Till Death do us part !

What is a husband? The answer to this question was not known to me ‘then’. At the age of 19, marriage to me was like a fairy tale. There would be a Prince Charming who I would fall in love with and eventually he would ask my hand in marriage. Poooffff!!! that was a dream. Although I am a die-hard romantic, there was no one who would fit the bill coz marriage for me has always been for keeps. So eventually I succumbed to my parent’s decision, leaving everything to destiny.

In the process, I was learning to accept things the way they are. Everything does not happen the way you want it to happen and I went on with the flow. That was my first lesson on this journey. Call it respect towards my parents or succumbing or whatever. It taught me that life is not always, ‘have it my way or the highway’. One must learn to give in and move on with a positive attitude.

All I knew was I am getting ‘married’ and believed in the clichéd …‘and they lived Happily ever after’. Little did I know that as kids all of us have been exposed only to the beginning. What comes next is a surprise which nobody can predict. Whatever happens is destined to happen. The roller coaster ride begins and ends alongwith your partner for life or that’s what every couple believes at the time of marriage….’Till death do us part.!’  Sadly, it does not work that way for many these days.

Well…. I was called 'balika vadhu' (child-bride) by our Daddy (read father-in-law). Just about to turn 20, I was too young to understand the meaning of the term ‘marriage’. Well to be honest… I did not even think about or know what marriage meant. And honestly its not just about me, nobody does. I was barely out of college, I guess I get a benefit of doubt there. Over the years I found that couples who are even a decade or more into marriage, fail to understand the ‘true’ meaning of ‘marriage’ and so I still had a long way to go. I was free to explore and learn the ropes of this relationship through the ups and downs together with my life partner.

Having been brought up in a conservative God-loving family, my values of a ‘marriage’ and a ‘husband’ had already been imbibed into me since childhood seeing my parents, uncles aunts having a ‘perfect marriage’ according to me. Well a perfect marriage is not all hunky dory. They all have their share of highs and lows. But what is important is how they managed to sustain that relationship and make things work together as a couple. Having lived in a joint yet independent family, I grew to love and understand ‘relations’. No matter how independent views a woman had and was vocal about them, the men in that generation commanded that respect and a woman without being like the feminist we see these days had no qualms about showering that respect on her ‘man’. I see it as a gesture of Love and Respect both. 

Now we see women wanting desperately to be called ‘equal’ to men or maybe higher. Women take pleasure in being superior to men and expect husbands to perform their tasks as ‘equals’. At the same time the ‘women’ also expect the husband to attend to her since she is a ‘woman’ and uses her weakness as a woman to suit her needs. Although this will not be accepted by majority of the independent women, the double standards cannot be ignored. The existence of a spouse in our life is looked upon by many with mixed feelings. Now it is more of uncertainty, lack of trust and insecurity which is devoid of love and respect.

The answer to my question about what is a husband was answered over the years of marriage. This experience proved that the clichéd ‘Love at first sight’ is nothing but hogwash and literally a fairy tale which is fictional. To live up to the term ‘We are in Love’ one has to undergo several challenges as a couple and in literal sense ‘Till death do us part’. I learnt several lessons throughout my married life and I am still learning, not willing to give up being a student and working on eliminating the minutest mistake in our relationship. 

So being with a man who happens to be the most understanding, sensible, sensitive, caring, level headed, humble, friendly, loving, forgiving person who truly understands and respects relations, I finally understood how an ideal husband should be. These adjectives are not written only for decoration but this man in my life truly deserves not only this but much more.  A friend, companion, philosopher, guide, protector, lover, having all the above mentioned qualities is a ‘Husband’. This is not just the definition of a husband… it is what I have experienced living with such a person. I believe that such a person can be all of this only when he is a good human being else such a character can only be found in fictional stories.

Despite of the fake relationships and broken marriages that are rampant these days, my belief in the institution of marriages still stands strong.  This 'balika vadhu' is no longer a 'balika'  (child) but a woman with decades of life's experiences behind her having being exposed to a number of people and their relationships. I have discovered the key ingredients to any healthy relationship is love, compassion, understanding and respect. The rest automatically follows. Two strangers not related by blood choose to live together until ‘death do us part’. It is such a pious relation if one believes that relationships are forever. Over the years I have realized that although getting married to your best friend is happiness, but finding your best friend in your husband is a Blessing for Life!

God Loving or God fearing?

 "I walk barefooted to Siddhi Vinayak every Tuesday." "Every quarter I make it a point to visit Shirdi."  I'm sure all of you must have come across these devotees. I have for sure and then my mind goes ticking on a different tangent altogether. I am definitely not an atheist. I believe in the Almighty and have immense faith in him however I have my own beliefs. As they say to each his own but certain things do not escape my eye and as I am known to express myself ruthlessly, I could not help but think ... are these devotees God Loving or God Fearing? 

A plethora of thoughts came gushing as I thought to myself that will merely visiting temples or performing all sorts of 'pujas' qualify a person to be pious? Is such a person freed off all his sins? Is this done out of Love or Fear of the unknown? Do they earn brownie points merely by performing these activities to appease the Lord?

Then what about a person who does not visit temples or perform puja everyday however he has been performing his duties as a good human being? He has perhaps helped a stranger in the day or put a smile on someone's sad face, reached across to a friend who was depressed or attended to his parents, fed a starving dog or maybe visited his grandparents only to make them happy. However he has not worshiped any idol throughout the day. Does that mean he loves God any less? Will he be called the sinner for not having idol worshipped the Lord? 

At times I wonder if God himself would prefer a devotee who merely idol worships him or serves the community being a true humanitarian? 

Unfortunately most of the people who pray to the Lord have something to ask from him. Haven't known anybody who remembers the Lord purely out of Love. Would like to know someone who remembers God with no ulterior motive. However as there are exceptions to every rule, I admit there are pure hearted people out there who not only idol worship but also perform their duties as a good human being. They look for no selfish gains before paying obeisance to the Lord and they could be truly called God Loving. 

Whereas the other lot approach the Lord only out of fear. Fear that if they do not pray to him, they will face problems in life besides having a vested interest for pleasing the Lord for material gains. These people think that if they do not do certain things, God will get furious with them and he will not bless them with what they want from him.

I have observed some people performing puja daily, chanting the Lords name, reading holy scriptures however the same is only mechanical as their thoughts are elsewhere. They do all these things only to safegaurd their interest. However at that moment they could be looking out of the window at the fight happening across the street or their ears might be paying attention to a one sided conversation over a phone chat happening in the room. Once they are done with their so-called service to God, the next moment they could be back bitting someone, spreading gossip and rumours about whats happening in someone else's house, talking ill about someone with malice, jealousy, etc. So does their mechanical service to idol worship serve any good? 

Another thought that came across my mind was that would God himself prefer a devotee who loves him or the one who fears him? Even we humans for that matter would prefer someone doing something for us out of love rather than fear or some vested interest, wouldn't we? If an act is performed only to escape the wrath of the other or with a selfish intention, wouldn't it nullify the feeling of Love?

I have even come across someone performing the 'puja' everyday but at the same time serving stale leftovers to their house maid. I believe that if we cannot eat leftovers as they would not be good for our health, then how can anybody take a risk with someone else's life? Would that be considered loving 'God'?  I would say they dont even fear God coz if they would fear God they would not commit such an act with the fear that they will be punished for their wrong doings. 

We all know that God exists in every Human Being and so does the Demon. When evil prevails the goodness in person, the Demon wins and the person engages in demonic behavior and activities. Similarly when Goodness prevails and wins over the evil, the person becomes pious and angelic. However an amount of evil still exists in even pious people, else we would have become saints but we are not and hence unable to attain 'moksh'. 

A God Loving person believes that God exists in every human being and every good deed performed by him towards another living being is a service to God himself. He sees God in every living being and his every action is made with love for God and is attributed to the Lord. 

How many of them are really 'one' with the Almighty while chanting his name a thousand times? Is their mind and heart pure at that time with no malice, greed, ego, jealousy, anger, hatred towards another living being? However one does not realize that these feelings do not help them in reaching to the Lord.The name of the Almighty cannot be chanted with an unclean heart.  

On the other hand, a person who might not be performing the daily puja but has compassion towards other living beings, goes out of his way to help others, is not self centered and could be perhaps taking the Lord's name just once a day but with a clean heart and pure soul is bound to reach the Almighty. 

The presence of God in our day to day activities is as necessary as the breath we take and that can be achieved by performing all tasks selflessly and attributing it to the Lord and believing in Goodness towards another living soul which will in turn be our obeisance to God purely out of Love and not Fear.  

 

Need or Want ?

What is it that humans really 'need' for a living? Well, our basic school education usually mentions food, clothing and shelter to be our basic 'needs' for survival and truly; life would be so much simpler if we stuck to that.  However there is one very important factor without which even these basic needs cannot be met with. 'MONEY'!!! 

Thats where the entire equation changes. Even before we realize it, the mighty 'M' converts the NEEDS to WANTS. The basic needs that we strive to provide for our family soon extends to necessities and further to luxuries and thereafter there is no turning back. 

A young couple usually considers these three things before giving birth to their child, whether they can provide food, clothing and shelter to their new born child. A new born is sublimely happy feeding off its mother's milk, being sheltered in her arms and clothed with her love and care. Thats momentary though coz once the child grows up and is exposed to the ugly side of this materialistic world, everything changes. The parents 'feel the need' to provide the best for their child and unknowingly enter the 'trap' by 'wanting' the best for the child forgetting what it is that the child ' really needs'. 

The needs are gradually converted to wants and before the parents realize it, they start sacrificing the 'needs' of the child by exposing the child to materialistic things making it look like the child 'NEEDS' it. The child is soon deprived of the time, attention and love from the parents who are too busy fulfilling their increasing 'wants' with the thought that these 'wants' will make them 'happy' not realizing that in this bargain they have already lost a lot.

The struggle to earn more and more money to provide the best for the family pulls us all into this rat race and it becomes a never ending game. However one does not realize the damage it causes. Our wants increase and we dont even realize what is at stake. If I have to mention the stakes here, many might disagree and may have a different point of view however for me there are severe  'cons' to these 'wants'. We lose out on not one by many important factors, that is 'TIME', 'RELATIONS', 'HEALTH', 'PEACE' and eventually .... 'LIFE'!!! 

Most of us dont even realize that anything is at stake till its too late. Money plays such an important role in our lives that we strife all through our lives only to earn money making it the most important factor in our life. I have been witnessing chats on whatsapp groups discussing stocks and business talks only to earn more and more money. Is that all thats left in our lives? MONEY TALK? Friendships are built for material gains and relations sustain only where one is benefitted by monetary or material gains. 

Where have the emotions gone? Isn't there any compassion left amongst humans? Isn't there any other discussion besides talking about money? I will not say money is not necessary. It most definitely is. However we all need a reality check of our life where one needs to understand and identify the difference between 'WANTS' and 'NEEDS'. Although I agree how much one wants and needs is a relative concept, the wants are always seen to been superseding the needs and the one who would disagree with this will always have a strong reason for an argument. 

One might be having a comfortable lifestyle however his greed for wanting more never ceases. For eg. owning an average car could be a necessity however the 'want' of a high end car like probably a Mercedes, BMW or an Audi is a greed for wanting more. One shelter is never sufficient and the 'want' for more and more properties or assets is always the greed with the excuse for creating a security for the future. However one fails to understand that what goes into creating that security is always at a cost. For that, one is willing to compromise and sacrifice quality time with their family and friends, get their health affected by putting in extra hours at work, destroying their peace of mind and in general seeing to it that they make that extra million. What for??? 

The problem that we humans face is that we are never 'satisfied' and always in need of more not knowing or understanding if we really 'NEED' it or no. The greed of wanting more never ceases and the vicious circle continues, thereby sacrificing ones quality of Life. 

However we fail to understand that one day we all have to leave everything behind and exit from this world without taking any of the worldly belongings with us. All the money and the material luxuries bought by us in this lifetime by sacrificing the 'ULTIMATE HAPPINESS' will all be left behind in this material world. So do we really need to sacrifice our 'true happiness' and run behind these worldly possessions knowing that its all going to go away from us? It will all vanish ... in one ppoofff !!! 

However there is one thing which we can take away with us and which will help us in our next birth. Thats our 'KARMA'!!! A good deed always comes back. Be a good Human, do good to all!!! It never fails! This is one investment that goes with us and is returned to us with interest. 

Many have this misconception that merely by not consuming non veg in their lifetime or abstaining from alcohol, gambling or EMA, entitles them to be a GOOD HUMAN!!! However  they fail to admit thats not enough. The only reason for their reluctance to admit this is that they are extremely selfish and self-centered people who cannot think about anybody but themselves. It is not easy for them to think beyond themselves and be selfless. 

A Good Human needs to have compassion towards all not just animals whom they refrain from eating. A vegetarian might want to prove that he is compassionate by not eating animals however he will not care about hurting the feelings of another human being. Would that lack of compassion not count? The hurt caused to the soul is far more grievous than that caused to the body. The equation changes when a good deed is not extended to all living creatures equally.   

The investment of a Good deed yields the highest returns as this investment is carried forward in our next birth.  All we need to take with us are good deeds that make us into better humans in our next birth. Our 'Karma' is what will give us happiness till we are freed of this vicious circle of life and death and merge with the Almighty forever. However, while struggling to make ourselves superficially happy by fulfilling our 'wants' we forget the real necessities required to make our life better, thats Love, Compassion and Care towards other beings. Thats all we need.... To be a Better Human!!! 

Why do we wait???

Why do we wait??? 

Does it take a 'death' to express our feelings? Don't we take people for granted? We don't know how far we are from our last breath. Neither do we know if the person across is going to be alive the next second. Death comes unannounced and sweeps us off our feet. 

Every death of a near and dear one makes me want to remind everybody that Life is too short. There is no point withholding your feelings to yourself. I believe in expressing myself and have been conveying my feelings to the ones who matter to me either by words or deeds. However there are a whole lot of people out there who regret for not having expressed their feelings to the ones who matter and before they know, they have lost them forever.

Over the years we live under this suspense of do we really matter to someone or no? Are we that important in anybody's life that we will be missed once we are gone? All the doubts  and uncertainties leading to  suspicions and misunderstandings. Wouldn't they just vanish if we just talk it out and express ourselves with the faith in our relationship that we will not be misunderstood? 

The bottom line is faith and trust in the relationship. If the relation matters to you then the risk is worth taking if one is skeptical of expressing and letting their hearts out. 

If we don't have the heart to say good things to a person while he/ahe is alive then there is no point expressing grief on their death bed.

The realization that hits thereafter is heart wrenching. Memories with the lost one resurface and then surges the desire to express the loss. However the one who would have loved to know what he/she meant to you will never know as its too late to express. The only ones who get to hear your feelings are the ones to whom it does not matter.

So is it worth waiting? Why do we wait to express our feelings to the ones who matter? That's something I've yet not understood. 

If a person matters to you go right ahead and express your feelings towards that person coz life is unpredictable. Nobody can assure that they are going to be there the next moment. You wouldn't want to regret to express yourself while the person was alive right? 

 

Is  it worth not expressing at the right time? So what are you waiting for?

Change is the only Constant !

When we talk about ‘change’ how often do we actually incorporate that change in our lives and accept that ‘change’ gracefully? With each passing day we follow our regular routine and a pleasant change in our lives is brought about by special days which we all celebrate in jubilation. It is a change and a welcome change from our mundane lives. Be it Birthdays, Anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Diwali, Dasera or even the New Year. The mobile companies make sky rocketing business during these so-called ‘special’ days. However, do these days make any ‘change’ as such in our lives?  Or let me put it this way, do we make efforts to bring about a change in our life following such special days? There have been many who do not accept such changes however they fail to understand that, “He who rejects change is the architect of decay.” 

For instance a Birthday is celebrated as a party and the joy of living through another year and entering the next year. Does the ‘special’ day bring about any significant change in us besides the physical attributes? Do we introspect and make efforts in bringing about a positive change in our behavior or any shortfalls that one possesses? Or do we like to believe that we are ‘God’s man’ who does not need a change? Wouldn’t we become better human beings if we were to bring about that ‘change’ in ourselves? As rightly said by Pauline R. Kezer, “Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”

Although it may sound clichéd at times but don’t we all love the euphoria connected to those words? Happy Birthday… Happy Anniversary… Happy Diwali … blah blah … and now Happy New Year!!! At times I wonder if some people actually understand the wishes that they pass on when they wish someone. Many a times, it seems as though forwarded wishes are sent without even reading the message that is being forwarded. 

These are joyous days for sure if the wishes are really meant in the true sense and not just in the form of forwarded messages sent as a formality. When we mean Happy New Year it is meant to pass on good wishes and moreover ‘grow’ as a human being by bringing about a ‘change’ in oneself as a person in the forthcoming year. With the passage of each year, a resolution is made by many eventually to be broken, however it shows one positive sign that the person realizes the mistakes he/she has been committing so far and intends to rectify it in the coming year. The positive note being: the sense of ‘self-realization’. 

How many of us introspect and take efforts to mend ourselves? New Year is only looked upon as ‘party time’ by all of us. Gathering around with friends or family to have a joyful time to welcome the New Year, but isn’t the party just like any other party we usually have? All that changes is the yearly calendar. People remain the same; their sentiments and their behavior towards everyone also remain the same. Then what is so special about bringing in the New Year with such an extravaganza when nothing changes? Is such a celebration only meant for the yearly calendar? Such high regards for a mere change in calendar which shows the upcoming long weekends to party harder?

Have we even paused to look at our lives? Every day teaches us something new. We meet different people who treat us differently. Some with love, care, compassion, some with hatred, some with curiosity, and some with envy, so on and so forth. The same goes for the existing people in our life. As we enter a new year, besides getting over a hangover why don’t we try to cleanse our conscious to be a better human being in future? The New year morning is spent by all forwarding ‘Happy New Year’ messages to all on their phone list but are we willing to ‘change’ our behavior and actually be instrumental in making that year ‘Happy’ for the person we just wished? 

It is sad to note that mandatory wishes which have only remained as words sans any emotions are doing the rounds in all the mobile phones and social networking sites. Whether one has any feelings towards the other or not, what does it take to type three words as text or better still a forwarded message which does the trick of fulfilling a formality?

Happy New Year! Mean it from the heart and it really conveys such heartfelt emotions which I have been fortunate to experience from many who conveyed their good wishes to me on the first day of this wonderful year. The emotions are conveyed through sound, through communication which has lost its value with the ‘change’ brought about by technology. Well, that is contradictory to the ‘change’ I am talking about as I am looking towards a positive ‘change’ in our lives and not something that would ruin the existing warmth of relations which can be effectively communicated through direct speech. 

Looks like the use of technology is to safeguard oneself and avoid direct communication so that the true feelings are kept under wraps. A message sent with a smiley or a winky plays safe even if one does not intend to smile. Similarly a Happy …. , Happy… message is easily sent across even if one does not wish happiness for the other. Wishing someone a good year means that you really wish the New Year brings in good luck and happiness to the one you wish. However if we are not willing to ‘change’ our own behavior towards that person and continue to harbor ill-feelings towards the other person be it in the form of hatred, despise, jealousy, anger or even EGO, does the word ‘HAPPY’ in your wishes mean anything at all?

The New Year needs to be welcomed with a ‘change’ and that too with a positive change in every form. Be it in the form of progress of the world, the nation, or even in the progress of ‘oneself’. This special day ought to be celebrated with all the pomp and jubilation to commemorate the upcoming ‘change’ which we are to bring about by self-realization. What better way to celebrate the new ‘you’ by leaving behind the negativities of oneself and ‘changing’ yourself to spread happiness. However one needs to have a big heart to acknowledge the fact that one needs that ‘change’ else this ritual of wishing each other, “Happy … , Happy …” is going to be limited only to words which do not mean anything. 

Let us begin the New Year by bringing about a ‘change’ in ourselves and see ourselves grow as a good human being as we change the pages of our calendar and be responsible in making a ‘positive change’ in the lives of our family and friends as we wish each other a Happy New Year next year. 

 

जगबुडी - अखेर २४ तास !!!

 

मनुष्याचा पापाचा घडा भरलाय आणि अंत आता फार लांब नाही. एखाद्या सुंदर घराला वाळवी लागल्या प्रमाणे मनुष्य जातीने ह्या सुंदर पृथ्वीचा नाश केला आहे. हि जग बुडी पहिली न्हावे. ह्या आधी सुद्धा जगबुडी घड्ली ज्यात सर्वच नाश झाला आणि पृथ्वीवर घडवलेले सर्व शोध आणि त्या मागची तर्क नष्ट झाले आणि मनुष्याला पुन्हा नव्याने सुरुवात करावी लागली. रामाच्या काळात सुद्धा विमान होते. त्या नंतर महाभारताच्या काळात 'live telecast' T.V. वर पाहून संजय धृतराष्ट्राला युद्धाचे हाल कळवत असे. युद्धात atom  bomb  वापरले गेले होते. त्या सुमारास जी कलियुगाला सुरुवात झली, त्या युद्धा नंतर एक प्रकारची जग्बुदीच झली. सर्व शोधांचा नाश झाला आणि मनुष्याला पुन्हा सुरुवाती पासून शोध सुरु करावा लागला. हे एक चक्र आहे कारण आपले भोग आपल्याला ह्या जन्ममृत्यू खेळातून कधीच सोडणार नाही. जिथे मृत्यू तिथे जन्म. अंत हा शब्दच मुळात चुकीचा आहे कारण कोणत्याही अभौतिक गोष्टीला अंत नाही. अंत होतो तो केवळ भौतिक सुखाचा. आत्म्याला मरण नाही त्यामुळे जो पर्यंत आत्मा जिवंत आहे ह्या जगाला मरण नाही.    एक पर्व संपून दुसर्या पर्वाची सुरुवात आपण आनंदाने स्वीकारू कारण कोणत्याही नवीन गोष्टीचे स्वागत हे व्हायलाच हवं नाही का? जगबुडी हि होणारच पण आपुन आपले आयुष्य हवं तसं जगण्यासाठी त्या शेवटच्या दिवसाची का वाट पहावी? आजचा दिवस आपला, उद्याचा दिवस कोणी पाहिलाय? ह्या क्षणासाठी जगावे पुढला क्षण तरी कोणी पाहिलाय??? आज आपण प्रत्येक माणूस केवळ धावताना पाहतो. स्वतःसाठी जगताना पाहतो. मुलाचा जन्म होतो, परंतु जन्मदात्यानकडे त्या बाळाला वेळ द्यायला वेळ नाही, नोकरीत वरची पायरी गाठायची असेल तर हे बलिदान फारच शूलक . शेवटी  प्रत्येकाचा अग्रमान म्हणजे आपल्या परिवाराचे भवितव्य. परंतु ह्या खेळात आपण काही गमावत आहोत का??     वेळ हा कोणाच्याही सत्तेत नसतो उलट मनुष्य हा 'वेळेच्या' मुठीत आहे. मुल जेव्हा लहान असतं त्याला आपल्या आई वडिलांच्या सोबतीची गरज असते परंतु कार्कीर्दाच्या चक्रात अडकलेला माणूस कितीही हवं असून सुद्धा आपला वेळ आपल्या मुलांना देऊ शकत नाही. ह्या गोष्टीची अतिशय खंत होते हि वेळ निघून जाते आहे हे आपल्या लक्षातही येत नाही. आज इच्छा असते कोणाला भेटावं ते उद्यावर ढकलू नये कारण 'क्या पता कल हो न हो'.   बरीच लोकं उपवास ठेवतात. आज एकादशी, उद्या संकष्टी, परवा हे... तेरवा ते... कोणाचाही अनादर न करता एक उपरोधि विचार मनात आला. उपवास का करावा? किव्हा लोकं उपवास का करतात? देवाला प्रसन्ना करायला? आपल्या पापाचे प्रायश्चीत करायला कि एक दिवस आल्या पोटाला आराम देऊन आपले शरीर स्वच्छ करायला? तिसरे कारण पटण्यासारखे आहे परंतु आधी दोन करणं न पटणारी आहेत. उपवासाच्या दिवशी इच्छा झालीच काही खाण्याची तर इच्छा मारून उपवास केला तर काय पुण्या कमावले  जाते का? दूसर्या दिवशी जगबुडी होणार आहे हे काळ्यावर सुद्धा लोक उपावास करतीलच का?? मनसोक्त जगायची इच्छा होणार नाही का? कि लोक घाबरूनच जेवण सोडतील?    आजचा मरण उद्यावर ढकलण्याची जी सवय आपल्या प्रत्येकाच्या रक्तात भिनली आहे ती दिसून आली. संत कबीराचा दोहा आपल्याला माहिती असून सुद्धा कोणी ते शब्द अमलात आणत का ? “काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब, पल में परलय होएगी बहुरी करोगे कब !” संत कबिरांच्या शब्दांचे भाषांतर केले कि ते म्हणतात, " उद्याचे काम आज करावे आणि आजचे आता. आजचा क्षण जर गमावला तर काम कसे होईल? माणसाच्या ह्याच प्रवृत्तीमुळे कोणतेच काम वेळेत होत नाही आणि वेळेचे महत्व आणि किंमत आपल्याला जाणवत नाही. करोडच्या व्यापाराचा सौदा करताना एका व्यापाराला त्या क्षणाचे महत्व कळते, शेयर मार्केट मध्ये पुंजी धारकाला क्षणाचे महत्व कळते परंतु त्याच व्यक्तींना अशा ठिकाणी आपला वेळ घालवता येईल जिथे त्यांना कसलाही पैसेविषयक लाभ नाही??? एका बाजूला करोडचा लाभ आणि दूसर्या बाजूला आपल्या परिवार आणि हितचिंतक बरोबर घालवलेल्या वेळेशी तुलना. किती लोक त्या करोडच्या फायद्याला नकार देऊन आपल्या मित्र परिवारा बरोबर आपल्या वेळ घालवणे पसंत करतील??    हा लेख लिहिताना मी आज स्वतः माझ्या ह्या पृथ्वीतलावरच्या शेवटच्या दीवसाचे क्षणचित्र डोळ्या समोर पहाते आहे. फारच आनंदाचा दिवस असेल तो. काय करू आणि काय नाही असा विचार मनात नाही येणार कारण शक्यतोवर मी माझं आयुष्य ह्या क्षणासाठीच जगते. उद्याचे मला माहित नाही, आज मी जिवंत आहे त्यामुळे हि वेळ माझ्या जवळच्या व्यक्तींबरोबर घालवणे पसंत करते. पूर्ण आयुष्याचा आनंदा त्या एका क्षणात उपभोगते. जी व्यक्ती आवडते त्या व्यक्ती बरोबर वेळ घालवते, मग ते प्रत्यक्ष भेटून असो किंव्हा इतर माध्यमातून. माझा नवरा, माझी मुलं, माझा परिवार, माझे हातावर मोजण्या एवडे मित्रमैत्रिणी आणि माझे हितचिंतक हा माझा छोटासा परिवार जो माझ्या बरोबर सतत असतोच. त्यामुळे नवीन असा काही नाही पण आयुष्याचा शेवटचा दिवस मी माझ्या ह्या छोट्याश्या परिवाराला घेऊन एकत्र घालवणं पसंत करीन आणि आपले पूर्ण आयुष्य त्या शेवटच्या २४ तासात उपभोगीन.

 

 

Reincarnation – A Reality, Science or Myth ???

Reincarnation – A Reality, Science or Myth ???

Have you ever wondered why we come across only a few specific people in our life out of the millions across the world? Why do some people repel us at the first introduction itself while some make us feel as though we have known each other for years? Despite being related to each other by birth why is there a distance and difficulty maintaining that relationship while at times a stranger would mean much more to you and stand by you through all the upheavals in your life. Haven’t we all at some point of our life wondered as to why good things happen to bad people and vice versa? 

This plethora of thoughts have been crossing my mind for years together following the experiences, circumstances, situations and challenges life has thrown at me. However, the confusion has now been put to rest with all the pieces of this giant jigsaw puzzle having found its pieces in the right place and order from the most trustworthy and valid source of information, the ‘Bhagvad Gita’ as told by Shri Krishna himself. It was a blessing indeed with the opportunity given by my closest friend, philosopher and guide who incidentally turned out to be the ‘medium’ Krishna chose, to enlighten me and provide the answers to all my queries.

Some might call Reincarnation a superstition; some might find it a subject worth discussing to the extent of it being just a supernatural entertainment or a paranormal activity. Some might even just ignore it thinking this to be a crazy thought unworthy of being considered. There is a deep fear down within them of the ‘unknown’ and as long as the unknown is not known to them, ‘Ignorance is bliss’. Most of us would prefer to stay away from discussing this subject ‘coz we are certain that there is certain revelation that life has to offer which we are not prepared to accept. We are worried that these revelations would make us feel responsible for every action that we take and every word that we speak. Life would be restricted, and it is a normal human tendency that we do not like to be curbed or told what to do and what not to do. Hence, we prefer not to delve too much into the unknown and stay away from it by terming the truth to be ‘superstition’.

            Who am I? Who is God? What is our relationship with the power we call God? What is Life? Once we know the answers to these questions, we know exactly how we are expected to live our life and all the mysteries of the term ‘life’ are resolved instantly. Every single human being we meet in our day-to-day life is associated with us transcendentally and our association with these human beings, whether you would like to believe it or not is actually a result of our past ‘karmas’. Why else do we have to face good reactions and bad reactions from the people surrounding us? We might not be doing any harm to others however we become victims to their feeling of wrath, jealousy, contempt etc. towards us. If this thought has worried us for years, all that we need to realize is that this is the result of our past ‘karmas’ and the scores are merely being settled now and shall continue to do so in our future lives as well.

            Have you ever wondered what happens after death? Where do we go? Our body which is a mixture of earth, water, fire, air and ether mergers with the nature however what happens to our mind, intelligence and ego which adds to make the human being that we are. The force that makes our mind to act in a particular fashion and think in a particular manner leaves this body which perishes in this life, but it eventually attaches itself to another form of life. However, we do not remember what has transpired in our previous lives and hence most of us refuse to believe in reincarnation. If we were to remember all that has taken place in our previous births', life would be so confusing. We have not been able to resolve the mysteries of this life, how are we supposed to deal with the complexities of the earlier life if we were to know what had transpired then?

It is so difficult to maintain our present relations with the people around us what would happen if we were to remember all our relations from the previous births as well? Life would be chaotic. God has therefore been kind enough to let us forget the past and live in the present however whatever we have sown in our previous births shall be borne by us in our future births as well. Although we give up the body, the soul transmigrates to another living entity which is given to us by the virtue of our karmas. The kind of body our soul gets in the next life depends on what the soul is entitled for. For all the good that we do our good karmas are accounted for and vice versa. However our life is not a balance sheet where the bad can be balanced against our good actions. We will have to bear the fruits for our bad actions and we shall also bear the fruits of our good actions as our every word spoken and our every action taken has been accounted for and ultimately every birth that we shall take in future is the result of the good and bad actions that we have done in our past life.

When people scowl at the mention of the word ‘reincarnation’ associating it to ‘superstition’ and scorn any kind of discussion on this subject alleging it to be in support of ‘Superstition’, I wonder if they have any valid answer to the queries like ‘What happens to us after death?’ Do they even realize that we are not the body, we are the soul? What explanation would they give if they were to answer whether they believe that they have a soul is what I would like to know. Do they feel that we are the body and not the soul? If we are just the body then after we die why do we say that the person is no more when the body is very much before our eyes? So is reincarnation a reality or a myth???

When people show disbelief in reincarnation or rebirth it means that there is no soul, and the body is driven automatically. Has one ever thought what makes the heart tick or what makes the mind think? Even a pacemaker gives up working after a point of time. The fact is that our body is not immortal, but our soul is, until it is reunited with the super soul. When we say we are the soul then the soul must be going somewhere. It needs to occupy a body which could be in any form. There are numerous species of living entities in the form of plants, insects, birds, animals and human beings. Being born as a human being itself brings us closer to the realization of Life and the supreme power of God since we are the only race to have the ‘power to think’ by the grace of God. A soul transmigrates from these body forms with respect to the ‘karmas’ performed by that particular soul. Our next birth depends upon the ‘karmas’ performed by us in our present birth and our interaction with other living entities also is in proportionate to our ‘karmas’. However, how our good and bad deeds are calculated is the most complex calculation which can never be understood by mortals like us.

What we get out of life and whom we meet in our life is a master plan conceptualized and designed by the Almighty we call ‘GOD’ or the Superpower to some who would not like to term the power as God. No matter how atheist a person is, he would surely believe deep in his heart that there are some powers which rules over us and would probably believe in scientific explanations provided through research done by renowned scientist Dr. Ian Stevenson, a medical doctor who is the former head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and now is Director of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia. Dr. Stevenson has done rigorous scientific study to explain the existence of reincarnation. Through various cases that he has studied throughout the world, Dr. Stevenson has explained to the world the validity of this extensive study of reincarnation. There are things which happen beyond our control, certain situations suddenly arise without any explanation. What one needs to understand is that there is a difference between philosophical views and superstition. Now reincarnation has been finally realized by the scientific community and the world has accepted it to be the world’s greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

When we talk about reincarnation, the study also involves studies related to our past life experiences. It has been proved time and again that past life regressions are evidence of reincarnation. There have been cases where the story of a past life told through the eyes of a person regressed could be and were actually verified that the people whom these people under hypnosis claimed to be or had been. Those people had really existed in the past. This study is conducted on children who are able to recall in great detail the events, location, relations, and also speak the language in their past birth fluently when in their present life they are not remotely connected to what they have regressed.

The soul occupies a body at birth, lives its life by the virtue of its ‘karma’ and when the ‘karma’ of that life is over, goes to occupy another body which in turn will be a result of the past ‘karma’ of the previous body. Thus, we living entities have entangled ourselves in the continuous process of life and death till we are able to attain ‘moksha’ which is a near to impossible task in this era of ‘kaliyug’. Although one might go onto the path of goodness to attain liberalization by being good to others, we will still be bound by our good karmas if not bad which will cause impediments on our path to ‘moksha’. This is the most difficult aspect however we can atleast improve our life by being conscious of what we speak and what we do since our acts in our present birth shall be reflecting in our future births for sure.

We commit wrongs since we are unaware of our future. We do not think of the consequences we would be facing when we commit a wrong. This happens because we are presently reveling in the fruits of our good karma which has empowered us to such a position where we can do whatever we can and not fear the consequences. Although we can escape punishment in this birth are we sure that our actions are not accounted for? Even scientifically it has been proven that every action has a reaction. We shall all be bearing the fruits of every action that we take, if not in this birth, maybe in the next. So although most of us would believe Reincarnation to be a myth, maybe you would want to look at it as a science if not a reality and change your perception of life and upgrade yourself to a better position to enable your soul to get freed from this cycle of birth and death.