Post Jignyaasaa – Thathaha Kim? Introduction.
The last two years were marked by my genuine desire to unravel the mystery of His creation, and the purpose of our existence. After the initial prayers to Lord Hayagreeva – the preceptor of preceptors, dwelling deeper into our texts, our traditions/samskaras, pouring out my angst at what I perceived as an apparently skewed dispensation from Him, am still in quest for comforting answers. The only consolation has been that this journey has been captured in a book form at the end of 2010 for which the credit goes to the gen-next, and very specially to Madhuri -the quintessential marketing person- for her painstaking efforts in re-arranging and bringing in a coherence to these outpourings.
To me, though the convincing and fascinating doctrine of Advaitha (non dual oneness with Him) continues being the leitmotif of our existence, it cannot be gainsaid that the reconciliation part with realities of an evolving modern day world, contributes to an ever increasing unease, and a huge strain on my faith. For in today’s age the end –justifies-any-means kind of laisser-faire without a due regard to any value system, with even the Providence seemingly in acquiescence frustrates me no end.
And this therefore raises several questions in my mind, though admittedly, at rare times there are glimpses of clarity and related peace. Since I sincerely wish for those precious moments to linger on for a little longer if not permanently, I must squarely face these questions and get answers which are:
(a) The evolving modern day protagonist seems to enjoy the cake as well as eating it too, as is evident from the fact that he/she manifestly attracts all the attention/glory in both temporal/spiritual arenas, apparently regardless of any intrinsic merit. Is it not therefore wise to join this well organized bandwagon?
(b) It is seldom that providential succor is perceived by the faithful. How does one then keep up the faith with such repeated visits of amazing disappointments?
(c) There is this simultaneously strong argument that Gods will test only the faithful as this is the only way there could be induced detachment and eventual liberation. He is unlikely to waste His time on the non-faithful,(beyond contempt?) and would just let them be; with their own self-illusions of bliss. Since there is a merit to this argument, why should I have (a) a hugely negative vision (b) not have a bit more patience, and humility to accept that I am still in the learning curve, and (c) be a bit more steadfastly faithful and wait for His Grace regardless of manifestly unjust goings-on, quite contrary to what is perceived by me as wrong dispensation?
These to my mind, are going to be the engaging theme post-jignyaasaa. This enquiry can be condensed aptly into a samskrit phrase “thathaha kim?” literally meaning, “what next”?
Before I venture into my pet maverick essays let me digress a bit and narrate to you all, a dream I had a few days back. I assure you that this is relevant and promise to link it up, soonest. The dream went somewhat like this:
I am in the midst of a big family of friends, when one of the children comes in and asks seriously about the difference between fate and destiny. This is a part of a home work he had to answer in the next day class. After a series of attempted answers by every one, I ask for a chance to try and interpret. I tell the child that “fate” is a reward/punishment for deeds committed in past lives, and “destiny” is one that is chosen by Providence, to determine the course of this fate running itself out. At this point I wake up.
Later I narrated this to Gulpa, and quite forgot about it till I started this piece, and quite surprisingly find that this has relevance to the context of this blog piece. Let me elaborate:
(a)King Parikshit of Mahabharat, Bhagawatham fame is cursed by a Brahmin to die by a serpent bite on the 7th day from then. It is his fate that he will meet his death thus. But His destiny, determined by the Lord, gives him the company of seer Sukhar and after hearing the profoundly bhakhthi oriented magnum opus of Sirmad Bhagavatham the king attains liberation.
(b)Take the Lord Himself; As Rama, his fate makes Him (a) lose the kingdom when 16, (b) roam about in forests, (c) get separated from His wife who is abducted by the Rakshasa Ravana, (d) even after rescuing her, abandons her into sage Valmiki’s ashram, and finally (e) rules over His Kingdom alone for thousands of years. His Destiny incidentally decided by Himself; is that (a) He will bless King Dasaratha and Janaka, former as his son and the latter as his son-in-law,(b) liberate Ravana from his dark fate,(c) rule the kingdom as to usher in a true ram rajya, and finally (d) rid the earth of its burden mainly of evil persons.
(c)One’s fate say is such that success eludes almost invariably like for instance I would love to believe, my own case. This is my fate. My destiny is that I am born in a family of orthodox Brahmin family; get employed with a company, which with consummate ease is able to fulfill the providential mandate of non-recognition. Compare this with say an Ivan Lendl; Gods destiny ensured that he will never win a Wimbledon title. I am sure he would have had almost similar view of his fate as mine.
Folks, please do ponder over this for a bit longer and I am quite sure you will be able to come up with good examples. I wonder if the word “destiny” has any relation to “destination”. (Ultimate destiny is the destination of God’s Abode?).If this be the case, then God’s destiny part is not as illogical as it would appear. It is just fine- tuned as to deliver you ultimately. So the privations, disappointments, angst and what have you is just a grand design to enable all our souls to re-member, and ultimately merge with that universal-supreme soul.
It still does not answer the question as to why it becomes unbearable at times, and He offers no manifest relief (Remember Jesus Christ? He cries as to why God has forsaken Him?). Umashankar rubs it in when he says unlike the corporate world, there are no meters to assess your progress nor are there weekly/fortnightly/monthly reports followed by reviews et al, till such time end is forgotten and only means remain and they fascinate you tantalizingly, to master them and ensure promotions. The “rub” part is that the Gods are giving me a similar feeling or is it the other way around, the corporate imitating the Gods!!
My fate is to engage in endless “Jignyaasaa” , I am not sure whether His destiny will ensure that my fellow travelers will read this and empathize, or I will reach there one day. Only one thing is loud and clear; one needs His Grace, and there are many suggestions/advice as to how to get this. Like an Ekalavya I am not only not privy to any Guru, but there is this added fear that if I am still able to succeed to some extent, there will come a Guru who will extract a heavy price as “dakshina”.
Realization is a tough business!!
Love Peace and Harmony
Vichu
.
The last two years were marked by my genuine desire to unravel the mystery of His creation, and the purpose of our existence. After the initial prayers to Lord Hayagreeva – the preceptor of preceptors, dwelling deeper into our texts, our traditions/samskaras, pouring out my angst at what I perceived as an apparently skewed dispensation from Him, am still in quest for comforting answers. The only consolation has been that this journey has been captured in a book form at the end of 2010 for which the credit goes to the gen-next, and very specially to Madhuri -the quintessential marketing person- for her painstaking efforts in re-arranging and bringing in a coherence to these outpourings.
To me, though the convincing and fascinating doctrine of Advaitha (non dual oneness with Him) continues being the leitmotif of our existence, it cannot be gainsaid that the reconciliation part with realities of an evolving modern day world, contributes to an ever increasing unease, and a huge strain on my faith. For in today’s age the end –justifies-any-means kind of laisser-faire without a due regard to any value system, with even the Providence seemingly in acquiescence frustrates me no end.
And this therefore raises several questions in my mind, though admittedly, at rare times there are glimpses of clarity and related peace. Since I sincerely wish for those precious moments to linger on for a little longer if not permanently, I must squarely face these questions and get answers which are:
(a) The evolving modern day protagonist seems to enjoy the cake as well as eating it too, as is evident from the fact that he/she manifestly attracts all the attention/glory in both temporal/spiritual arenas, apparently regardless of any intrinsic merit. Is it not therefore wise to join this well organized bandwagon?
(b) It is seldom that providential succor is perceived by the faithful. How does one then keep up the faith with such repeated visits of amazing disappointments?
(c) There is this simultaneously strong argument that Gods will test only the faithful as this is the only way there could be induced detachment and eventual liberation. He is unlikely to waste His time on the non-faithful,(beyond contempt?) and would just let them be; with their own self-illusions of bliss. Since there is a merit to this argument, why should I have (a) a hugely negative vision (b) not have a bit more patience, and humility to accept that I am still in the learning curve, and (c) be a bit more steadfastly faithful and wait for His Grace regardless of manifestly unjust goings-on, quite contrary to what is perceived by me as wrong dispensation?
These to my mind, are going to be the engaging theme post-jignyaasaa. This enquiry can be condensed aptly into a samskrit phrase “thathaha kim?” literally meaning, “what next”?
Before I venture into my pet maverick essays let me digress a bit and narrate to you all, a dream I had a few days back. I assure you that this is relevant and promise to link it up, soonest. The dream went somewhat like this:
I am in the midst of a big family of friends, when one of the children comes in and asks seriously about the difference between fate and destiny. This is a part of a home work he had to answer in the next day class. After a series of attempted answers by every one, I ask for a chance to try and interpret. I tell the child that “fate” is a reward/punishment for deeds committed in past lives, and “destiny” is one that is chosen by Providence, to determine the course of this fate running itself out. At this point I wake up.
Later I narrated this to Gulpa, and quite forgot about it till I started this piece, and quite surprisingly find that this has relevance to the context of this blog piece. Let me elaborate:
(a)King Parikshit of Mahabharat, Bhagawatham fame is cursed by a Brahmin to die by a serpent bite on the 7th day from then. It is his fate that he will meet his death thus. But His destiny, determined by the Lord, gives him the company of seer Sukhar and after hearing the profoundly bhakhthi oriented magnum opus of Sirmad Bhagavatham the king attains liberation.
(b)Take the Lord Himself; As Rama, his fate makes Him (a) lose the kingdom when 16, (b) roam about in forests, (c) get separated from His wife who is abducted by the Rakshasa Ravana, (d) even after rescuing her, abandons her into sage Valmiki’s ashram, and finally (e) rules over His Kingdom alone for thousands of years. His Destiny incidentally decided by Himself; is that (a) He will bless King Dasaratha and Janaka, former as his son and the latter as his son-in-law,(b) liberate Ravana from his dark fate,(c) rule the kingdom as to usher in a true ram rajya, and finally (d) rid the earth of its burden mainly of evil persons.
(c)One’s fate say is such that success eludes almost invariably like for instance I would love to believe, my own case. This is my fate. My destiny is that I am born in a family of orthodox Brahmin family; get employed with a company, which with consummate ease is able to fulfill the providential mandate of non-recognition. Compare this with say an Ivan Lendl; Gods destiny ensured that he will never win a Wimbledon title. I am sure he would have had almost similar view of his fate as mine.
Folks, please do ponder over this for a bit longer and I am quite sure you will be able to come up with good examples. I wonder if the word “destiny” has any relation to “destination”. (Ultimate destiny is the destination of God’s Abode?).If this be the case, then God’s destiny part is not as illogical as it would appear. It is just fine- tuned as to deliver you ultimately. So the privations, disappointments, angst and what have you is just a grand design to enable all our souls to re-member, and ultimately merge with that universal-supreme soul.
It still does not answer the question as to why it becomes unbearable at times, and He offers no manifest relief (Remember Jesus Christ? He cries as to why God has forsaken Him?). Umashankar rubs it in when he says unlike the corporate world, there are no meters to assess your progress nor are there weekly/fortnightly/monthly reports followed by reviews et al, till such time end is forgotten and only means remain and they fascinate you tantalizingly, to master them and ensure promotions. The “rub” part is that the Gods are giving me a similar feeling or is it the other way around, the corporate imitating the Gods!!
My fate is to engage in endless “Jignyaasaa” , I am not sure whether His destiny will ensure that my fellow travelers will read this and empathize, or I will reach there one day. Only one thing is loud and clear; one needs His Grace, and there are many suggestions/advice as to how to get this. Like an Ekalavya I am not only not privy to any Guru, but there is this added fear that if I am still able to succeed to some extent, there will come a Guru who will extract a heavy price as “dakshina”.
Realization is a tough business!!
Love Peace and Harmony
Vichu
.
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