If we could take life as a blessing, then we can understand the value of being simple. Now “simplicity” is an easy word to brag about, but very difficult to practice. It is very easy to be outwardly simple. We hear people say that so and so is a simple man. What is the basis for this observation? Few clothes, little money, small house, few wants – these are supposed to be the common yard sticks to brand a man as simple. But I feel, Simplicity is deeper than all this. Consider this fabulous Buddhist tale

In a village there lived a young monk, who would spend most of his time in prayer and meditation. There was ever a faint smile on his face. He would leave his hut only for collecting alms and food. He had no material possessions what so ever, expect his bare needs. The villagers considered him a great soul. There was a young girl living near his hut, who was intent on capturing the monk’s attention. She tried so many things, but there was absolutely no reaction for the young monk. The girl was vexed and angry. She wanted to teach this monk a lesson he would never forget. One day she slipped outside her village and when she came back a few months later she was pregnant and later gave birth to a child. The villagers were perturbed. The girl on repeated questioning accused the young monk for this deed. She said that the monk had asked her to meet him at a secluded place and when she reached there, the monk misbehaved with her. The villagers in an instant forgot the veneration they had for the monk and all of them stormed to his humble hut and bid him come out of it.
The monk hearing the commotion came out with the same serene face. The village elder said “You are a disgrace to monkhood; you have fathered a child illegitimately. You have to now take care of the girl as well as the child”

The girl was shedding crocodile tears, but said nothing.

The monk replied: “Ho! Is it so” and without further words took the child lovingly in his hands and asked the girl also to step into his house. The villagers had nothing more to say and they left.

For the next one year the monk took care of the child and the girl as if it were his.He discontinued his prayers went out to work, bought food and clothes for them and laughed and played with the child and spoke entreatingly to the girl. The villagers were stunned. Meanwhile the girl started getting ashamed of her act day by day. She never realized that things would turn out like this.

One day, she couldn’t take it any longer and called the village again and told them the truth. The villagers were grief stricken. They went to the monk again with downcast eyes and called him out.

The village elder spoke: “ O great monk, we are terribly sorry for what we have done. We believed the stupid girl’s accusations and treated you badly. Kindly give us the child. We will take care of it. You kindly pursue your spiritual life”

On Hearing this, the Monk said: “Ho, is it so?” and gave back the child to them and went inside. There was absolutely no change in the monks face.

This is true simplicity! Material wealth alone never creates complication. It is our attitude towards them that does. The monk was in tune with life. He treated everything that life offers as a blessing and hence his life was simple. To such a man Crores of rupees are same as a single paisa, because he understands that both are not his anyway. Reflect on this.

In this age of competitiveness, young minds are easily drawn towards ambition, career and a so called cut-throat attitude in all their dealings. At a tender age they realize the value of being aggressive. All round them people pursue only one activity diligently and that is making money. All other values are merely paid lip service. Parents talk about compassion, love, fearlessness, God and all such high sounding phrases, but rarely do the kids see these principles put into action. The Mother talks about equality but the kid watches her treating the servant maid differently. The father talks about fearlessness and the kid observes him groveling at his bosses’s feet. It is important for us to understand that action speaks louder than words. Merely verbalizing ideas are not going to impart those values which we think are important for the Child’s growth. If we cannot practice something which we preach, it is better to stop talking about it. The simple reason is that words create a dichotomy in the child. And once this contradiction takes root, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to uproot it.

The human Child is a rare specimen. It needs tender caring and nurturing for ten to fifteen years. In these formative periods, every imprint it gets leaves a lasting mark which haunts him or her in the prime years of adulthood. I am writing these articles not the parent but for those young adolescent minds who are a witness to the chaos that they see around them. It is an attempt to help them see things in perspective. And probably gain an insight into what their parents and other elders are trying to tell them. I intend to follow no set pattern, but write as my instinct guides me to. Normally, we would like to know the credentials of the writer we are reading. In that regard, I am a No Body. My only qualification to pen these words is that I have made terrible blunders in my life. Life has been enough to forgive me for those mistakes and helped me mature into a better individual. I guess, this is my way of repaying my gratitude. Well now, let’s move on.

At the outset, Youngsters must understand that they have been blessed with a lot many things in life. A secure family, a home, good food, clean clothes and above all financial security. Elders do often tell us to count our blessings and not the curses. We get irritated when we hear them say it over and over again. But what they say is very true. At this very moment millions of kids all round the globe are struggling to get a bit of those things that we take for granted. Imagine what would happen to you, if there was no food in the house for a day. I am sure most of us will grumble about the grave injustice done to us. But reflect for a moment, there are young children outside your very homes, who are without food for a week. If you regard your discomfort as grave, how would you describe their pain and agony? I was reading Anita Pratap’s Island’s of Blood recently. She is a great journalist who has reported from those areas of the globe beset with calamities both man made and otherwise. She draws poignant pictures of mankind. The cornerstone of that book is the conclusion. She says that the only lesson her extensive travels has given her is to be grateful for the simple joys and pains of normal life . This is a wonderful lesson for all us. This is not philosophy. This comes a lady who has seen the sufferings of people in varied circumstances. We should be thankful for all that we have, not because our parents tell us so, but realizing for ourselves that what we see as normal is nothing more than a temporary blessing. We should Thank life that we are not in a situation where a morsel of food is a rare sight. Whenever we look at a rag picker or a poor servant maid, let us not treat them indifferently. Let us look at them with awareness and understand their plight and at the very least give them a compassionate look, a helping hand, a friendly smile not with an attitude of condescension, but with humbleness that comes with the understanding that we have been blessed, truly blessed!

Adi Sankara writes in his celebrated poem “Bhaja Govindam” “ The pride that we have in these Phrases “My Family”, “My wealth”,” My People” ,” My Youth” Life will erase all this in a moment”

The saint here points here to the vanity of our notions. Right from the air we breathe to the Cadillac we drive is a Prasad (a blessing). Enjoy it, Relish it but don’t gloat over it.

Reflect on this.

I think it is very important to understand the nature of the mind at a very young age. As we grow up it becomes increasingly difficult to do so because all our thoughts would have become rigid. We must understand the difference between the ‘Thinking mind’ and the ‘working mind’. The thinking mind is the ‘me’ that posits a past and the future. The working mind is the mind at the moment doing the job. To live in this society, the working mind must function well. Our success and failure depends upon the quality of our functional thoughts. It is a well known fact that our work suffers if we anticipate results. Smooth functioning of the mind is required to do a job well and more importantly we should be anchored in the present moment. This fact is very well illustrated in sports. For example in cricket we refer to a batsman in form. It simply means that he is playing the game effortlessly. His hand’s and feet move with an elegant grace. It seems to us as though the bat hits the ball out of its own volition with no one actually hitting it. To watch a Vivian Richards or an Adam Gilchrist bat is to see poetry in motion. To me, this is a perfect example of the working mind doing its job unhampered without the intrusions of the ‘me’. You can contrast this with another batsman who is struggling to keep his place in the team. His batting would be a self conscious effort, because his mind is projecting the outcome of his stroke play and his future in the team and not about the shot perse.The same is the case with any job that we do. I have observed that good and efficient software programmers are those who do not work for deadlines. They focus all their energies in solving the problem at hand and more importantly they enjoy what they do.

This is the Karma yoga the Bhagavad-Gita talks about. Do the job in hand with all the functional knowledge that one has got but do not worry about the outcome. Results are never in our hands. It never was. If we were to diligently analyze our actions, we would to out utter surprise find that even though we have initiated many activities; the end result was always dependent on forces beyond our control – hence unpredictable. Read the biographies of eminent scientists and discoverers and you will find not one of them thought of the prizes and the accolades that their work would bring them. It is the sheer joy of pouring heart and soul into whatever they were doing that filled their lives.

I remember many years ago Swami Chinmayananda had come to speak on Vedanta in the Rabindrabarathi auditorium in Hyderabad. That was the first time I was listening to him. I had already heard a lot about him and his vibrant oratory. The auditorium where he was to speak had excellent acoustics. Swamiji was known for his punctuality and he walked in exactly at the scheduled time of 6.30P.M. With a flowing beard, Piercing eyes, a beaming smile, clothed in a silk ochre robe – he looked like a patriarch from the past. I would never forget the first words that he spoke with his deep throated voice. He said “Let your mind be where your hands are”. I was shaken. I don’t remember much of the lecture then after. But this line remained with me ever since. Observe how true the statement is. We are always worried either about the past or the future hardly paying attention to the present moment.

A Zen story to conclude:

A student seeking enlightenment approached a master. As soon as he entered the master pointing to the hills yonder said “Look at the magnificence of the mountains”. The student bowed asked his question “Master, teach me the way to eternal peace”. The Master hardly paying attention to him and looking outside the window continued:” The flight of the birds is a scene to behold”. The student reiterated his question. To which the master enigmatically replied “The touch of cold air on my skin is bliss”. The student began getting irritated and started to walk out when he heard the voice of master saying “ I have been teaching you the path, Remain in the NOW”.

There is always a difference between chronological and psychological time and a correct understanding of both will go a long way in living a peaceful life. J Krishnamurthy often used to stress the distinction between the two in his talks. We always believe that there is a tomorrow where anything can be achieved. This is obviously true, but the question is – Is it true of everything. We need to go to college tomorrow: and we will,. There is chronological time involved there. But is time required to change psychologically and this is the subject matter of this article. We are jealous today and we pledge to overcome it tomorrow. The question is – is there physical time involved there. Can we become better tomorrow without understanding what we are in the present moment? I believe that all our tensions and worries are because of this psychological postponement and the false belief that time is required for us to change. We can observe this phenomenon commonly in our spiritual endeavours. We honestly believe that there is a distant goal to be achieved and take up spiritual practices that will supposedly help us reach the so called state of enlightenment. After years of practice we tend to become more frustrated because the goal seems to ever receding. Disillusioned with our current practice, we grope for a better one and pursue the new system as diligently as the old one only to find out that no system can take us an inch closer to the goal. This is a classic case of psychological postponement.

To change internally, no time is required. By positing that I am bad today but will become good tomorrow is merely an illusionary stance that we tend to take. If it has to happen then it should be instantaneous. This may seem rather illogical to many of us. But check out whether any change within you has happened in gradation. Even if it does there are always the seeds of the past lying dormant within us. We normally find true changes happening within us only when there is a crisis. When there is no time to think or postpone. A robber did not become a Valmiki through thought or practice. It happened. In atomic physics there is a concept called mutation. It means a change without a trace of the past. Psychologically we must mutate, there should be no graduality to it. Chronological time plays no role in it. And there is way we can force this change.

It is the ego that creates this need for physical time. The thought structure which we call the ‘me’ seeks permanency. Hence it projects everything in the future. And wherever there is a future, time gets involved. Not understanding this we get caught in a vicious circle of seeking and achieving. Let us live in the moment. All is right now. Relax and allow the cosmic will to unfold itself. This is true enlightenment. Don’t worry about time.

The more I live, the better am I convinced that we are incessantly driven by destiny. In the early years of exuberant adolescence we are full of vibrant optimism. The world seems our theatre and we are confident of playing any part that we choose. The batterings of life mellows us into accepting the role assigned to us and we spend the rest of our lives try in vain to justify that whatever we did or got was through our own volition. Each day we relentlessly struggle to keep our ego’s intact and we try hard to convince ourselves that events are happening because of us. A thousand times have we been proved wrong but we forget to learn our lessons in time. The moment we realize that we were never in command over ourselves and our role here, a great inner loosening takes place. It seems as though a life gripping knot has been miraculously unwound and everything around us seems perfectly in place. There is no conflict at all. This is enlightenment. The dropping dead of the false façade – the ego; is the true essence of spirituality. But unfortunately, there is no way to bring about the nemesis of the ego. It will happen if it is destined to happen, not otherwise.

Religions have mandated many ways of annihilating it. For thousand’s of years various forms of meditations and austerities have been advocated and practiced by all known races and clans. If there were a method to reach enlightenment the entire human race would by now reached it. Isn’t it not ironical that despite so much religious propaganda and spiritual inculcation in every known form Mankind have become progressively become more unhappy and stressed. We stand more alienated than ever from life and nature. The answer lies in understanding that there is no way to achieve peace. Peace is not a byproduct but a state of being. Hear the mystics and read their writings from any religion. One will find total disdain of established dogmas and practices. One single thread will run through all their utterings and that is enlightenment is a cosmic happening not a calculated event. One cannot strive for that serene state. The reason is being that we as individuals are the culprit. Our imagined selves, our false sense of identity should drop. And for this to be facilitated, we have delve deep into our inner recesses to face our true face. The “unborn face” – as the Zen Buddhists call it has to be perceived for this false hallucination that we call living to end. Once again we could only initiate this process. It is left to the cosmic will whether we break free from the strangle hold of our thought structure which poses as an independent entity. Our consolation lies in those immortal words of Krishna in the epic poem – The Bhagavad-Gita. He says “Even a little drop of Dharma will save you from great harm”. Rendered in modern terms; it means that a little introspection into ourselves will give us a lot of peace and serenity. We would find that life becomes a little less stressful, more joyous and definitely more poised. And surprisingly life will become ridiculously simple to live. Perhaps, all of us should give it a try. Who knows what destiny holds for us. If not redemption from the bondage of thought, we could at least hope for a little peace, a life filled with optimism and an understanding that there is a way of life that is qualitatively richer and more fulfilling than the agony that we are going through now. Let us ask the question? Am I what I believe what I am? If our questioning is true and sincere, perhaps we may reach the answer which Moses got from Abraham on the top of Sinai Hill – “I AM THAT I AM”.

Reflect on this.

Death is a great leveler. No matter what you are death metes out the ultimate justice. It is very curious that parents always shield us from death. Elaborate paraphernalia is drawn around death. It is considered something bad and evil. The importance of life is always stressed and death is delegated a back seat. Man is always looking for permanence of life. We spend a lifetime building a so called permanency but death is inevitable. Every spiritual book talks about the impermanence of the physical body and the need to touch something that is non-material. But the problem is that spirituality is considered the engagement of the old. When all the energy is sapped out of the individual we turn towards spiritual books. In schools we find children put though mechanical prayer routines which neither parties do not understand. Our scriptures talk about the wrong focus that we have in life and all the slokas and mantras reflect the thinking of our ancient seers. At a young age we must be taught the importance of these statements. The seeds must be sown at a young age. Beyond a point it becomes difficult to understand and appreciate these thoughts. A healthy life needs an understanding of death. Osho used to say that the way you die reflects the way you have lived. A wholesome life lived from moment to moment will not fear death. It will be a total acceptance of whatsoever life gives us.

I was recently reading the controversial book by Desmond Morris – “The Naked Ape”, which talks about the biological origins of Man. It is a fascinating book. It stirred the moral conscience of many when it was first published. The books talks about how mankind still remains a remnant of his primate ancestor – the ape. Even though technologically and culturally we have evolved beyond recognition; deep down we still carry the genetic underpinnings of our origin. The book reveals how this nature is reflected in our most common activities like sex, rearing among others. At first reading this book will most definitely affect the sensibilities of many and that according to me is the most surprising fact.

Somewhere down the millennia we have adorned a new status for ourselves. We started believing that we are a different species specially endowed with capacities that make us unique amongst organisms. Today it is inconceivable that we can think of ourselves as organisms. We have started to think of the world in human terms. Scientifically, we call this as anthropomorphism. It means that we conceive everything around us in terms of human reactions. The gods that we build are humans; the behavior of animals and phenomena is interpreted in terms of human characteristics. We have in a sense isolated ourselves from the world around us. And this isolation has caused immense problems for us. We are afraid of our instincts. The primordial genetic programming is being suppressed for the sake of societal structures. We fail to understand that we are nothing but the product of the cosmic will and as Will Durant put it – “after 2000 years of civilization, we are still nothing but a trousered ape”. The aberrant behavior of individuals is mainly due to this false isolation. UG Krishnamurthy described his transformation as a return to his womb. No concepts, No verbalizations but intense sense of life. He wouldn’t talk about it because there is nothing that could be talked about. Life is a perennial flow and there is no stagnant pool in it. The need for survival necessitates communication, but words should not be the boundaries of our life. While it is true that we have evolved beyond recognition, it should not blind us from the fact we are a part of the Cosmos sharing this earth with all other organisms. And more so we are essentially an organism. We have as a specimen tried very hard to suppress our genetic needs but it as an undeniable fact that the biological pull is always there in all our activities and relationships. We clothe them in fine words and push it under the carpet and deny its existence. All the aberrations that we see in human behavior are due to this blind-eyed attitude towards our primeval nature.

The first step towards it could begin with an deep understanding that we are not the pinnacle of creation. We have been around for roughly 40 to 50,000 years, whereas the universe has been in existence for over a billion years and there is no reason for us to be arrogant or proud of our existence. The earth is a tiny speck in the Universe. We are one amongst millions of galaxies. The sheer breadth of our cosmos should make us humble. From the movement of a blade of grass to the expansion of the Universe is controlled by the Cosmic law. There is no need for us to try and push anything. Let us accept the flow deep within and allow the Universal drama to unfold itself. We have to play our part well.

We come alone into this world and depart without a companion. This is a fact of life. In our brief existence of, we build bonds which seem permanent to us.Friends, enemies, lovers, acquaintances are the various names that we give to our relationships. Caught in this bondage of words we spend a life time preserving them. How many times have we been hurt by our relationships? It seems as though mankind is doomed to live in pain and suffering. We spend a lifetime figuring how to live life and when it is time for us to go we regret the way we have lived our life. I am amazed at the phrase “Making a living”. Life – we already have. Living is something that is bound to happen. Then where is the question of us trying to make a living. Look at a Man’s life. He spends his time planning for the future and let’s go of the present. Man is the only creature who creates misery for himself. And not understanding the trauma he has created he spends a lifetime trying to come out of the problems. No religion can help us in finding answers to our questions. It has to happen at an individual level. The true depth of any religion lies in acknowledging the fact that there is no help from anybody. Consciousness is one. Every individual has to withdraw into that state of innocence where one has to realize that no matter how hard we try there is no freedom from the bondage that we have created for ourselves. It is the effort that creates the problem. Relax in the moment. Let the present moment unfold its glories.

Words are mere symbols. They are only pointers to reality. But most of us confuse the word for the real thing . In all religions there is a constant emphasis on worldless wisdom. The more silent we are inside,the more intense will be our experience of life. J Krishnamurti often stressed on the need for ‘wordless experience’. The moment we start naming something we have killed reality. The beauty of a rose is experienced only when we can perceive the flower without any verbalization. The moment we name it as a Rose, the experience is finished. This is the way we kill life. Reflect on how many times we have pigeon holed our experiences without allowing life to unveil its beauty to us. Human beings have this curious habit of naming a thing and then experiencing the object through that key hole.