Day 14. Phobia ( 4 )

 Death fascinates all living beings. Many are mortally afraid, more so in the pandemic era as of now. Will we or our near dear be affected? We know, though, that many will perish.

 Why some die and many survive as in war, epidemics, earth quake, ship wreck, plane crash etc.?

 The answer in Hinduism is Destiny decides. But then many movers and shakers do no believe in destiny, God or anything. They are like Charvakas. 

Destiny makers like today’s terrorist think they have control over the victim’s life and death as sickeningly shown in movies and barbaric societies even in the current world. E.g., 9/11 WTC incident.

Some 7 to 8 billion people inhabit the world of which it is estimated that some 7 percent is agnostics, atheists, communists etc. who don’t believe in GOD. That will come to some 500 million. Going by India’s share in world population, some 70 million, nearing a crore belongs to this category.

Roughly , one out of 10 you meet is a non- believer. This estimate will be nearly accurate going by the elements, seen on TV, medias etc. spewing venom on God, Temple, ritual, etc. day in day out.

What one should do? IGNORE such elements and go on with your belief and be peaceful. That  is  one and probably a wise choice.

Hindu scriptures believe in destiny and the play of God. There is a time for birth and death. Before that it won’t happen at all.

 आयुःकर्मचवित्तं  चविद्या निधनम्एवच |
पञ्चैतानि  हि  सृज्यन्ते गर्भस्तस्येव  देहिनः ||

 The duration of life (longevity), the future activities, wealth, learning (intelligence), and how one will die, these five attributes in a person are determined and created during his conception in the womb.

(This is why probably we see, at times, totally illiterates/undeserving persons occupying highest positions in the society!!!).

·        Take the case of Titanic, some1500 died but some 700 still survived. Why and How? The simple answer is their time had not come.  So, they survived in those frozen waters.

·         Similar cases are aplenty. In the Calicut crashlanding , some people died including the pilots, but majority survived.

 Let us therefore not debate and waste our breath on an issue, where human intelligence has not reached yet.

The combined intelligence of the world today is at a loss to fight a tiny virus. Are we then competent to postulate on God, creation, destiny …?  on anything at all?

Richest of the rich like Steve Job could not extend his days, with everything at his command. Many tout that destiny is what we make. Yes, indeed, provided the creator allows you to achieve that.

But then one need not take such a stand. At least in India we have democracy to profess, whatever one believes in! Let us get on with our life—as we deem fit.

Be happy. Be safe.

8 AM

Day13. Phobia (3)

 

We touched on the phobia of death earlier. (Today this topic is discussed ad nauseam in the country). How painful  death is not explained, as no dead person has ever come back to record the experience?

I recall the last minutes of Socrates described so graphically by Plato. Socrates takes the Hemlock with great calmness and follows the directions of the administrator of the poison. 

With utmost composure, Socrates lies down and soon after passed into oblivion. 

No show of pain or anguish was described.

If that is the normal death, then what is there to be frightened of? We have seen many deaths in our own life time. I remember or heard of the following-

·        A bank executive while  walking  out of the senior’s cabin collapsed suddenly  and died before reaching the door.

·        Another Bank GM was giving a thanking speech in his own farewell just collapsed and died.

·        Another executive of a bank was giving a thanking speech in his own farewell, just put down his head on the table and died.

·        A person while taking a lecture just fell down and died.

·        Late Abdul Kalam was about to give a lecture, collapsed suddenly and passed away.

Apparently, these are  very easy deaths from the onlookers point. In Kerala the  Hindus pray for what is called as easy death at old age- Anayesana maranam.

 But then we have seen very painful and long-suffering deaths too.

·        One case is that  of late Shanbaug, Nurse of KEM hospital. She was in Coma for nearly 4 decades.

·        A fireman in Mumbai was in Coma for 16 plus years.

·        There are cases of people killed with multiple bullet shots in, bomb blasts etc.

·        Then there are numerous cases of people languishing in old age, sickness, injuries, multiple operations – all will ensue pain, suffering and frustrations to self and others. Cases of very painful end.

In Hinduism we give Karma as the reason for such suffering or not suffering. Hence all have been reminded to do good Karmas. But in reality, we have seen very baddies dying very peacefully. Then we attribute that to past good Karmas of such villains!

One is not going to be aware of the exact end. Take the case of the Unsinkable Titanic going down with 1500 people in less than 5 minutes (as per WIKI)

 So, death could be painful or just like shifting from one room to another.

Whatever be it, one can pray to God for a good life and a good end too. Rest leave to destiny. Therein lies peace of mind to self and others. Let me end with the following quote-

"A day well spent brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death”. Leonardo da Vinci.

Be happy. Be safe.

8 AM

Day 12. Phobia (2)

Let us see another face of fear called terror. Fear is the key was a movie of the seventies, where the aspect of terrorizing people was filmed.

Many movies have come focusing on terror. Terror became a common theme in films and then life in too.

 Terrorists came to prominence all over the world. Goondas, dacoits all got central space in media.

TV and other media were also gung-ho over such matters, as the TRP rises due to such reporting. One very popular dialogue of the seventies was- Jo darr gay, samjo voh mar gaya… all glorifying terror and fear on people. Terror was treated like lollipops. Computer War games became popular all over the world!

 Then we saw countless documentaries where animals were terrorized to catch, do circus, do hard work- donkey, elephants, horses or for fun etc. Then we saw raw terror films of tiger /lion catching deer etc. with all the gory details.

Mind you all these were shown for the enjoyment of Man- the supreme creation of GOD. 

More the killings, more the merry. Like the wild west movies, people all over , including India lapped up such concocted violence to men, women and nature. Horrible , will be an understatement! Then came TV and the  same is shown over such that even small children got exposed  to violenc at a tender age.  T V also showed adult contents without much restrictions.

Then came 2019- till now. That mighty, all powerful, suzerain over the whole creations -world over – is now running helter skelter to hide fearing the mighty but tiny virus.

The terror creator for all - including nature viz. man is now moving/hiding under a mask.

Hunter becoming the hunted, is the story. But there are no takers for this new horror /terror reality show! Now actual deaths are reported  daily over the same media. But the listeners, who were  over-fed with violence and gory deaths for decades, suddenly become frightened to  their bones!

Let us pause over the irony and pathetic spectacle, where the revenge has from whom one doesn’t know- but revenge definitely has come to roost. Karm ka phal to bhukathana hi padega, No?

Be happy. Be safe.

9.30 AM

Day 11. Phobia/fear (1)

 

Let us change the gear and shift to another related but highly relevant topic viz. Fear/phobia.

Human beings have many phobias. Some 122 phobias are listed on the net.

 Phobia- “An unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, using exposure and fear-reduction techniques.

The greatest fear for all being is called-Thanatophobia, commonly referred to as the fear of death. More specifically, it can be a fear of death or a fear of the dying process. It's natural for someone to worry about their own health as they age.”(internet.,

 It is natural to have many types of fear. How to manage the fear is the issue?

·        Last week a newspaper reported that one lady of 30 years or so died after knowing that she was tested positive. Apparently fear killed her. Strange but sad and true

·        So, one should be careful while dealing with phobias. It should not be allowed to cross the threshold. There was a case reported few years back from Dubai of a Kerala boy, to whom an astrologer said that he will have an early death.  The boy went on to commit suicide after knowing this prediction.

·        Fear can be handled differently and with the grace of God or any other power. Two days back a private jet heading towards Hyderabad on medical emergency had to force land at Mumbai.

 Fortunately, all the five including the patient survived miraculously. The credit should also   go to the presence of mind of the Pilot, among other things. Here he would have handled the impending calamity with great courage and fortitude.

So, the learning point is that the fear may be imaginary like a phobia or it will be real like the jet incident.

Wisdom lies in developing fearlessness to cope with them for successful ending.

Be happy. Be safe.

8AM

 

 

Day 10. Abhayam (9 )

This is the 10^th post on the blog. This blog is intended to be a SAMVAD-dialogue. None has full answers to spiritual issues. However jointly some answers could be found.

 Some responses have come on the blog and by emails, which have enriched the contents.

The blog so far focussed on the following-

1.     Abhayam==fearlessness

2.     Dharma and Sukham== Righteousness and Happiness

3.     Sadhana Chatushtayam== spiritual qualities for seekers

4.     Jnana’s importance in spiritual quest

5.     Happiness gap

 The above are  for repeated reflections-manana. Not for one time reading or listening like a TV debate.

 Spiritual quest calls for dedicated and longtime efforts. In the Gurukul system, the student used to spend some 12 years at the Guru’s place.

 Puranas talk about Tapasya- penance for thousand years. This is symbolical to convey that the person concerned meditated for long. There is no short cut at all.

Even the five-year old Dhruva did hard penance for 6 months giving up food and water towards the end.

So, walk the talk calls for dedicated and determined practice.

There is no compulsion to take up this path-which is compared to walking on a Razor’s edge and it is not for the weakling, so says the scriptures. But if taken then needed efforts will have to be put get desired results.

 Like planting trees, say, coconut or mango,  will call for efforts to nurture them for a number of years before yielding returns.

Be happy. Be safe

6 AM

Day 9. Abhayam (8)

 

Abhayam is discussed repeatedly. Why? Because such Fearless people are rarely seen .

We have politicians, celebrities, ministers etc., who behave like lions in the midst of y, or or Z+ security afforded to them. Ditto with many CEO, CMDs etc. They also roar like lions, when they have some limited powers.

One should see them all after their tenure in office. So where is Abhayam in them?

Then we have seen gang leaders, dacoits, Naxalites, terrorists etc. showing great courage in their own den or in groups.

 Like men hunting wild animals surreptitiously with Guns, traps etc.,. All depict great  courage, like children being very bold  outside the cages of lion, crocodiles etc.

Real courage, Abhayam- where is seen?

One case comes to the mind. His name is Dasarath Manji. He was a poor farm labourer from Bihar, who took a decision to cut a road across a mountain in a Bihar Village. He kept on with the mission,  without any bulldozer or latest equipments or money power or men to support/encourage him and singlehandedly  succeeded in his chosen mission after 22 plus long years. Can one  even visualize his feat ?

His efforts were partially recognized by the state government and  a movie was also mode on him a few years back- the Mountain Man.

 I wonder whether there is any parallel in human history to his deeds. (Will be glad if some reader gives some reference). That is raw courage- Abhayam of the highest order in my estimate.

Many people have much more  achievements- but not got  alone. They had a team to support. Hence the unique achievement of Dasarath Manj ! This is worth a research.

 Merely wielding a Gun or sword to kill a lion/tiger/innocent people sleeping at home is not the sign of fearlessness or manliness.

Like as shown in Mother India movie, struggling against odds and succeeding that is  true Abhayam.

Though I don’t know Punjabi, I liked the song Halla Sheri and its video, referred by a friend. Live like a lion is the message, I was told. Highly inspiring even to see. For the sheer beauty of the presentation- enjoy the song on internet. Highly motivating and energy lifting.  Halla SHERI PUNJABI SONG • RUPINDER HANDa

We must imbibe such a spirit, more so in times like this. That will be the path to true Abhayam.

Be happy. Be safe.

6.30 AM

Day 8. Fearlessness/ Abhayam (7)

 

Abhayam /Fearlessness can come only when we accept the reality of human existence. Right knowledge will help us to overcome fear and lead a peaceful and happy life. Jnanad eva tu kaivallyam.

What is the reality of human existence? It is though known, none wants to accept it, even in the ripe old age. Millions around have gone and are going to oblivion.

On any day millions of birds and animals are slaughtered by men for meeting their palate. They don’t understand that their own turn will come when nature will swallow them… sooner or later. That is the stark reality. Then why angst at all ?

 "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is a poem that talks about the inevitability of death. This poem expresses the sentiment known as memento mori: a reminder of human mortality.

         “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

         And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

         Awaits alike the’ inevitable hour.

         The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”

    Does anyone wish to be reminded about the reality of life? No, definitely not. They want to enjoy the perishable pleasures again and again. None will be able or wanting to say, thus far and no further.

   Hence the following report arrested the attention of the nation recently.

“An 85-year-old man who voluntarily walked out of a Nagpur hospital, for a young patient, died at his home. Narayan Dabholkar was admitted to Indira Gandhi government hospital in Nagpur after he tested positive for Covid-19.

Despite dipping oxygen levels, Narayan Dabholkar went against the medical advice of his doctors and opted for a discharge after he saw a woman pleading to get her 40-year-old husband admitted to the hospital.

The 85-year-old reportedly told the doctors, “I am 85. I have lived my life. Saving the life of a young man is more important. Their children are young...please give my bed to them.” (source- Internet)

This is the type of fearlessness  / Abhayam one should strive to develop in one’s life ere long.

Be happy. Be safe.

7 AM