“ So you think you can tell,
Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain; can
you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A
smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?“
Pink Floyd. Wish you were here
Pink Floyd. Wish you were here
“ You think you are the teacher and find you
are the taught. You think you are the seeker and find you are the sought. Sing
a song of glory and you will be the glory! “ Sufi Choir.
We
all experience the stages of life- birth, childhood, youth, middle age, old age
and , finally, death.
Over
time, we observe ourselves and others whom we know – relatives or friends or
neighbours- progressing through different stages. We attend birthdays , weddings, baby showers,
anniversaries and funerals.
We
experience growing older, and the sadness of a near one drastically transformed by age or illness, or irrevocably ended by death.
Each
of us grapples with our own questions about the meaning and purpose of our
lives, about the ultimate truth, about God, about rebirth and afterlife
or nothingness.
We
are all waylaid by fears and worries about our own future: what will happen to
me in my old age?
Will
I suffer illness and indignity and loss of health/mobility/freedom? Will I lose my mind and my sanity? Who will take care of me when I am helpless
and suffering?
When
and how will I die? What will happen to me after death?
Does
God exist? Is there an afterlife or rebirth?
Does
my existence have any reason or purpose?
Who
is asking all these questions? Who, really, am I ?
We
deal with these and other existential fears and doubts in different ways: by
dismissing them or submerging them in
our sub-conscious, by temporarily forgetting them through activity or addiction , by trying to find the right answers in different ways or by just trying to take
each day as it comes .
No
matter how our life is going at the moment, inside every one of us there is
this underlying dis-satisfaction, this nagging fear of the unknown, this yearning,
however faint, for a lasting joy and peace.
And
so we begin to search for answers…for books or people or teachers that may
guide us, for inspiration , for a miracle.
We
jump through many hoops…but sooner or later we suddenly taste a subtle, secret
joy, catch a brief glimpse of infinity.
This
is how it begins.
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