Why is there such a mass scale suffering in this world? Why are so many suffering from mental diseases? Why do so many of us need to visit a Psychiatrist? Why do almost all of us have so much stress in our lives? Why even our children are suffering from constant stress and fear of failure? I feel that there is some fundamental mistake in our understanding of the meaning of life, and that fundamental mistake is quite widespread, and that's why we, as a humanity, are not able to understand that, and generation after generation are suffering as a result of that fundamental mistake.
Rejection is one of the most commonly used defences to hide our mistakes. Ravan saw each and every member of his family, including his son and brothers, dying before his eyes due to his adamancy, and yet he would reject everything and keep fighting the battle against Rama. Duryodhana also literally forced every member of his family to fight the battle of Kurukshetra, and his elders and brothers died in that war. He saw each and every member of his family dying one after the other, and yet he would reject every such instance. We all see our grandparents and parents dying before our eyes, and yet reject death till it actually approaches us. We all know how temporary power is just by watching around. People who used to rule the world some time back are no longer alive. We have seen enough rich people becoming insolvent. Yet, we reject the truth about the temporariness of material possessions. All of us have seen the futility of relationships and networks at the time of COVID-19, and yet we reject the truth about the meaninglessness of networks.
We all have seen how our belief systems have undergone significant changes. A few centuries ago, almost all human beings believed that the Earth was flat, while today, even a student of the 1st Standard can tell with certainty that the Earth is spherical. Our concepts about witches, ghosts, and devils have undergone significant changes over the past centuries with the advancement of science. Yet we reject the truth that all the belief systems are just beliefs and may or may not be true. We reject an enquiry into our belief systems. In fact, if anybody tries to challenge our belief system, we not only reject the same, but sometimes we become quite aggressive and attack such people.
We all know how fragile our "self-images" are. People did not leave, even Sita. The same Sita, who did not think twice about leaving the comforts of the palace to follow the footsteps of her husband, Rama, who decided to go to the forest to honor the words of his father, and who did not give a damn to all the wealth and powers offered by Ravana on a platter, was suspected by the people of Ayodhya of a foul character. People did not think twice about calling even Krishna "ranchor", a person who runs away from the battlefield. Vibhishana, who always tried to tell his brother Ravana the difference between right and wrong, is called a traitor. Still, we invest so heavily in this "self-image" and reject the truth of this "self-image" being so fragile. Whatever "self-image" we create, society may tarnish the same any point in time. If society has not spared even God, what is the value of a common man?
We see all these things happening before our eyes and yet reject the truth. Not only do we reject the truth, but we also package the falsity so well to convince our next generations to believe in that falsity. We force them to set their life goals inspired by that fancy packaging. They set the purpose of their lives, highly attracted by this packaging, without the awareness of what lies inside. The first 25-30 years of life are spent running after the dream to somehow grab that package, and the moment they actually get to see what lies inside, it is too late. By the time they get to realize the reality, they are already in their 40s and 50s. It is almost impossible to do some fundamental rethinking about the purpose of life. Unfortunately, they end up passing on the same falsity to the next generation. At best, a few change their life goals from one attractive package to the other. That's why rejection of the truth is one of the most fundamental mistakes, and the only solution is to stay aware. That's why one of the most significant tasks of parents and teachers is to develop an attitude of enquiry, so that they do not live their lives following their beliefs or mental stories and rather observe the reality with complete awareness and let truth be the sole guide.
People reject the truth because they have either invested so much in falsity that they lack the courage to confront the reality of their sinking investment, or they have simply grown too comfortable. The more we reject reality, the harder it becomes to accept the truth. Each time we deny the truth, it becomes increasingly difficult to acknowledge it the next time. Once we develop a habit of rejecting truth, changing that habit becomes quite challenging. Our intellect is adept at providing logic. Dhritrastra may clearly understand that his sons will be killed in the battle of Kurukshetra, yet he continues to dismiss the truth until the last moment. The only way out is to observe. When we observe ourselves, we can easily discern that it is our laziness and ignorance compelling us to reject reality. In that moment of observation, we realize we are distinct from our ignorant mind and gather the courage to reject its inducements. We find the strength to dismiss falsity and investigate the nature of reality. The more we inquire, the easier it becomes to reject falsehoods.
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