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"Action", "Cut", and the "Shooting" of life

We can watch many great movies where the best actors have played villains. Based on the script's demands, the director decides who will play a hero or villain. The hero and the villain fight when the director announces action and appear to be the biggest enemies and as soon as the director announces cut, they become the best of the friends. It is because they remember that the role they are playing in the movie is just a role and off screen they are different than the role they are playing.

If the actors lose awareness of the fact that they are just playing the role of hero and villain in the movie, they may kill each other while shooting. Is that is what happening in this world? Has the director created this grand illusion of death that nobody can see through? Is death tantamount to that "cut" and birth like that "action" between birth and death the entire movie is shot where the hero and villain have both lost awareness of the fact that they are just actors? Is that loss of awareness the reason that the heroes, as well as the villains, are so engrossed with their roles? Is that the reason for brutality, greed, jealousy, and other different types of negative emotions in this world? Is that the reason that the ones who can actually see reality perform their roles elegantly?

But if that awareness is there why would somebody play the role of villain? If there is nobody to play the role of a villain, how will the movie be interesting? Is that the precise reason that all of us are blinded to the reality behind the "cut" announced by the director? In fact. nobody knows when that "cut" will be announced and we are busy playing the role assigned to us. We do not have any control over the families we are born in. We do not have any control over the type of people we meet in our lives. Situations take turns and we just flow with them. While in 10th standard, I was sure that I would become a doctor, then I decided to become an engineer when I took PCM in 12th and then suddenly I decided to become CA and after CA all of a sudden, I decided to write civil services examination and today I am working as a civil servant. I can own up to my role today, but who knows that tomorrow, I get some inspiration and start doing something else. 

Can somebody play the role of a villain with awareness? I feel that heroes and villains are products of different scripts. The hero of one community may be the biggest villain of the other community. I am sure that Alexender must have been a hero for his community while he was a villain for India because he came to attack India. Russian soldiers will be heroes in Russia while villains in Ukraine. Duryodhana was a gero for Karna. It is probably "limited awareness" of the reality that turns people into villains. Had Duryodhana been aware of that "cut" by the director, he would not have lived with such a limited frame of life. Had Ravana been aware of the "cut", he would have welcomed Rama and prayed to Him. People in the present-day world are so obsessed with their "identities" and if they become aware of the "cut" probably all these fixations will disappear. 

Why would a person who understands the meaning of life and death fight over money, powers, and respect? Why would he run after likes on Facebook? Why would somebody remain inside the well when he experiences the open sky? The fights inside the well for some territory, wealth, or comforts inside the well will no longer be attractive to such aware souls. Why would he like to stick to any identity, be it religion, nation, or community? But fear is really hard-coded and unless such realization of awareness is complete, there will always be two movements: Fear, driven by a strong attachment will the body and other identities we have formed over our lives, and Faith that something exists beyond that "action" and "cut" announced by the director and as we imbibe that "faith" in our lives, nature reveals its secrets to us and "fear" reduces slowly and gradually. However, the past habit pattern takes time to disappear completely and till that time fear keeps coming back in one or the other form till complete awareness of reality is there. 



Comments

Aditya said…
Excellent....write-up!
January 14, 2025 at 9:42 PM
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