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दुखिया दास कबीर

 "सुखिया सब संसार है, खायै अरू सोवै। दुखिया दास कबीर है, जागै अरू रोवै".

This is a famous quote from Kabira. Why would such an enlightened soul be sad while the whole world is happy? Why was Duryodhana so certain and happy while Arjuna was so confused that after going to the battlefield, he refused to fight the battle at one point in time. It is quite counterintuitive. 

It's quite interesting to see the replies of the young kids. They are quite sure of almost everything. You ask them, who is their best friend and they would not take even a minute to tell that. We may ask about their favorite food or toy, or whom they love the most, and they would be very quick to tell that. However, as we grow up, it becomes quite difficult to answer these questions. Not only these questions but also any question. It is because in childhood, we have quite limited awareness and within that limited frame of life, we are quite certain of the answers. A few centuries ago almost all the people living on Earth were quite sure that Earth was flat. It is quite easy for people who have a limited frame of life to be "certain" and also not to allow anybody to challenge those beliefs. 

"Confusion" is not easy to handle. Especially the confusion about the purpose of life. What if Duryodhana was confused about his purpose in life? Could he have spent so much time and energy forming conspiracies against Pandavas and snatching their kingdom? If people are confused, would they be able to spend so much time and energy to rise in their organizations or set up their business empires? If we have a linear frame of life, there is no confusion unless that frame is broken. I have seen many people who would appear to be quite "happy" and "certain" in their lives until they suffer some major disaster. Kabira is sad because he sees so many people wasting their lives in a very limited frame of life just like a parent who becomes quite sad looking at his son who has started playing gamble and sitting with criminals. The son is very happy in the company of criminals but the father knows that the day is not far when he will be sad. Even if that day never comes, the father is concerned that his son has wasted his life in shallowness. The son feels that his father is stupid and does not know what fun he is having. 

In fact. I was reading one book "10 to 25" wherein the author Dr David Yeager says that most failures of kidney transplants are noticed in young patients. It is because the immunosuppressants are to be taken mandatorily after the surgery but the young kids find it difficult to take the pills because these pills have side effects. Some of these side effects are unacceptable to the kids because they feel being outcasted from their peer groups. The feeling of being socially outcasted is too difficult for them to bear and they skip the pills for a day or two and that break is sufficient for the body to reject kidneys. When these kids are making the choice of skipping the immunosuppressants, they are quite sure and confident. It is because of their lack of awareness of the alternative frames of life.

Duryodhana is not confused because his awareness of life is so limited. He feels that if get gets the kingdom of Hastinapur, he will be the happiest. He is very confident of his choice and there is no confusion in his mind. Bhishma is very sure of his choice to fight from the side of Kauravas because his frame is confined to his pledge. Karna is very sure of his choice because he feels indebted to Duryodhana and fighting for him is his way to repay the debt. Bhima is very sure of his choice and he just wants to kill Duryodhana and Dushasana to take revenge on Draupadi. It is Arjuna who is confused. He is confused among so many frames of life. Fighting against cousins is not good for the family, fighting against the elders and teachers is against morality, and that too for his self-interest. He can't be that selfish. Bhima is not confused. It is only when we get "confused" about the "certainty" of our existing beliefs and worldview that we get to listen to alternative perspectives. Most people so so driven by their life goals that there is hardly space for alternative thinking. The madness of Bhima and Duryodhana to fight the battle comes with a linear view of life. 

The world is a strange place. We pray for Rama, who left everything at the drop of a hat and taught our kids to compete for the best packages. We pray for Krishna, who never took credit for winning the battle of Kurukshetra, while we tell our kids to project their achievements and even take credit from others. Confusion is too costly in this highly competitive world where people are rated in terms of their bank balances and achievements. It's very difficult to make a stubborn child taste a sweet different from what he is used to having. I feel that we have made "confidence" our winning formula even if that "confidence" is a product of the ignorance of the wideness of life. That's why Kabir is "sad" and the whole world is "happy". "Sad" not by looking at the "happy" or being jealous of others, but because of his compassion for everybody around and looking at the wastage of precious life by them due to their narrowness awareness

 

Comments

Aditya said…
Deep questions of Life are born ...,amazing write up!
January 5, 2025 at 8:36 AM
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