Monday, June 05, 2006

The Ultimate Human Experience


Creation of mountains out of molehills, in my opinion is the crux of the ultimate human experience on this earth. Actually it falls more in the realm of society rather than the earth…because the earth is nurturing, forgiving and unconditional in terms of the opportunities provided to all humans. It is the societies that we inhabit that thrives on comparison, hence, competition. If those are the rules of the game, then for the intelligent it is imperative that they play by the ear…or if you will, take the bull by the horns.

Success thus is relative and requires constant upgradation almost on a daily basis. New mountains to climb, new seas to fathom, new horizons to conquer and new vistas to explore remain the key words in this sport called life.

What we choose as our goals, or battles, our hurdles derive from three sources, in this particular order:
- the social conditioning we received as children (including the nature and nurture by parents, extended family and assorted peers),
- the external world and its variegations, and
- the resources that we have within ourselves i.e. our educational qualifications, native intelligence kits, social interaction tools and built-in drive for excellence, efficiency and integration.

Until a point, considering the social system in place, the mountains are provided for us…class X boards, XII boards, graduation, master’s, doctorate etc… sometimes there are pop-ups like the reservation issue. But after all that is done and over the responsibility lies on us to create the next one. Most people choose the path of least resistance and choose relationships as their next goal (I shall love like none other); some choose fiscal matters (I want lots of money); very few take on the nature and purpose of existence itself (who am I, why am I here?).

No one can win here; nobody comes out of life alive. Each and every life will be wasted. How we choose to waste it is the essential query. It is our choice of the adversary and the adversity that provides the answer.

18 comments:

White Square said...

hi,
great pic, very introspective and thoughtfull words indeed..
I am doing well, have just passed out Russian exam. and now lots of work ahead...my leisure filled probation days are over or will be in three months officially..how are you doing?

... said...

congratulations on passing the russian exam... da! and borscht plus samovar...ah yes...dostoevsky...(wink) are the only russian words i know....
so in three months time you get to move and shake the world..
i'm just waiting for the letters to come, so i can move to mussorie.. and i'm finishing the PhD

itinerant said...

vodka is also a russian word. how could you forget zat?

... said...

that's cos i'm stuck on a celtic word scotch... by the way, scotch also mens to put an end to, to halt, to destroy or to ruin...
wonder wonder ponder ;-)

... said...

Yeah...i am leaving delhi...that's alright, but what i don't know is how and when...
Indian government sic!

Anonymous said...

You have a talent in summerizing a vast subject into a few meaningful paragraphs.
I liked the way you put it - "purpose of existence itself (who am I, why am I here?). "
I was saved from a pond when I was just 7 yrs old. While every known people around me scolded me for daring to go to the pond alone, one old man told me something which I still remember -
You got your life back for some purpose. Try to find that purpose.
I think we should enjoy the life as a journey. Sometime you have to be the driver, sometime you just ride along. Destination comes if you have the right directions and good navigators (like the ones I can see in here).

... said...

Dear Anonymous,
I wish you godspeed on the journey. may you find your destination and purpose of your life.

Anonymous said...

hi ,this sounds very much like me

Anonymous said...

"no one can win here ....and the adversity that provides the answer"........well thought
but when u say ,"if those r the rules of the game......take the bull by the horns" ,are not u giving undue importance to the society which thrives on comparison......this undue importances which we give to the various rat races of world,shows nothing but our own inferiority complex and dependences......ya its true each being,thought ,idea has an influence and i admit influence of society created standards is much larger....but if we do not want to waste our lives ....than we hav to come out of this cobweb......otherwise even with our hurculean efforts and destiny on our side we can become another billgates or bush or julia roberts or even miss patkar or shaheede azam bhagat singh..........but really what a waste if we are unable to realise the eternal truth .....which is a deadliest puzzle .......YES MY WARRIOR WILL U TAKE IT BY HORNS.....answer to the puzzle lies inside each of us

... said...

Dear Pri,
My point exactly... Society is to be ignored largely unless it is to one's own advantage to embrace it. Even then a person should enlist society into the list of factors essential for life with a pinch of salt. It can very well turn back and bite you in the arse. it must be remembered that there is no other place for us to be but here...so we have to play with all available pawns here...that includes concepts like society, friends, lovers, parents, etc. etc...
Lots of affection,

Anonymous said...

darling,
ididn't mean that one should ignore society ,how can we do that being very much part of it.ALL I MEANT was that society created standards;as to what it considers success is ,intelligent is ,influential is etc .., should not be given UNDUE IMPORTANCE
moreover the world which we inhabit is full of dualities,contradictions,it is real at the same time unreal,there is no objectivity....all these personal vanities ,intellectual debates,ego hassles leads no where.
my point is ;intellectual stimulation , philosophies etc r just a stage ,if we stick to them they become hurdle in real progress
as far as society is concerned ...i wud like to contribute more ,give more rather than simply using it to my own advantage.i see all (the goodies ,the baddies, animate,inanimate),empathetically cause they r just ignorants doing all nonsense almost unconciously ;now why empathetically ? cause no matter what i hav done ,thoughtand realised iam still an ignorant till i know that eternal truth .....knowing which nothing more is left to know ....

... said...

Dear Pri, (Sorry, still can't figure out who you are)
So, let me figure this out... you think that accolades from society should not be considered important because society thrives on comparison, that's what i think too... i find nothing in this society worthwhile, nothing in the Kaivalya sense of the term.
But i guess we disagree on one point, whereas you look at society and its goodies, baddies etc with empathy, i look at it without any feeling or thought.hence, i ignore society, but with nowhere else to go, no alternate reality at hand, i make the most of it, by taking advantage of the system and manipulating it as well as possible.
Am i right, about you, i mean?
i know i'm right about me!

Anonymous said...

thats what, u cant ignore it COMPLETELY ...AND if u take u hav to give ....u wish or not but if u hav taken advantage ,u will hav to give .....
i look at them with empathy cause i can understand the pain of being ignorant....
i understand ur point ,u want to say that ur detached so u dont feel for them....where as i want to say that i understand there pain cause i love them and love is very diff from "moha"...love doesnot bind u it sets u free..problem comes when we r attached.
lots of love

Anonymous said...

i dont know u ....bychance iread ur comments ,i found them interesting ...
keep on writing ,by the way whats ur name

... said...

dear pri, (what's your name? where do you live)
it's really cool that you feel all that love and empathy, i can't, for the love of God i can't.
All i'm trying to do, is learn to ignore society completely.. and hoping that i can do it soon, in this lifetime.
btw, my name is Sanjukta.

Anonymous said...

iam priyadarshini ;from shimla

... said...

Hello...priyadarshini...shimla is a great place... do let me know more about you... surprising that you think that we think alike...

Anonymous said...

Where did you find it? Interesting read »