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Master



When my problems bogged me down, I approached Guru.

“No one, not even God, can solve your problems unless you want to solve them yourself,” said Guru.

“But…” I was shocked.  I went to him for help because I wanted to solve my problems, didn’t I?  Why is he speaking as if I didn’t want to solve my problems?

“Most people are in love with their problems,” Guru said as if he had read my mind.  “The drug addict, for example, loves drugs and don’t want to leave them though he may say he wants to kick the habit.  What withholds him from kicking the addiction is precisely what led him to the addiction.”

“A sense of emptiness?”  I asked because I had faced that sense time and again. 

“Is there anything better than emptiness in life?” asked Guru.  “Weren’t all the Mahatmas searching for emptiness?”

“People can’t bear emptiness,” I blurted out.

“Precisely.  That’s why they fill their life with things.  And when things fail to satisfy the real inner need, they look for alternatives like drugs.  And drugs perplex your neurons.  Upset your consciousness.  You find yourself in somebody else’s shoes.  You enjoy that.  You enjoy walking in somebody else’s shoes without any obligations.”

Being in somebody else’s shoes without any obligations is a wonderful idea, I thought.  It’s a kind of transmigration of the soul. 

“Escapism,” said Guru.  “People want to escape.  Though there really is nothing to escape from.  Ultimately we have to fall back to the same reality which is nothing but the world before you and its demands.”

“Which is very mundane,” I thought aloud.

“The world is mundane.  What else do you expect?  Haven’t you learnt history?  Have you seen paradises or utopias opening up anywhere though your leaders may have promised them in their election manifestoes time and again?  2014 CE is no different from 2014 BCE.  Except for the attachments like electricity and gadgets supported by it.  But the social structure was the same now and 4028 years ago.”

I got stuck with that number 4028.  But I realised soon that if I added 2014 CE and 2014 BCE I would get 4028 as long as I didn’t think like a mathematician for whom pluses and minuses neutralise one another.  I also realised that the Egyptian pyramids were constructed more than 4028 years ago.  The Indus Valley Civilisation originated more than 4028 years ago.  The Greek civilisation can take us far beyond 4028 years.  Civilisations.  Were those people any worse than us?  They too worshipped some gods, drank wine, built monuments or whatever they thought were great, some enslaved some others ...

How are we different from them?  Except that we built better gadgets?  As time goes forward we will build still better gadgets.  Will the world be any better?

“Will man be any better?  That should be the question.”  Guru has a way of interrupting my thoughts.

“Know you are a master, and you are one,” continued Guru.  “Know you know the answers to your problems, and you get the answers.”

Otherwise you search for answers in granite gods or preaching Babas or tranquilising drugs, I thought.


“No one can solve problems of someone who looks for solutions outside,” said Guru. 
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Comments

  1. KalpanaJune 28, 2014 at 9:14 PM

    Very profound. I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JayantaJune 28, 2014 at 10:50 PM

    Guru justified being the Guru. He showed the right way...Liked the conversation..

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 29, 2014 at 11:28 AM

    Profound. Very well narrated. A depressive person is also in love with his own depressions as it gives a meaning to his/her life. Something I have always observed in melancholic people.. and it also allows me to observe myself if I start falling into the same trap..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2014 at 11:53 AM

      I too have noticed it. People seem to fall in love with their problems. Perhaps that's one way of making their life bearable!

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 29, 2014 at 11:38 AM

    loved the conversation :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sunshine-struckJune 29, 2014 at 12:31 PM

    Great thoughts here. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Donna BurmanJune 29, 2014 at 12:32 PM

    Yes, all the Mahatmas ultimately sought emptiness.. For what more can be important than attaining peace with yourself? Profound indeed..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2014 at 1:09 PM

      Enlightenment is emptying the self of superfluous attachments, isn't it?

      Delete
  7. Lancelot QuadrasJune 29, 2014 at 1:55 PM

    People can't bear emptiness...
    How true...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2014 at 6:48 PM

      ... And how they choose to fill it matters a lot.

      Delete
  8. ManiparnaJune 29, 2014 at 2:46 PM

    The conversation is a profound one and how true is is that common people can't bear 'emptiness' in their lives..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2014 at 6:49 PM

      "Nature abhors vacuum," as the saying goes. In fact, how one fills that emptiness determines one's meaning in life.

      Delete
  9. Abhijit RayJune 29, 2014 at 7:28 PM

    Totally agree. Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vinay NagarajuJune 29, 2014 at 8:51 PM

    He he :D.. People in love with their problems! Interesting one :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2014 at 8:35 AM

      If people were not in love with their problems, there would be very few problems in the world. King Lears and his daughters continue to live with their illusions and delusions.

      Delete
  11. Issac WritesJune 30, 2014 at 1:34 PM

    Wonderful....Search for God within....and you will find him...;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2014 at 6:29 PM

      I don't believe in God; I believe in Truth and that too relative truths. Yes, we should discover those truths, our own truths, and they are within.

      Delete
  12. RajeshJune 30, 2014 at 5:03 PM

    Good one. I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownJune 30, 2014 at 5:24 PM

    Does it happen that you know what your problem is, you know the solution too but you are just not ready/capable or fear to execute it. Like agreeing to what the Guru said is different than abiding it...Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2014 at 6:31 PM

      No doubt, Shewta, sometimes we know the answers/solutions but are incapable of acting... There are times when external help (counselling, for example) is of immense help. My post is a philosophical look at the theme rather than psychological one.

      Thanks for sharing your thought.

      Delete
  14. UnknownJune 30, 2014 at 11:55 PM

    So skillfully written. :)
    I am so impressed by the way it is written.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 1, 2014 at 6:26 AM

      Thanks, Namrata. What happened to you - not writing these days?

      Delete

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