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once upon a time is a great beginning… it usually sets the premise about a story… the time..the context…the conditions thereof… the reader or listener is willfully ready to travel to the time and place that the story teller is addressing… so easy to believe really! now if we add the word India to the phrase once upon a time … suddenly millions of visuals and sounds come rushing thru the door of my mind and are vying with one another to say that they are the better representation for India… in the midst of all this infighting of thoughts and ideas…i have my own little experience and perspective…the one that unknowingly makes me think the way i do…certainly part of the whole truth..but not the truth as a whole… coz I too have only been a part of a certain time in India… and have access to only the few other times that I have heard about or read …other people’s points of view…
so what is this once upon a time that i have in mind? or rather…what part of time can i speak with authority about? time itself is passing by all the time and we yet its such a constant…
so once upon my time in India brings to mind the tricycle rides with my best friend neighbor in patel nagar in new delhi…i was about 3yrs old…the sultry afternoons with power cuts and no great modernization in recreation yet achieved… we used to sing some popular songs and ride the tricycles till as long as our mothers find us missing from the house…
there was a neem tree on the pavement near the crossing…a few meters from the the porch of our rented house… we had a little verandah where the tricycle-athon would happen in the quiet of the delhi summers….the verandah was a common one which was shared by about 4 sifferent households…in the same complex……
near the neem tree was a cycle shop which rented bigger cycles…the ones we both would ride some day soon…but back then they seemed too dangerous and hard to handle…how cud anyone ride only on two wheels??? seemed so impractical…how bad will the balance become!?…and then people complain about accidents… we were convinced that three wheels are better than two wheels… nevertheless…later on in life we were bound to change our opinion and how!
the neem tree had a look of eternity on it…like its been there from the times of the pandavs or even before…and may just have given them shelter in similar sweltering conditions during their exile…what poise! what a strong appearance it had! In fall the neem tree threw down some seed like fruits…yellow with a soft center… and they were so many that it wud cover the enitre foot path around the tree. As people walked by they cudnt avoid stepping on the seeds that wud make a squishy and irritating sound…i used to hate that sound…really! and sometimes avoided going in that direction for the same reason… the cycle shop was owned by an old gentlman…he seemed to me a very content and calm person…never fretting over anything…he used to breeze threw his days with total control without begrudging anything… he was probably muslim or sikh coz he had a long beard…more white than black and used to have a sort of turban/cap… he wore very dirty and wierd clothes…somtimes his pajamas would be worn so high that his ankles and lower calves cud be seen…sometime he wore a sleeveless sweater too… but the important thing for me and indeed for us is that we both wanted to get friendly with this man…coz our future lay in his hands…very soon when we sud start liking two wheel bikes…he was the only one in the whole of east patel nagar who cud fulfill our dezire… so we both started early enough… we wud just hang around the shop and make polite conversation from time to time… many times just touchand feel the cycles standing there and gettin a high…nothing seemed more exciting than this… and then suddenly my mother wud come searchign for me and find me wasting time in the shop and whisk us boys away… till another time when we wud come back and continue building our future relationship with the cycle shop…and the old shop keeper…
will be back for more…in Once upon a time in India:-))
Hey World,
We are living in a time when the world is going through rapid progress in technology, science and infrastructure. We are experiencing an ever shrinking world. Nothing seems inaccessible and out reach of our modern day lives. Yet a whole lot of people are feeling a sense of vaccum and discomfort. Nothing seems to satisfy the ever increasing urge in our hearts.
Buying is not a proposition anymore, its become a part of our every moment existence. We are constantly buying – thoughts, values, pleasures, articles…tangible or intangible…our pursuit to own is never over. Infact, the desires and craving becomes more and more viscious with every such effort.
So what can be source of all this confusion and dissatifaction? What is the true reason behind our mindless craving and pursuit of happiness in external phenomena, people and objects?
Deeper analysis and thought would probably reveal that its the orientation or rather disorientation of our minds. And yet, the disorientation not the source again. That too is a reflection of something deeper. The cause for this lies in the very core of our lives. Buddhist philosphy reveals that this is rooted in the dillusions that we have within our lives. The dillusions are themselves created over many lifetimes and therefore determine the mental makeup of us individuals. Every individual eternal life has existed over many millions of life-times. Over all these lifetimes we have created causes in the realm of thought, word and action. These thoughts, words and actions have determined the Individual Karma and therefore the resultant destiny of all us individuals. Many people of similar Karma therefore, are experiencing the same kind of suffering and disorientation in their lives and thus, it’s not a coincidence that we all are facing together what can be termed as the Collective Destiny as human beings living on this planet at this moment in time.
The negative Karma we have collected over the many million lifetimes is a result of the causes created by us over these many lifetimes. But why do us human beings create such negative karma? The cause of that too must lie within our lives.
Buddhism has identified this as the Fundamental Darkness existing within all human beings. This fundamental darkness coexists with the Buddha Nature- the Fundamental Goodness. These are two opposing forces which are at work sumultaniously in our lives.
So are Human Beings therefore doomed to live their lives at the mercy of these two- Fundamental Darkness and Buddha Nature? Well many people would agree and therefore lament at the futility of human existence. Buddhism does not agree to this thought. Buddhism proposes and advocates a process called Human Revolution. This is the process of inner transformation which has the ability to correct the course of our lives and lead a happy, healthy and meanigful existence.
Human Revolution means taking responsibility of our lives and actions and developing a strong and pure self that has the power and ability to make the right choices -choices that would fall in the domain of our Fundamental Goodness or Buddha Nature. Simultaniously, it also empowers us to resist the temptations of our fundamental darkness.
This truely is a liberating thought and process that shows humanity the light of hope and the opportunity to lead value creating and fulfilling lives brimming with joy, happiness and satisfaction. Nevertheless, its a painful and tiring battle which requires a constant learning and unlearning in the basic belief system of our lives. But its a battle worth fighting. When we persevere to fight this battle and win…we are bound to live a life free and liberated of any dillusion and suffering.
Three cheers to Human Revolution!
Cheers!
Till Later,
RSK
