Quest
How do we define death? It was a topic of the first ever blog written by me. Indeed it is queer that one should start with something many thinks of as bad. As many would agree, death is one of the best kept secrets of nature followed only by life. One of the questions that was posed by yaksha to eldest of pandavas was, what is the strangest thing of all. The reply was, everyone knows that they would die someday yet they behave as if they were immortal. The more I think of it, truer it seems.
By the way, what does the inevitability of death teach? Doesnt it tell us that, while it would be foolish to wait for the inevitable death by despairing(as Bhagavad Gita says in 2nd chapter) it would be even more foolish to quicken that journey by not caring for ourselves.
With its deepest silence, doesn't death shout in our face, only if we care to listen, that most important things in life are not things at all. The tracks that we leave behind us, the effect we have on the happiness quotient of the world are all that matter. Whether we made a lot of fame or money, visited so many places of worship, had the best car, best house in town don't really matter in larger scheme of things. Doing the best possible, according to ones abilities, for the best of others is the message of inevitable death that could guide our lives. Maybe its in that contentment one finds real meaning of life...completing a QUEST to transcend life and death.
By the way, what does the inevitability of death teach? Doesnt it tell us that, while it would be foolish to wait for the inevitable death by despairing(as Bhagavad Gita says in 2nd chapter) it would be even more foolish to quicken that journey by not caring for ourselves.
With its deepest silence, doesn't death shout in our face, only if we care to listen, that most important things in life are not things at all. The tracks that we leave behind us, the effect we have on the happiness quotient of the world are all that matter. Whether we made a lot of fame or money, visited so many places of worship, had the best car, best house in town don't really matter in larger scheme of things. Doing the best possible, according to ones abilities, for the best of others is the message of inevitable death that could guide our lives. Maybe its in that contentment one finds real meaning of life...completing a QUEST to transcend life and death.
posted by atma_tripta at 8:32 AM
3 Comments:
Why would you want to leave anything behind? Make a mark. Whats wrong in just pure existance while it lasts?
I guess, I am saying I can see how morally its better to work for the greater good (!) but why is it any better really than working for that house you like?
Without pretending to perch on a high moral pedestal or sounding a 'holier than thou' I would like to point out this:
Being educated, we will not have any problems in leading a comfortable life. However, what about those who starve or even worse? can we close our eyes to their misery...call it their fate? And anyway what we define as luxuries slowly become needs..its really within us to draw the line somewhere. Drawing the line was what I was implying and the line is definitely not at zero!! Never meant that we shouldn't work towards things we like in life; only that we choose what we like with a little more careful thought!
BTW...isnt just a pure existence monotonous? !!
The difference is:
When you work for your house, you are 'I'-centric. And 'I' is impermanent, will vanish one day before you know it. And weep they will, for a few days, before they forget and move on.
When you work for the greater good, you leave behind a legacy that will live beyond your death. And if you dont find that noble, well.. what have I to say, except that your ideas differ from those of the passionate many that inspire!
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