Saturday, November 21, 2015
Am I a stranger to me ?
A very senior friend began writing poetry at the age of eight, which began something like this – “ Am I a stranger to me ?” but somehow could not complete it. He wrote hundreds of poems in later years yet could not complete his first one even while he is in his nineties now !!
He asked me whether I would like to write about it at least in prose. I am delighted and indeed honoured, since I know this gentleman as a giant in literature as well as a devout seeker of Truth. And mind you, this search is for his own Self within !
Now, mankind has always struggled to quench its quest as to what or who is this ‘I’ inhabiting it. That search has been eternal through millennia but no definitive answer was or is available yet and the quest continues. Obviously many theories, hypotheses and conjectures abound. Perhaps most propagated and advocated doctrine is that man is potentially Divine, at least a fraction of Divinity. However, looking at the overall behaviour of mankind it seems a bit controversial . Otherwise, why should man indulge in hatred, lust, anger, untruth, violence and unrighteousness by and large ? Why does he require to be reminded time and again through Saints, Prophets, Scriptures and even Avatars as to his basic and inherent Divinity ? What makes him a ‘stranger’ to himself ?
Mind you again, this query is made by an eight year old, decades ago ! Which is why I said the quest is not yet over. One may try all out to unearth the mystery from outer sources: he is least likely to succeed. Instead, he must look within and ask questions to himself as a ‘ stranger ‘.
Swami had said, 'you are not one, but three : the one others think as you : the one ‘you’ think as you and the one you really are !’
Now, who is this ‘real’ you ? One must know it through a stranger’s eye. Because how can one really ‘know’ himself ? It is said that when the Absolute, Eternal, All pervading ‘Para-Brahma’ was all alone, it never ‘knew’ anything about Itself and when It separated Itself from Itself, it could recognise Itself as ‘That’ .
Fascinating ! But difficult to digest and assimilate. Which is why perhaps a third one is required . Let us name him the ‘stranger’ !
A jargon of words ? Indeed ! And that is why even Vedas were dumbfounded . Nevertheless , query by the eight year old makes sense : one must keep asking to oneself and seek answers and solutions, even from outer sources. That would be real ‘Swadhyaya’ for oneself, a lifetime pursuit indeed !!
Jai Sairam.
Pune 21st November 2015 .
A very senior friend began writing poetry at the age of eight, which began something like this – “ Am I a stranger to me ?” but somehow could not complete it. He wrote hundreds of poems in later years yet could not complete his first one even while he is in his nineties now !!
He asked me whether I would like to write about it at least in prose. I am delighted and indeed honoured, since I know this gentleman as a giant in literature as well as a devout seeker of Truth. And mind you, this search is for his own Self within !
Now, mankind has always struggled to quench its quest as to what or who is this ‘I’ inhabiting it. That search has been eternal through millennia but no definitive answer was or is available yet and the quest continues. Obviously many theories, hypotheses and conjectures abound. Perhaps most propagated and advocated doctrine is that man is potentially Divine, at least a fraction of Divinity. However, looking at the overall behaviour of mankind it seems a bit controversial . Otherwise, why should man indulge in hatred, lust, anger, untruth, violence and unrighteousness by and large ? Why does he require to be reminded time and again through Saints, Prophets, Scriptures and even Avatars as to his basic and inherent Divinity ? What makes him a ‘stranger’ to himself ?
Mind you again, this query is made by an eight year old, decades ago ! Which is why I said the quest is not yet over. One may try all out to unearth the mystery from outer sources: he is least likely to succeed. Instead, he must look within and ask questions to himself as a ‘ stranger ‘.
Swami had said, 'you are not one, but three : the one others think as you : the one ‘you’ think as you and the one you really are !’
Now, who is this ‘real’ you ? One must know it through a stranger’s eye. Because how can one really ‘know’ himself ? It is said that when the Absolute, Eternal, All pervading ‘Para-Brahma’ was all alone, it never ‘knew’ anything about Itself and when It separated Itself from Itself, it could recognise Itself as ‘That’ .
Fascinating ! But difficult to digest and assimilate. Which is why perhaps a third one is required . Let us name him the ‘stranger’ !
A jargon of words ? Indeed ! And that is why even Vedas were dumbfounded . Nevertheless , query by the eight year old makes sense : one must keep asking to oneself and seek answers and solutions, even from outer sources. That would be real ‘Swadhyaya’ for oneself, a lifetime pursuit indeed !!
Jai Sairam.
Pune 21st November 2015 .
