Everybody wants to be sure. It looks very nice to win the debates and to prove our points. It looks very attractive to be sure of what we do in life. To be confident of our viewpoints. Firm belief helps us move fast. While driving on the road, it helps if we are sure of the destination. We set the map in Google Maps and keep following the directions. There is no confusion. What if we are confused about the destination? We will reach nowhere. That's why the whole of the world tries to give certainty to the traveller. I recall the following few lines from Madhushala, written by Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan:
मदिरालय जाने को घर से चलता है पीनेवाला,
'किस पथ से जाऊँ?' असमंजस में है वह भोलाभाला
अलग अलग पथ बतलाते सब पर मैं यह बतलाता हूँ -
'राह पकड़ तू एक चला चल, पा जाएगा मधुशाला।
This is another way of seeking certainty that whatever path you take, you will reach the destination. But what if we are sure about the destination and reach there fast, but after reaching the destination we realise that this is not something we intended to reach. What we believed to be true was actually a mental story? That's very difficult to accept, and that's why we make a mental story to cover up the journey so far so that we may set the next destination and start the journey again.
It's difficult to stay with the confusion. It's difficult to accept that I don't know. It's difficult to accept that we can see very limited things. That makes us vulnerable. Colleagues make fun of us. They call us duffers and confused. Because we are unable to decide quickly. We take time to decide the food to order, not because we are not sure which food is tastier, but because we are questioning the fundamental concept of taste itself. We take time to pass judgement on a person not because we don't know whether that person is good or bad from a particular perspective, but because we question the relativity of that perspective per se.
What does one gain with this confusion? I don't think that a person who makes a decision for gain or to avoid loss can ever afford to be confused. Only when one has realised the relative futility of gain as well as loss can one stay with confusion. When we watch YouTube Shorts or Facebook videos, if we keep watching a particular type of video, the AI engine of YouTube or Facebook keeps throwing more and more similar videos. I was watching "Mahabharata" videos on Facebook yesterday, and it showed me so many of those. If I keep watching the same for a few days or a few months, I may conclude that Facebook is very spiritual. The fact of the matter is that Facebook has all types of videos because Facebook is just a platform where any and every video can be played. Similarly, when I keep believing in something, I become more and more convinced of that thought process. I become less receptive to the other viewpoint.
But how can we live well with such confusion? We will not be able to make any decision in that case. How will we drive if we are not sure of the destination? I feel that the best example is the life of Hanuman ji. When he started to find the whereabouts of Sita Maa, he did not know where Lanka was. In fact, nobody knew. Hanuman ji had one Astra with him. That is awareness. He stayed absolutely aware during the journey. He found very innovative solutions to the problems posed on the way. If Sursa tries to eat him away, he will become very small and come out. Similarly, he found a very innovative solution to enter Lanka and also find the whereabouts of Sita maa. Nobody except Hanuman could have done it. There was a very specific reason for the same. Hanuman had Ram at the centre of his existence, and there was nothing in this world that attracted him, be it wealth, power, name or fame. He was not afraid of anything. That's why he could dare to stay 100% aware. He never formed any belief about the whereabouts of Lanka or Sanjivani. He is always a fearless explorer. An explorer can not set out on exploration by setting a target in the domain of the known. That will always be limited. An explorer will always improvise with complete awareness of the situation.
Comments