Each one of us knows that if the whole of the world moves in the direction of spirituality, the world will be the most beautiful place to live. What if everybody is full of love and compassion? Would people with billions of dollars and rupees in their accounts sleep peacefully when they know that billions of people are dying of hunger? With their hearts full of love, they will make every effort to help those dying of hunger. Why would there be terror and exploitation when the heart of everybody is full of love and compassion?
When the solution is so easy, why are we shying away from the same? There are two fundamental reasons for the same. First, we are not sure about others. Many countries decided to give away their nuclear arms and focus on economic development. But then they were attacked by greedy countries. The same thing happens in life. We have been driven by love and compassion, but the people around us have started manipulating us and treating us as their tools. That's why we have to act smart to defend ourselves. Thus, unless the entire ecosystem changes, it is difficult to drop our defence.
The second reason is more common. The traps appear harmless at first. We start with apparently harmless pleasures, then get caught in the trap. Further, so many of these traps are socially acceptable, which makes it difficult to see through them. Going to a marriage function is quite an innocent pleasure. We get to meet our relatives and friends and bless the occasion. In fact, not attending such functions is considered a social crime. We go to these functions to eat good food and have fun. Some dance with the DJ as well. The place is full of laughter, and we feel good. It looks like a very innocent pleasure. Now let's examine the subtle consequences. What's happening inside the mind? A subtle desire to organise a similar function is taking birth inside our minds. We start calculating the expenditure and make provision for organising a similar function for our kids. We work day in and day out to earn money. So many anxieties come to mind. All the appreciation and social validation come with riders. What if we are not able to organise that well? What if our child decides to do a court marriage? What if he or she decides to marry someone from a different religion or caste? How will we face the people? What if people compare our function with others? What if people find fault with the food and arrangements?
The innocent pleasure of attending the wedding ceremony is like a seed that grows into the entire forest of insecurities in our minds. Then, such insecure people would not hesitate to earn money through corruption or adopt unfair trade practices to gain an unfair advantage over others. There is a fight for resources across the world to the extent that certain countries make other countries their colonies to suck their resources.
We will keep making decisions out of fear until there is a threat to security. We will keep being tempted by the innocent pleasures until we experience the source of joy. Until then, the greatest cause of our sufferings will be the deprivation of materialistic pleasures. Is there any way out? The solution lies in the problem itself. We are disconnected from the inner world, and that's why we run after the outer things. We just need to take a break. In that state of silence, we glimpse the inner world. We can't see deep into the lake when there are waves on the surface. When the water on the surface is silent, we get to see the depths of our being. Once we see that, we feel like diving deep into that. We just need to create that space. That space can't be created till we keep running after one or the other desire. That's why, to begin with, we need to take a short break from this race to go to some serene place where we have time for ourselves to contemplate the meaning of life. Once we encounter reality, even for a brief moment, there is no moving away from the same.
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