acknowledgements, tranquility of mind in adverse, in-your-face situations are the signatures of successful lives in true sense that comes from practice of these two simple rules.

Let’s inculcate these habits, , let’s just live life to the core of it and not just enact it.

LIFE – A MYSTERY YET TO BE COMPLETELY UNRAVELLED

Life is an adventure, say some.

Life is a challenge, say others.                     

Life is a puzzle for many, while for some others it’s just a smart juggle.

No great philosopher of the world has been able to give a comprehensive definition of ‘life’. Many have tried, but succeeded in giving only a partial picture.

Thinking of ‘life’, the first thing that comes to mind is the biological aspect of it. In simple terms, anything that has breath is said to be living.

So then where does this breath come from? You and I cannot infuse breath into a non-living object and make it living. We do not have that power.

To quote a verse from the account of creation given in the Bible – “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

Hence, the source of all life (plants, animals and human beings, though we will limit the purview of this article to human life only) is the Creator God Himself. He alone is the source and the sustainer of life. For this reason, keeping all debates aside, taking of life – be it by abortion, euthanasia, suicide or murder is a sin against the Creator – the life giver. Scientific advancements have made it possible for clones and humanoid robots to be invented, which is all marvelous indeed but, cannot in any way be equated with the creation of the Creator.

Life is meant to be social. The social aspect of life ensures that human beings live in a social relationship with fellow humans and not in isolation. Hence, the innate desire of human beings to seek and forge relationships of various kinds. Sociological research has enough data to establish that lack of human contact robs humanness of human beings. Social apathy is considered to be a sign of an underlying psychological disorder.

Life is a myriad of emotions. Without emotions, there won’t be much of a difference between human beings and vegetables. Socio-biological humans laugh, cry, love and live as an expression of their emotionality.

Adding to all the above, is the spiritual aspect of each human being. Having been created by God, there is a God-shaped vacuum inbuilt within each person. Some choose to seek and fill this vacuum by a relationship with God, some choose to substitute this space by things and people other than God, while some others decide to ignore and stifle this vacuum altogether.

All the above aspects put together give us a holistic picture of human life in general – as it ought to be. Take one slice out of it, and the picture will be fragmented.

This being life, the purpose of it is important as well. At times, we tend to flow along with the tide without sparing a thought towards its purpose and direction. That’s when the going seems easy. But, if we stop and ponder, things may not make much sense. Where is all this heading? Where am I heading? Earning, eating, drinking, enjoying, raising children, taking care of family, growing old and then waiting for death – is this all what life is all about? Or is there anything beyond this?

Sometimes, our actions seem meaningless. Sometimes, the daily toils and struggles seem monotonous beyond description so much so that we try our best to attach meaning to life by way of our jobs, children, spouse, etc.

If we look around, try to stretch our thinking skills and try to look for a complete meaning of life, it would not be possible for us to succeed at it. The reason being that while in our physical states we cannot, completely comprehend the meaning and purpose of something that has more to it than mere physical existence.

Life is more than the body.

Life is more than living, earning and procreating.

Life is more than the mundane humdrum of daily hassles.

The entirety of life can be understood only in eternity. Till then, a part of it remains a mystery. Instead of unsuccessfully trying to unravel the mystery (which can never be unraveled in the duration of our earthly existence), we can live this life to its fullest by living the revealed life to the best.

 

 

 

 

 

LOOK WITHIN…

Meaning of life… What have I got myself into? Am I really equipped to write on this topic? In my 40 years of life on this earth have I really understood the meaning of life? Or have I just existed?

Human kind has been searching for answer of this question since their very existence. People have gone to the Himalayas to find the meaning of life. Some have immersed themselves in God others in social service. All seeking this one elusive answer.

Well I am not such a deep thinker. So I don’t know if I am equipped to write on this topic. But still I would like to share, what I have understood, through my experience is that we are where we are for a purpose. To understand this I took help of some great minds and famous people

Albert Einstein in one of his books wrote

“The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life,”

So having established that there is a meaning or a purpose for us being born as humans. Let us now try to find out what that meaning is?

Pablo Picasso once said

“The meaning of Life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away!”

What does this mean? Most of the humans are merely existing. Like a boat without a sail drifting in water, going in whichever direction the current takes them. What we need is to find that one gift in us which we can give to others and spread happiness. That gives meaning to life. I don’t mean leave all your work and immerse in social work. I mean look for that one small thing in you that gives joy to the people around you.

I don’t need to go far to look for an example.  We all know our mentor at Candles Online – Chiradeep. He has a gift for writing, reaching out to people and motivating and counselling people. Look how beautifully he has used it to reach out to the world and touch so many hearts. He not only created “Candles Online” but also motivated a group of 20-25 young writers to write for the magazine every week. Looking at the readership statistics, Candles has reached every corner of the world and touched thousands of hearts. I admire the fact that he has beautifully woven this activity into his daily life while not missing out on any of his responsibilities of a being a family man, an employee etc.

Recently, I was in a seminar on Saga of Success. Dr Tuli (of Akash Tablet fame) was the speaker. He said that to build a successful business identify one cause that you will work for. How your business will make a difference in any one area. Work towards that goal and your business will flourish automatically. They made low cost computer tablets (costing less than Rs 5000/-), they created a market where there was none, build a successful business and helped a lot of low income households get access to computers.

These words hold true not only in business but also in our life. Look inside yourself, what is it that you can give to the world and spread happiness. The moment we find that we will also find the meaning of our life. In trying to spread happiness we will realise that we too feel happy and satisfied and life becomes meaningful and complete.

THE GIFT OF FREE WILL

What’s the meaning of life?

I don’t have a definite answer to this profound question asked by many a people over eons.

Philosophers have debated over it and there has never been a one-for-all answer. May be that is what makes this question intriguing and yet so infuriating at the same time. Man has tried to answer this question since the beginning of time and this search has led to much philosophical, theological and scientific speculation. The diversity of this world and its cultures presents a myriad collection of answers different from each other.

Pico, in his famous “Oration on the Dignity of Man” published in 1486, states that God placed man at the midpoint of the world and addressed him thus:

Adam, you have been given no fixed place, no form of your own, and no particular function, so that you may have and possess, according to your will and your inclination, whatever place, whatever form, and whatever functions you choose…by your own free will, in whose hands I have placed you, will determine your own nature…You will have the power to degenerate into the lower forms of life, which are bestial. You will have the power, by the judgment of your soul, to be reborn into the highest forms of life, which are divine.

Pico sees this free will as the supreme generosity of God through which man will himself become the fruit of whatever he cultivates. According to him this is what qualifies man as the most supreme creation of God.

Any living being on our planet primary goal is survival. Man is not any different in that matter but because of his rational faculty he tries to find something more than merely survive. This is what makes us more than an animal and adds color and flavor to our world. Finding the meaning of life in general seems like a futile exercise. If you look at the whole, the idea of finding or attaching a meaning to our life in this complex world appears pointless.

For every good act there is an evil equivalent. For every honest person there are plenty of dishonest persons around. An honest politician remains an oxymoron. Innocence and purity are shunned since the innocent and pure of heart are inevitably duped and exploited. Our faith which is meant to elevate us closer to God is used to divide us, and used against us. Instead of getting us closer to the divine it brings out our bestial nature. As you can see our world is imperfect. But does that mean that we cater just to our own self-interest and don’t try to look beyond ourselves?   

 The free will gives us the power to not succumb to this world’s corruption and find our personal meanings of each of our lives. The materialistic world which runs on ostentatious displays of wealth and merriment makes us afraid of delving deep into ourselves. All that is cared about is the superficial appearance and every achievement has to be measureable. I too have joined the pursuit to find the meaning of life—my life. I am sure that in due time I will find something but I can’t be sure if it will be worth it or not. One thing I am sure of is that the experience will be of personal benefit and that in itself is a reward.

Oliver Sacks, when he first discovered his diagnosis of terminal illness: staring death in the face, he wrote, “Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”

Let’s not lose hope in these dark times we live in, and let’s choose to believe that our life has a purpose and a meaning, whatever it may be. If we persist enough, our brief-lives on this earth can be worthwhile and we can definitely make at least a teeny-tiny positive difference to our surroundings.