Snake in a jar or a snake in the jungle?
Life
is about movement that happens every moment. One can experience the
completeness of it either by being totally absent or being totally present. The
former means that one is in a constant state of bliss that is far beyond the
reach of the vagaries of life and is unfazed by them. The great saints fall in
this category. The latter state means that a person is completely absorbed in
the activities of life and attends to them with total concentration and
alertness for the benefit of others. Selfless political leaders and other
founders of big companies that employ lakhs of people fall in this
category.
Life
is to be lived and not passed. To understand this in a clearer way, let us take
the case of two snakes. One snake is dead and is in a glass jar in the science laboratory
of a school/college. The other snake is alive and moving around in a jungle and
living its life in a normal course. It is hunting, shedding skin, doing various
other activities and experiencing the world in its natural way. It is not aware
when death will reach him but it is living the moment. Now the snake in the
glass jar is ‘dead’ and ‘happy’. It will be remain in a glass jar for generations of students
to see how a dead snake looks like. The snake in the jungle may not last longer
than the dead snake in the jar but it is ‘living’ the ‘present’. The excitement
that one may get by seeing a live snake is not the same as when they see a dead
one.
A
person has to lead his life filled with action in a natural manner while at the
same time applying the special intelligence (buddhi) given only to humans by
God. Those who do not perform their duties and prefer to be 'remain' may last
longer than those who are active but they do not serve any purpose except for
being in their own lazy world. The aim of life should be contribute to the eco
system in which we live and to do our bit in bettering it. There should be
constant introspection on one’s contribution to his/her self, family and also to the society
at large. A life lived for the benefit of others is far more superior to one
that is lived for selfish interests. The world’s memory of latter class is
almost a naught.
Life
is not about being ‘encaged’ and ‘dead’. It is about being ‘engaged’ and ‘alive’.
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