Missing the Bus

Missing the bus in our country, or in any of the Asian countries for that matter, is nothing to be amused at, because when the buses do not ply on time, how can the commuters be blamed for missing the bus. If that is the case with buses, there are things in life where we human beings do miss the bus, even when the buses ply as scheduled. Probably that is the reason why nothing seems to happen in the lives of the ninety nine per cent of the population. It is only the odd one per cent of the people who find life so very amusing, that they are ready to do anything for the humanity, for the universe, for nature, and for themselves. These are the people who see a ray of light, when all the others see only the dark clouds.

This man from Australia is one such man, who for fifteen months had not earned or spent even a penny, I realize that he is one among the one per cent, and I felt happy to read about what made the difference in the life of this fifty plus man. He had a promising career in an organic farm, and he states that a chance viewing of the movie “Gandhi” made him to rethink about his life. He had said that one saying of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had pushed him to think twice about the quality of his life : if you want to transform the world, transform yourself. He had realized that it was money which was the center of all evil, and if he would be able to annihilate the getting and spending money, he might be able to enter into happiness.

It was interesting to read his account on how he was slowly realizing his dream of living a life without bound by money, and his life brought him to closer proximity with nature, and he had begun to feel the beauty and bounty of nature. Towards the end of his short presentation about what he was all about, he asserts that what can make us truly happy is not money, but relationships, friends, and he got many after he began his experiment with truth. What gives me joy is to realize that there are so many persons in the world around us who are careful not to miss the bus; even if they miss it, they make sure to catch it before it speeds up. These are not merely trend-setters, who dare to dream for the world, for humanity, for nature, and for the universe.

Each one of us goes through a moment in life, which can be termed as a peak experience; but most often these moments may be shrouded by our own personal problems, bias, prejudices, sorrows and agonies. These moments of “realization” do not last for too long; if one does not take note of them, they may just pass by, and it may never come back. If we are alert and prompt, we may be able to allow ourselves to be recharged by the powerful currents flowing from this experience. Most of the great people of the world down the centuries have all gone through these peak moments and had benefited from them, and thanks to these experiences, we are still sane and safe. Their legacy is the spotlight showing light to our generation.

It is such a wonderful thing to even imagine what would happen if every individual in the world were to be a person who had undergone this peak experience; in that case, everyone would have been a Buddha, the enlightened one. In that case, there may be no evil in the world, no killing, no greed, no avarice, no jealousy. Life would be so very different. Unfortunately those who miss the bus may remain stranded all through their lives, and today I only wish each one of us makes an attempt to be awake when such moments of enlightenment dawn upon us, and be drowned by the magical streams; when we come up to the shore, then we may be different persons, with a new vision and a new mission. Life will be so very colorful then!

Sane Soul-mates (3.b)

Sometimes if we are lucky we may come across men and women who had managed to remove the obstruction which prevented them communing with their spirits directly and spontaneously. These persons may not be very difficult to identify, because even the ordinary persons would be able to take note of the glow surrounding them. They would radiate such a spiritual aura that anyone who comes in contact with them would experience the power of their spirit communication. Even if there is one single person in a thousand, the community is sure to experience the power of the soul, of the spirit, and they would be able to guide the community to greater spiritual heights.

One such person that the Indian sub-continent had witnessed some years ago was the Mahatma, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi of happy memory. If he was spectacular in nature, then we have the tribal leaders of Sidu Kanhu brothers, and each state would be able to identify such persons still living or dead. Even if they are dead, their spirit would be alive and active in a society. Today I would like to bring before my eyes one person who had remarkable ease to speak through his spirit. Gandhi was not merely a political force, who fought for the independence of India, but he was also a spiritual force, who taught the noble ideals of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (search for truth), and thanks to his contact with his spirit, today India can boast of relative peacefulness.

I would like to consider the kind of qualities which mark the people who have access to the well-springs of their spirits, and are able to affect the world they live in : fearlessness, certain amount of daring spirit; no one can harm them, neither death, not killing, they can defy any human power; conviction which spring from life experience: they would stand by what they are convinced of, and no one can turn them from the path they have chosen; spiritual power: these people go beyond all that is material and human, and they put their trust in a power which is lasting, eternal and transcendental; people of the heart: unlike the people who are guided by their heads (logic) these people are guided by their hearts, instincts and inner dynamism.

I can also think of some persons who enter into this spiritual realm, when they are subjected to certain unique kind of experiences. I remember one of my very senior friends narrating to me about her younger brother, who had been informed by the physicians that he would live but for one more month – he had reached advanced case of cancer and there would be no remedy for it, but bear with it until the last day! But this man, I was told wished to defy the impending death by being happy, spending his time in the hospital as joyful as he could, cheering up his other companions and family members… and when the month has passed, I hear that the person has not died, and instead there is a great improvement in his disease… this man was able to frighten cancer, and that is the power of his spirit!

If I am not able to live by my spirit, then I need to take a good look at the four characteristics of persons who live by their spirits: fearlessness, conviction, spiritual power, heart-centered! I would like to ask myself what makes me fearful, why am I afraid of living by my convictions, what makes me give up the spiritual power and seek material and worldly power, and why do I resort to the head instead of the heart? I am also aware that I am not going to change into a person animated by the spirit all of a sudden; I will not become like Mahatma Gandhi or Sidu Kanhu over night; it would take me some years before I can live by my heart spontaneously, without anyone telling me, or myself being aware of it! But my long journey can begin today!

Dreams that Matter

I have a dream, a song to sing... the song that had won the hearts of millions had also caught my attention. What ever the dreams meant to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and his companion Carl Jung, we know that it is the dreams that sustain our hope for a better tomorrow. But how often we come across people who have no dreams. They are half-dead; even while living, they are like somnambulists, sleep-walkers. But there is yet another category of people whose dreams are throttled at a very young age, or those whose dreams are stolen... those who wish to dream and are only too scared to, because they may not be able to bear the consequences, were their dreams come true. Even to dream of a better future is controlled by the whims and fancies of a select few, even in our own society.

If there is one malady that the world is going through today, it is the lack of dreams... we are so used to the kind of life that we are presented on a platter, that we are more than happy with the things around us, and want no more. A new form of complacency and mediocrity has set into the modern living. One of the greatest tragedies which could sound the deathknell of humanity surely is the lack of dreamers.... When I talk of dreamers, I don't necessarily think of great stalwarts as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. That was one kind of dreamers who were instrumental in transforming the face of the earth. But we need dreamers who would transform not necessarily the world around, but the small society I live in.

Dreamers are in fact role models that the present world is craving for; role models in all walks of life... hero/heroine worship had been so rampant in our country that we would take so seriously the reel-life heros and heroines, not realising that it was their profession and not way of life. On the other hand the society had been blind and deaf to the real heros and heroines, who had lived and died quietly, without making any noise, and their spirit may live in a handful of men and women whom they were able to touch within the short span of their lives. It is only those who have dream for the world, will be able to stand as a role model... sharing the dream of others is only one way of shaping the world, but it has to evolve from meeting of dreams, not merely adopting another's dream.

Unfortunately at no time of our education in schools and colleges are we taught to dream; what to dream, how to dream, when to dream... these are the questions that are not taken up during our growth period. I am surprised that there are no business schools which have begun courses in dreaming big; who knows it may be a reality very soon. But no one can deny the fact that those who fail to dream are stuck up on the midway, and may remain there all their lives. During my younger days, I used to see my elder brother writing on every notebooks with bold letters "THINK BIG"; but I think I had begun to think bigger than him, after about two scores years.

Dreaming big is nothing that takes us away from the reality we live in; rather it takes us close to the potentiality we are capable of. If I am a tree which can bear ten tonnes of fruits, I should be able to bear all those fruits, and should not be content with producing only five tonnes. That is what dreams do in our lives... pushing us inch by inch towards the full potentiality of what we truly are... And the glory of God is man/woman fully alive... Saint Augustine is credited to have said this, and in our own terms, we would rephrase it as, the glory of God is in human persons reaching their full potentiality. To put in spiritual terms, God is glorified when a human person reaches his/her full potentiality, for the maker knows that the purpose of making this person is greately fulfilled, and that can be the great joy both for the maker and the made.