Posted 11:57 PM by The Consultant
Moksha

What is Moksha? Why is it that sadhus and holy men all over the world are looking for Moksha? Why is it that people are not satisfied with the way they are living their lives? Why is it that they have to look outside their minds to find out the path to eternal happiness?

Before I launch into this discussion, I would like to thank Mr Tony Xavier for the wonderful book called “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse. I usually devour books in no time. But I have been reading this small 119 page book for the past three days now. It is really a wonderful book and I would recommend it to all of you. Now the discussion that follows has nothing to do with the book, so do not think that it is necessary to have read the book beforehand.

Now back to the discussion. Why do people want to achieve Nirvana? Why is it that people find it necessary to leave all the worldly pleasures for this pursuit? Why is it that the Sansara is something to be abhorred by those who wish to achieve Nirvana?

The mankind has been seeking the eternal happiness for a long time now. What I want to know is how essential is this goal to the human society as a whole? Do meditations, rituals really bring us closer to the One? Is it not an utter waste of time and resources? Is the quest for nirvana really more important than our duties and responsibilities to the society? Is not a person engaged in meditation evading his duties to the society or to his family? I agree that individual independence and freedom of choice is a fundamental right, but is it also not a fact that a person receives so much from his family and the society that he has some obligations towards that society and family? In Puranas, we read about young men who leave their families for the quest of eternal truth or nirvana. Are they not doing something wrong? Are they not dodging their responsibilities?

We have also read about people like Buddha, Mahaveer, Sant Dnyaneshwar who have attained Nirvana? Now I don’t want to hurt anybody’s religious sentiments here. But I have a genuine doubt? Is it really true that they achieved eternal happiness? I mean how different is this process of attainment of nirvana from brainwashing yourself? Suppose, I meet some person tomorrow who says that he has found eternal happiness. How do I tell that he has indeed done so or he is living in some unreal world that exists only in his imagination? Is this process of meditation, is this process of thinking and convincing yourself that I belong to God or He is in me, He is everywhere etc. some sort of brainwashing, deluding yourself?

Why can’t people just enjoy their lives, do the best they can in their professional and personal lives and may be give something back to the society if they believe that they owe something to it and be content? Are we not trying to complicate an already complicated issue instead of just simplifying it?

Any answers???????

Posted 8:00 PM by The Consultant
The Marine Engineer

Observing people is not really a hobby of mine. I am usually engrossed in my thoughts. But about a week back, I had a chance to observe something that I felt was quite charming in its own way.

I was going back to Sangli for my term break and I boarded the Mahalaxmi Express at Kalyan. Just as I was settling down on my window seat, another guy came in. He was about 40-45 years old. He was very fair and had a black walrus moustache. He wasn’t very tall, maybe around 5-5 or 5-6. He had a gruff expression on his face and looked ready to explode. He sat down, took off his black shiny shoes. Then he took off his socks, loosened his belt to give more breathing space to his bulging tummy. He gave a sigh, closed his eyes and relaxed his tired body. I could literally see the tension on his face fade away as he sank into the seat. After some time he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

It was at this time that I noticed something strange. He had a tattoo on his right arm. I expected some god or maybe some army thing. But it was a heart with an arrow, with names on each end of the arrow. [The signs that we usually witness on historical monuments.]

He saw me staring at it with surprise and gave me an embarrassed smile. He introduced himself. He was a marine engineer from Kolhapur employed in merchant navy. We had a nice chat after that. After some time, I told him that I was really surprised by that tattoo. I told him that going by his whole character, the last thing that I expected was a heart.

Then he laughed and told me how he got that tattoo. He once went overboard during one of his trips to Australia. Nobody was on the deck at that time and no one was expected for at least half an hour. He could see the ship moving away from him leaving him to his watery grave. But suddenly, he could see someone on the deck scanning the sea. Fortunately, the guy spotted him and soon he was rescued.

The only reason that guy came on the deck was to inform him that a message was received from his wife. Our hero was now the proud father of a daughter.

He said that after coming back to India, the first thing that he did was to get this tattoo. His name was on one side and his daughter’s name was on the other side.