Life-A journey
Life unknown; flowing; knowing; knowing; something known;
What is known?
Living Life is known.
Only part is known.
Childhood is known.
Growing, Growing Adolescence is known.
An Adolescent knows only of adolescence.
Childhood days are gone.
An Adolescent becomes adult.
An Adult is grown up in relativity to an adolescent and a child.
An adult is composed of six elements: Physical body, Respiration, Mind, Heart, Inner space and infinite potential.
Inner space is also called in Hindu scriptures as Ataman, ‘Buddha’ says ‘Shunyata’ somewhere as ‘Shunya’ state, also called as consciousness (Chetana). In Oshodhara we call it Inner Space (Antar Aakash). We know of physical body. We know of respiration. We know little bit of mind. We also know of anatomical and physiological heart. But we know nothing of revolving, evolving, growing heart centre and inner space. Whatever we know of it is through our reading, hearing; it is not out of our experience.
One more thing what we don’t know is the possibility of infinite dimensions. We are born with possibility in the form of seed. It is called divinity. It is like a highest degree one can acquire and grow with. But hearing about degree, mere asking about degree doesn’t give an experience and there by associated satisfaction.
While living adult life in totality with the entire component but his mind, heart and physical growth is not sufficient. Still whatever is available in degrees of the components of which he is made up. So his living is total. What ever enjoys in totality without being mental i.e. intellectual towards other things. He speaks totally. He plays totally. He sings playfully and totally. What he wants to speak, speaks to his fullest capacity, a child lives fully, totally to his satisfaction. Though he has not Got fully developed body, mind and heart. Still he is total in all his doings and non-doings of his inner space and his divinity, he is not at all mental. But he is so fresh and close to the source, so is gifted with a natural life.
Living a natural life is a life of childhood. But a child remains always childish.
A grown up, an adult doesn’t like to be childish. Childish activity is immature of him.
An adult grows to be middle aged. Middle age person matures into old age. Growing maturity of the person leads and matures into the climax, the death of the body. Is death a growth, maturity, a climax, a permanent solution or a change for another unknown new journey?
Amateur person isn’t seen eating, joyfully. He isn’t seen speaking with totality and joyfully. He isn’t seen playing anything playfully. He can’t weep. In any activity he doesn’t effort to be doing full, totally. He is always divided, indecisive and half-half in all of his doings and non-doings. He doesn’t know the science of soul, consciousness and inner space. Unless one knows of the science of inner space he can’t be total. Unless one acquires divinity he can’t be satisfied totally. So both inner space and divinity which are part of human beings unless experienced, life can’t be lived totally.
A child is worth living a childish life. An adolescent is worth living a life of adolescence. An adult is full of possibility, which he lives as per his likings. This short of life is worthy of his age. Living a life of his age is worth living. But a human being feels of life, not of his doings. He never feels for whatever he has done and what he has acquired. Life remains unsatisfied, a purposeless journey.
In India, death is supposed to be a maturity of life. Death is a climax, an attainment, and a permanent rest. It is a victory of the struggles, which were fought knowingly and unknowingly in the whole span of life. It is also seen as a smooth solution of the tension, tangible, intangible and the problems of the life.
Death is a part of life. It comes not from outside but from life itself. Death is a continuity of life not end of life. Life does not finish with death. Quite a new chapter is added to another life in another birth, which is again a continuity of many-many previous lives. Just a new body, again and again, a new, every time a new body, like a new cloth, is taken.
In great Indian scripture ‘Bhagwat Geeta’ lord Krishna says, death as a mere changing of old cloths for a new one that is for a new birth, a new body.
In west, death is supposed to be a loss, life being snatched forcefully by death. In death they see as the loss of the battle of life. It is seen there as an incurable disease. Thus, they fear death. Whole life they are scare of death. Their attitude becomes pathological towards life and death. Instead of celebrating life and death they are stuck up between life and death. They live with the concept of one life. Life is finished in death. They remain panicky whole life just listening something about disease. If some serious diseases are diagnosed they develop a fighting attitude to concur disease and death. Thus they live whole life with dis-ease, uncomfortable and abnormal attitude.
In India, whole life one prepares for death. They prepare an attitude of surrender to in an inevitable death. They aspire to live this body smoothly. They live with a concept of endless life and death cycle. After death, comes a new life. It goes on and on. So they are relaxed.
Today while walking in the morning, some greenery spreading over the wet wall of boundary, attracted me, the phenomenon stopped me walking.
Such beautiful life;
Spreading, spreading and spreading.
Shinning greenery on the wall,
Soft, thick, living, carpet of green life;
Innumerable, infinite, a plant, algae on the wall,
Spreading, spreading and spreading.
Soon came thought of my book ‘Art of Living and Death’ some flowers were on the earth, some fresh and some fading. This reminded me of the cycle of life and death.
There is no death; there can’t be death. Just a process of life goes on and on and on… just, one body goes off. A cycle is set in of life and death… death and again a new body, a new life… the process goes on and on… a cycle constantly moves.
Another idea of infinity came in. Intellectually we can’t understand infinity. However and whatever we try, it is beyond our perception, conception and imagination, i.e. beyond our human mind.
This impossibility of mind brings a sense of wonder. This ‘sense of wonder’ brings a chain of wonders in the mind. This chain of wonders in course of long years of time, favorable and unfavorable external circumstances; starts bringing a little idea of infinity. This inspiration provokes search, search and infinite search for… unknown.
A set of ideas came started coming. Infinite soft lives of little algae on the wall provoked me.
Life!
Uncountable lives!
Why uncountable!
Infinite!
What is the purpose of infinite, uncountable lives on the earth?
Why many grades, levels of life?
What is the purpose of the Existence behind infinity in levels and numbers and quality?
Reply came in, inside, just a natural process of Existence to support the infinite process of life. The process of life is also infinite.
One grade, level of life supports another grade, level of life in getting higher and higher. It is just a process of evolution, then where is death? It is death of one of the uncountable, insignificant, small body form. This departure of body is like a student leaving home for higher education to a far away place. When he or she returns, he or she is a changed one, a higher one, and a better one.
Now where is loss?
Where is departure?
Mother weeps with departure of the son, but the father consoles her, makes her understanding higher, wisdomful.
In the same way ‘going off one body’ has to be understood at another different, higher level.
Theory of infinity, in numbers, in grades, levels and quality of lives puzzles me.
My mind also does not understand it. It makes me questioning. Mind tries to avoid it.
But this questioning, nature of questioning has now been understood at some another different level. This different level is nothing but an ever growing level of consciousness.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama says…
“Death is a natural part of life, which we will all surely have to face sooner or later. To my mind, there are two ways we can deal with it while we are alive. We can either choose to ignore it or we can confront the prospect of our own death and, by thinking clearly about it, try to minimize the suffering that it can bring. However, in neither of these ways can we actually overcome it.
As a Buddhist, I view death as a normal process, a reality that I accept will occur as long as I remain in this earthly Existence. Knowing that I cannot escape it, I see no point in worrying about it. I tend to think of death as being like changing your clothes when they are old and worn out, rather than as some final end. Yet death is unpredictable; we do not know when or how it will take place. So it is only sensible to take certain precautions before it actually happens.
Naturally, most of us would like to die a peaceful death, but it is also clear that we cannot hope to die peacefully if our lives have been full of violence, or if our minds have mostly been agitated by emotions like anger, attachment, or fear. So if we wish to die well, we must learn how to live well: hoping for a peaceful death, we must cultivate peace in our mind, and in our way of life.
As you will read here, from the Buddhist point of view, the actual experience of death is very important. Although how or where we will be reborn is generally dependent on karmic forces, our state of mind at the time of death can influence the quality of our next rebirth. So at the moment of death, in spite of the great variety of karmas we have accumulated, if we make a special effort to generate a virtuous state of mind, we may strengthen and activate a virtuous karma, and so bring about a happy rebirth.
The actual point of death is also when the most profound and beneficial inner experiences can come about. Through repeated acquaintance with the processes of death in meditation, an accomplished meditator can use his or her actual death to gain great spiritual realization. This is why experienced practitioners engage in meditative practices as they pass away. An indication of their attainment is that often their bodies do not begin to decay until long after they are clinically dead.
No less significant than preparing for our own death is helping others to die well. As newborn babies each of us was helpless and, without the care and kindness we received then, we would not have survived. Because the dying also are unable to help themselves, we should relieve them of discomfort and anxiety and assist them, as far as we can, to die with composure.
Here the most important point is to avoid anything, which will cause the dying person’s mind to become more disturbed than it may already be. Our prime aim in helping a dying person is to put them at ease, and there are many ways of doing this. A dying person who is familiar with spiritual practice may be encouraged and inspired if they are reminded of it, but even kindly reassurance on our part can engender a peaceful, relaxed attitude in the dying person’s mind.
Death and Dying provide a meeting point between the Tibetan Buddhist and modern scientific traditions. I believe both have a great deal to contribute to each other on the level of understanding and of practical benefit.”
– (Courtesy: The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying)
