"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self esteem.That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self importance learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if, vain or important, cannot learn at all.."~Thomas Szasz.
The dawn hours look elegantly roaring with a pernicious breeze razing the tent of the drunken monk.What more does it take to be alone in an island of thoughts? Deep within, despite the roar ,sleeps the calm child.The monk can't connect himself to that calmness of the estranged child.He wakes up, looks around, only to find the child missing.The hallucination or the "hang over" goes dry with the time and the monk tries his best to evade the extended perception of that calm child.
The Dolby Heart:
Death and love are great equalisers.The monk now is dead and finds himself equal among the grand 7.6 billion crowd occupying a miniscule area of the total physical space.Such and so had been the passage of time that merely binds a man to his fate.As the saying goes,"Time heals everything",the dead monk now understands that time merely is an entity and that which travels back and forth are nothing but our thoughts.As the swinging pendulum moves back and forth, the human heart dwell either in the past or dream about the future.The middle of these two is the present which we live yet from an extrapolated action.
Desire Vs Practice:
The monk always wanted to know the essence of human life.Not less than when he was under 30, he tried exalting those which were considered holy, but , no, he found no sense of ridiculous bonding with any.Be that fame, lust or power, the monk remained heavily indifferent to these stimulative bonds.He cared more for what is known as the "Unknown".As his journey moved on, came a day when a revelation struck his thought.One actually could realise bliss in all the materialistic bonds when what one does is done with no expectation.The thought of being a child again, which does what makes it happy, with no consequential thinking of the act being performed.Now the crisis rose in the monk's mind."Should I do what makes me happy?.That means I can have no restrictions with my thoughts, my body and my heart?".Quiet so.
The raging practice of celibacy now met the strong gush of hormones .The monk though had been practicing since he was 12, couldn't let his forced will flow against a thick walled heart.The result was, his craving desire eats a lump some meal to quench the never ending flaw of human thirst.What followed was the next craving for power, fame and what not.The married monk by now had forgotten the still mildly ignited question of the "Unknown".Back again, years later, as he lay bare, felt a strange sense of incompleteness raising within.He now was 50, had a wife and a son.The incompleteness was so sharp that he felt alienated towards himself.The Unknown question yet again kindles its spirit.Now its the karma versus the spirit.
Spirit follows Karma:
Soon he decides to leave his house and enter the fourth stage of life i.e Vanaprastha. However, the karma fights it way back as wife and son and let him stay chained to his family until death.The "Unknown" question was buried along with him being dead.Now the monk finds himself liberated and moves his way back to the period when his forced will was blocked by his heart. He questions "What went wrong?Why did I not die in peace?The question of "Unknown" never revealed itself.I aspired myself and dedicated in knowing the Unknown.I suffered,I practiced, I fasted,I accepted what was destined for me and lived that life trying to find the Unknown.Yet why didn't I succeed?"The monk sobs and as his soul enters the transcendence state beyond earth, he finds himself in a desolate shore sleeping inside a tent.
Stay Awake to Sleep:
The dawn hours looked elegantly roaring with a pernicious breeze razing the tent of the drunken monk.What more does it take to be alone in an island of thoughts? Deep within, despite the roar ,slept the calm child.The monk now was able to sense the calmness and tries connecting himself to that calmness of the estranged child.He looks around and wakes the child up.The child who was in his half sleep asks "What do you want?" "
"I am a monk who died minutes before.I wanted to know the Unknown but was transcended here."
"What do you want me to do now?"-the child asked
"Can you lead me my way back?"
"To where?"
" I don't know where I am destined to.I need to know about the "Unknown"."
"What is "Unknown"?"
"That which every one in life wants, that which makes you live free without any bias, that which makes you live without fear, that which makes you live with no expectations and regret.That which I am after is the "Unknown"."
"You are talking about peace?"
"Peace is an extended thought of our mind.Its a desire which makes us calm.My "Unknown" is beyond peace.To be what I am and to be what I was and to be what I will be.All these "to be's" at the same time.I don't know how do I get that answer"
The child smiled serenely and said,"You do know the answer.It's only that you woke up me late."
