My parents enabled me to grow reasonably well, to the extent that they could, based on their affordability. They showered their love and affection on me.
by N.S.Venkataraman
Sometimes, I feel unhappy with my parents for giving birth to me and bringing me into this world, needlessly exposing me to its vagaries. The world would have lost nothing had I not been born. In any case, this happened without my consent! Was I born solely to meet my parents’ needs?
Of course, my parents proudly introduced me to the world with a sense of pride, satisfaction, and achievement, with everyone around congratulating them and applauding their efforts. At this time, I must have been lying in the cradle, unaware of anything going on and not aware of the feast everyone would enjoy in my name.
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| Agra, India [Photo: Mitchell Ng Liang an/ Unsplash] |
My parents enabled me to grow reasonably well, to the extent that they could, based on their affordability. They showered their love and affection on me.
I have been witnessing world events, being part of them for over 78 years now. In any case, it is clear to me that I have been foolishly and thoughtlessly chasing a shadow, otherwise known as pleasure and wealth. Further, I have done the same as my parents and introduced children to the world. Of course, this was done without the consent of my children!
Whatever I have attained or not attained in my 78-plus years of life means nothing to me now, and I realise that human life is nothing more than a mere time-passing exercise. The entire life process appears to be in a vacuum.
Soon, inevitably, my body will wither away, and my breathing will stop. I will then be remembered for a few days by friends and relatives and a little longer by my children, but the memory of me will gradually and steadily recede from their minds.
While most of the dead are soon forgotten, a few are “remembered and honoured” with posthumous awards and the erection of statues and monuments, as if those dead would care for or need them. Obviously, the dead, who have gone nowhere, would not benefit in any way from such events nor would they hold any significance for them.
In any case, life for others will go on, counting me out, as billions have been counted out in the past. They will keep chasing the shadow as I have done for over 78 years, just like the billions who have chased the shadow and then passed away over the last thousands of years.
When death finally happens, with no one really knowing the destination, some religions say the dead will go to hell or heaven. Some religions say the dead will be born again and again until they lead a blemishless life and “merge with God”. Who really knows?
All religions uniformly advocate that humans should believe without any doubt or hesitation in the existence of God, wherever He is and whatever He is.
Answering a query as to where God is, some religions say God is within everyone, and one has to reach the God within through prolonged and sustained meditation with total faith. Religions term this as the consciousness to be realised within oneself.
It is further said that the proof of realising God within oneself is experiencing the feeling of Ananda (eternal bliss) that has to be felt to be understood.
Hinduism says that Brahman (God) is neither this nor that but this as well as that. Hinduism further explains that the person experiencing the mental feeling of Ananda will see nothing but Brahman and find a smooth, single-minded path towards realising God within.
Where do all these views leave the thought process of an ordinary and unrealised person like me?
Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi, one of the greatest saints who lived in India in the 20th century, solved the puzzle by asking everyone to introspect on “Who am I?”, which would pave the way to realise the fruitlessness of life, promote mental detachment, and enable one to move towards realising God within oneself.
I started introspection on “Who am I?” and the result is these “stray thoughts”.
N. S. Venkataraman is a trustee with the "Nandini Voice for the Deprived," a not-for-profit organization that aims to highlight the problems of downtrodden and deprived people and support their cause and to promote probity and ethical values in private and public life and to deliberate on socio-economic issues in a dispassionate and objective manner.
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