Touch, it's life.
As we experience the phantasmagoria of events called life, we keep wondering as to why we are here and what makes sense. The more we think about it, the sillier it seems that we are actually concerned about “meaning of these events” and “solutions” to our perceived problems because, the way we are leading our lives seems to be just about right in the end. Each one of us thinks along these lines, one time or the other. And then we satisfy ourselves with what convinces us. Those of us that could provide satisfactory explanations to the wider populace (and not just to themselves) will evolve into Gurus and have books published with their name as the author (Which in itself is an event and leads to further questioning on the meaning of it !). It never will stop, though.
After much self torture and mindless thinking, I too had to come to some conclusions about the meaning of life's events and problems & solutions. Lest I forget this piece of revelation that came about from my own mind (or so I believe), I wanted to quickly document this for future reading.
I decided that to figure out the “meaning”, we need to figure out “what we want”. At a very abstract level, what we want seems to be quite obvious and simple. But then abstraction covers the essence. So after digging deeper and trying to outthink my mind, I came to the conclusion that what people want is very basic in its simplest form. People want to “live”. Life, then, is what we all want. That is the most important thing we all possess and that is what we struggle to retain over a life time. Life is the most valuable thing we want and already possess.
So, if “life” is the most valuable thing then what make sense must be that which preserves this life for one and continues it or propagates it. Living then, is the greatest duty and so is pro-creation. But then human mind needs activity and cannot be idle. So, “just living” like babies and other non-human species, is an impossible task for an active mind. We need to figure things out, understand how they work and then try and emulate their working. The great mantra of civilization is to emulate nature and bring better tools for the man kind. This activity keeps us all busy or so we believe and , over a period of time, the activity masks the essence. We end up rating people for what they do instead of accepting life in its simplest form.
Much later, once when I was visiting one of those well known and well developed commercial centers of the world, right in the middle of a very conservative and traditional society, I had the chance to observe the life of some women who were into the oldest profession of the world. We were put up in a hotel where at night fall, the lobby and parking lot turned into market places for the ancient profession. The women concerned were all from some far eastern country. As we made way into our rooms in the evening, we just used to smile at the goings on. What good discussing about such women, my friend and I thought. Their faces seemed alien, their language and culture were alien too and that gave us a reason to feel smug and worry about the falling moral values in rest of the world while in India we are still doing a great job of preserving them. However, on the last evening of our stay in the great commercial center of the world, we saw few Indian women dressed in the traditional attire waiting in the lobby, discussing among themselves. Worried that they would probably understand our normal discussion about the falling moral values, we walked past them silently. We couldn't help but overhear briefly their conversation as one woman was asking another, "So how much do you need?". We realized that they were planning the night targeting a specific amount that one of them needs. As we walked to our rooms, I told my friend, "may be we were wrong about these women. We always looked at what they were doing for money but never really thought about why they were doing it". What if the woman is doing what she is doing so she could survive and may be help a family survive? Is she not just another crusader for life, the precious and pious? I was slightly ashamed that I could not think that way before.
Too often we focus on the "How" and "What" in life while the real important question to ask is "Why". In the museum of life, each one chooses his own corner to spend time at - enjoying those parts of the museum where they find the pieces of their liking, appreciating 'what' they see and 'how' well the artist has done while avoiding, gently or otherwise, the rest. It all depends on each ones definition of what is important in life - an acquired definition as a result of years of education or a self made definition of convenience and alignment to a life philosophy. We tend to stay away from the kitsch, attributing such supposedly bad pieces of art to the cliched "such is life" and move on. May be we should stop when faced with those pieces and ponder, if only briefly, as to "why" they ended that way. And if possible, should go ahead and touch. It is life, after all.
After much self torture and mindless thinking, I too had to come to some conclusions about the meaning of life's events and problems & solutions. Lest I forget this piece of revelation that came about from my own mind (or so I believe), I wanted to quickly document this for future reading.
I decided that to figure out the “meaning”, we need to figure out “what we want”. At a very abstract level, what we want seems to be quite obvious and simple. But then abstraction covers the essence. So after digging deeper and trying to outthink my mind, I came to the conclusion that what people want is very basic in its simplest form. People want to “live”. Life, then, is what we all want. That is the most important thing we all possess and that is what we struggle to retain over a life time. Life is the most valuable thing we want and already possess.
So, if “life” is the most valuable thing then what make sense must be that which preserves this life for one and continues it or propagates it. Living then, is the greatest duty and so is pro-creation. But then human mind needs activity and cannot be idle. So, “just living” like babies and other non-human species, is an impossible task for an active mind. We need to figure things out, understand how they work and then try and emulate their working. The great mantra of civilization is to emulate nature and bring better tools for the man kind. This activity keeps us all busy or so we believe and , over a period of time, the activity masks the essence. We end up rating people for what they do instead of accepting life in its simplest form.
Many years ago, when I was still desperately looking for a foothold in the civilized society, one day, as I waited outside one of those big buildings in Hyderabad, I saw him limping in my direction, ever so slowly. There were other people that he had to cross before he could make it to where I was and that gave me some time to think about my options while dealing with him. I could simply bursh him off, yell him away, lecture him on the virtues of hardwork or just look beyond him until he leaves. Not bad I thought, even though I couldn't really come up with any option that could influence the guy in anyway. "I am not really a beggar, you know. I am just trying to survive", he started a conversation. I looked around. There was no one else. "Is he talking to me?", I wondered. He must be, unless he was blind which he was not. Did he take me to be a job seeker moving from one building to the next and hence a comrade of his? "It takes as much courage to seek alms as it takes to wage war, you know", he continued. It turned out, he was a well to do farmer in his village until two years ago. Then tragedy struck and he lost a leg in an accident. His son, who took over the land and the farming duties, thought he was too much of a burden and got him to the city on some pretext and simply left him here. "It is obvious he doesn't need me or want me. I'd be shameless and heartless if I were to go back to him", he said. So he decided to stay on and find a livelihood in the city. "Suicide is very wrong thing to do, you know". Life preservation is a sacred duty according to him. "You cannot call on God. You must leave it to Him to call on you", wisdom spoke. So he decided to seek help from the world. "That doesn't mean I am a beggar. It takes as much courage as is needed to wage a war". I hardly had any thing to say. As I dipped into my pocket to ferret out some change, he went on. "People don't have to feel guilty to help a man seeking to preserve a life. They should be feeling proud". This time around I decided to take out my wallet and give away a little more than normal. "Nice of you to talk to me", he said. He limped away. I did not make much out of it at that time. Over a period of time, I started to think that for those who saw a beggar in him, he was a collector of guilt. He is paid so he collects their guilt, like they pay a trash collector. For those who saw a man in him, he was just another crusader for life, the precious and pious. I hoped to belong to the latter category even though at that point in my life I was not.
Much later, once when I was visiting one of those well known and well developed commercial centers of the world, right in the middle of a very conservative and traditional society, I had the chance to observe the life of some women who were into the oldest profession of the world. We were put up in a hotel where at night fall, the lobby and parking lot turned into market places for the ancient profession. The women concerned were all from some far eastern country. As we made way into our rooms in the evening, we just used to smile at the goings on. What good discussing about such women, my friend and I thought. Their faces seemed alien, their language and culture were alien too and that gave us a reason to feel smug and worry about the falling moral values in rest of the world while in India we are still doing a great job of preserving them. However, on the last evening of our stay in the great commercial center of the world, we saw few Indian women dressed in the traditional attire waiting in the lobby, discussing among themselves. Worried that they would probably understand our normal discussion about the falling moral values, we walked past them silently. We couldn't help but overhear briefly their conversation as one woman was asking another, "So how much do you need?". We realized that they were planning the night targeting a specific amount that one of them needs. As we walked to our rooms, I told my friend, "may be we were wrong about these women. We always looked at what they were doing for money but never really thought about why they were doing it". What if the woman is doing what she is doing so she could survive and may be help a family survive? Is she not just another crusader for life, the precious and pious? I was slightly ashamed that I could not think that way before.
Too often we focus on the "How" and "What" in life while the real important question to ask is "Why". In the museum of life, each one chooses his own corner to spend time at - enjoying those parts of the museum where they find the pieces of their liking, appreciating 'what' they see and 'how' well the artist has done while avoiding, gently or otherwise, the rest. It all depends on each ones definition of what is important in life - an acquired definition as a result of years of education or a self made definition of convenience and alignment to a life philosophy. We tend to stay away from the kitsch, attributing such supposedly bad pieces of art to the cliched "such is life" and move on. May be we should stop when faced with those pieces and ponder, if only briefly, as to "why" they ended that way. And if possible, should go ahead and touch. It is life, after all.
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