Rollercoaster
Life is a rollercoaster. Tides of emotions bring waxing and waning phases of happiness and sorrows. Pervading all of these is a joy that cannot be compared. For the realized jnani, nothing matters. Neither the death nor the birth. Neither fame nor disrespect. Jnani exists in an eternal joy.
But the life of all mortals like us is a different story. One moment we are happy and the next we feel sad. As I think deeply about it, I realize that however ephemeral life is, there is a definite joy in it just as there is an infinite joy in eternity. Its a feeling of joy one experiences while watching a child fall down trying to walk or a birdlearning to fly. Glorious rising sun in the east or the poignant farewell to the sun by the day. Its the enchantment we feel when we hear a great music, first cry of the baby, song of an unkown bird in the wild. The peace that envelopes on watching a great valley from a mountain top or watching a lone pair of ducks flying alone on a full moon night. The excitement that we have when we see a water fall or waves lashing the rocks on the sea shore. The moments of pleasant surprise when we bump into an old friend at a railway station, hear about commitment of a friend culminating in marriage, or listen to a the same song you were about to hum being sung by person next to you.Disgust at meanness of others while failing to see our own. Talk of high morals in public, while acting like devils in the dark reccesses of personal life. The fear of failure, hope of success.
Its all there in this world and our own. Yet life is beautiful and full of joy precisely because it is this kaleidoscope of emotions. Jnani realize this and enjoys them all while jignasu tries in vain to overcome each one of them until one day he realizes that the QUEST is not to seek, but to realize the divinity present in everyone, everything...at all times and in all states. Then he becomes jnani.
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[Note: I do not use the words joy and happiness interchangeably. They are different concepts to me.One could be full of joy even in a sad situation and vice versa. Joy is a much more subtle and powerful emotion. Sanskrit has two words for then...Ananda for joy and sukha for happiness. In case you are still confused, its because of my poor literary skills and not due to any deficiencies in the concepts themselves..I take the blame!]
But the life of all mortals like us is a different story. One moment we are happy and the next we feel sad. As I think deeply about it, I realize that however ephemeral life is, there is a definite joy in it just as there is an infinite joy in eternity. Its a feeling of joy one experiences while watching a child fall down trying to walk or a birdlearning to fly. Glorious rising sun in the east or the poignant farewell to the sun by the day. Its the enchantment we feel when we hear a great music, first cry of the baby, song of an unkown bird in the wild. The peace that envelopes on watching a great valley from a mountain top or watching a lone pair of ducks flying alone on a full moon night. The excitement that we have when we see a water fall or waves lashing the rocks on the sea shore. The moments of pleasant surprise when we bump into an old friend at a railway station, hear about commitment of a friend culminating in marriage, or listen to a the same song you were about to hum being sung by person next to you.Disgust at meanness of others while failing to see our own. Talk of high morals in public, while acting like devils in the dark reccesses of personal life. The fear of failure, hope of success.
Its all there in this world and our own. Yet life is beautiful and full of joy precisely because it is this kaleidoscope of emotions. Jnani realize this and enjoys them all while jignasu tries in vain to overcome each one of them until one day he realizes that the QUEST is not to seek, but to realize the divinity present in everyone, everything...at all times and in all states. Then he becomes jnani.
@
[Note: I do not use the words joy and happiness interchangeably. They are different concepts to me.One could be full of joy even in a sad situation and vice versa. Joy is a much more subtle and powerful emotion. Sanskrit has two words for then...Ananda for joy and sukha for happiness. In case you are still confused, its because of my poor literary skills and not due to any deficiencies in the concepts themselves..I take the blame!]
posted by atma_tripta at 1:25 PM
2 Comments:
Dude, well written post... until you came to the difference between joy and happiness... To see the subtle difference between the two, I went through the dictionary for both and saw that joy is "intense happiness" and happiness is "Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy". Anyways, I think I know what you mean vaguely... It is the beauty of life that keeps us going - the optimism that tomorrow will be better... thats what drives us...
Thank you. I tend to confuse people with a lot of abstract talk and really its the challenge of expressing what you feel I guess.
More often than not,Iam comfortable dealing with sanskrit words than English words just beacuse Iam more familiar with them.But anyway will keep trying!
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