Lanepool, the great historian, has famously written that "Humayun (he refers to the Moghul Emperor of India who struggled to survive the wars and defeats and then died falling down a high staircase) tumbled through life and tumbled out of it". That is a sheer poetic expression indeed !
Life is indeed a tumble through TIME. Some have a short journey of a few
years, some travel for a longer period and carry a baggage (pun intended).
some drag on to an almost hundred year to a merciful nirvana.
A question arises here as to what should be a life well lived? Is it the "Riches" that matter most in life or is it the "fame" that makes life worth living or is it a long lifespan PER SE?
Well, it is none of these things.
Is it then the 'quality of life', an expression that has unfotunately acquired a heavy mundane meaning? Not even that.
If riches were the end-all, why would so many of the millionaires the world over be committing suicides? They had everything that money could offer!
And so far as fame is
concerned, it insidiously works like LSD - the 'dose' of fame must keep getting higher and higher to keep away the 'withdrawal symptoms'. It often ends up in ultimate misery through an overdose of it.
There is a timeless jewel of a couplet by Kabir Das, a great sufi-saint of 15th century India. Here it is :
"Go-dhan gaj-dhan baaj-dhan aur rattan-dhan khaan
Jab aaye santosh-dhan, sab dhan dhuri samaan"--
(--The wealth of Cows, Elephants and the likes; of tons and tons of gems,
render themselves meaningless, like dust,
when the treasure-trove of
contentment unveils.)
Happiness is a state of mind and happiness flows from contentment (Santosh). The problem with modern living is that we are chasing goals. We want to be achievers. A mind that is constantly chasing goals is not a mind-at-rest. It is a restless mind. Scientists know this state of mind by
its EEG wave patterns and know how it breeds health-issues.
A different pattern of brain-waves pattern develops when peace and contentment decends. This makes the life well lived. And that should be the goal of life - the ultimate RAISON D'ETRE !!
No comments:
Post a Comment