Saturday, March 27, 2010

Ardh Satya- Half truths of our existence


Existence for human being is all about contradictions. The concept of death doesn't exist till we don't accept life. The moment a person takes birth, the end of his life is termed death. Various contradictions affect the way we connect with the world around us. Some of the prominent ones are

  1. Life Vs Death - two sides of the same coin
  2. Leading a life of Conformity Vs Individualism
  3. Outer loud noises Vs the inner garden ('buy this buy that' of Material life Vs Spiritual life)
  4. What I am personally inclined to do Vs what will help me survive on this planet successfully 
  5. The feeling after having a wonderful meal in a restaurant and the sight of the first hungry child whom one meets on the first traffic junction (Haven't you experienced that?)
  6. The freedom of childhood and the responsibilities expected from adulthood (remember the song -' bachpan ke din bhi kya din the, udte phirte titli ban ke')
  7. What I am Vs How I want others to perceive me as (my vulnerabilities Vs my persona or image) - Tiger Woods got caught in this contradiction
  8. The readings on the all powerful and formless God and the questions on how does he allow injustice to happen unabated? - Should I be an atheist to be on the safe side?
  9. The need to be loved by known and unknown people Vs one's own limitation of feelings towards others beyond family members
  10. The world I live in Vs the world I would love to live in 
  11. The ruthlessness of competition Vs the merit in competition
  12. Leap frogging into modernity Vs clinging to what got changed
  13. And so on.......
There might be other contradictions that one may encounter on a give day like seeing someone injured in an accident and then wondering whether to attend to him or to rush to one's office.

The more I try to be observant about these contradictions, I experience a sense of capacity to take away one's positive energies unless one is clear about one's own perspectives. I also realize that my happiness lies in understanding the limitation of the human self as it tries to grapple in the midst of choices that are thrown up as a result of these dichotomies of life. The other step is to see what best we can do to alleviate the impact of these tensions as they get created by circumstances.  For example the person who finds himself in a strong position can reach out to the needy at times. Be in a profession that suits one's heart and mind. Similarly if I am able to create the small world around me( which I would ideally aspire to see be all pervasive), I feel better and thus manage that contradiction better. Or when one tries to expand one's own horizon of inclusiveness and tries to be more compassionate towards known and unknown people. The need for that behavior from others fades away when one starts assuming that same quality in oneself that one seeks in others. 

Contradictions to me are intrinsically a nature of life (its property) and the biggest one of this contradiction (Life Vs Death) will consume us all one day.The rest of the contradictions that take birth in the light of this biggest contradiction would keep on challenging our wisdom thereby encouraging us to be better and better with each step into complexities of life. 


3 comments:

Ujjwal said...

I am unable to read this comment. Is it in Chinese?

Ankur Chandra said...

very well expressed Ujjwal. Your list of contradictions is quite well thought of. Question is what do we do in wake of all these contradictions? We decide on the basis of our own wisdom and circumstances on case to case basis. isn't it? There doesn't seem to be any set answer.

Ujjwal said...

Thanks Ankur. I think the effort can be to constantly be aware of these contradictions and seek a balanced outlook towards life. But clarity is a must for being satisfied in whichever state we are in.