Alexis Zorba, the protagonist of Nikos Kazantzakis’s
novel Zorba the Greek, lives life to its fullness. He embraces
human experience with his whole heart. He is not interested in rational
explanations and intellectual isms. His philosophy, if you can call it that at
all, is earthy, spontaneous and passionate. He loves life passionately. He
celebrates it. Happiness is a simple affair for him. “I felt once more how
simple and frugal a thing happiness is,” he tells us. “A glass of wine, a roast
chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.” You
don’t need a lot of things to be happy. Your possessions don’t bring you
happiness. All that money you spent on your big house, big car, big everything…
It helps to show off. But happiness? No way, happiness doesn’t come that way at
all.
Zorba loves to play his musical
instrument, santouri. He loves to sing. To dance. But don’t get me wrong. He
works too. He works hard. There’s no fullness of life without that hard work.
“This is true happiness,” he will tell you, “to have no ambition and to work
like a horse as if you had every ambition. To live far from men, not to need
them and yet to love them. To have the stars above, the land to your left and
the sea to your right and to realise of a sudden that in your heart, life has
accomplished its final miracle: it has become a fairy tale.”
A fairy tale. Can you make your life
a fairy tale?
The fullness of life lies in your
ability to make your life a fairy tale with its magic and miracles.
Miracle is nothing but a change of
attitude.
Give up some of that gargantuan ego.
Chisel off the jutting cerebration. Come down to the earth and live there.
Feeling it with your feet. Touching it with your heart. You know too much. You
think too much. That’s why you won’t be happy. Happiness is an emotion.
Experience it in your neurons. Experience it in the breeze that wafts from
across your horizons.
Zorba is passionate and exuberant.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the tragedies of human existence. Suffering,
loss and death are all inevitable parts of life. Accept it. And go on. With a
smile on your lips and a dance in your heart.
Don’t complicate life with religion,
Zorba will tell you. If you bring God in, the devil is sure to follow. There
will be a mess soon. What you need is a bond with the universe. That is the
real religion. Have you ever experienced a mystical connection with life
itself, beyond the dogma of your creed and scriptures and rituals? If not, you
can give up your religion safely: it has done you no good. Try Zorba’s
religion. Learn to sing a song. To dance to a tune. Or at least to enjoy the
breeze on your face.
Life is absurd. It doesn’t fit in
neat philosophical theories. Not in
charming theologies. Or soothing prayers, formulaic rituals, ardent
pilgrimages. Life is a mystery to a large extent, Zorba will tell you. Can you
embrace that mystery? Without needing answers? If you can, you will unfold the
wings of your personal freedom, your very authenticity… and you will spread
your wings… and FLY.
PS. This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon
Previous Posts in this
series:
2. Pip Learns the Essential Lessons
3. Delusions and Ironies of Love
4. Good Old Days without meetings
6. An Oracle Gives up his Goddess
8. The Agony of Ivan Karamazov
The series will end with one more post.
Life is not to be dissected or rationalized, but to be lived with passion, spontaneity, and a connection to the world around us! True happiness lies in the simple joys is it not? Good food, music, hard work, and may be occasional surprises in life! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's it. Thanks for the neat summary.
DeleteWhat you need is a bond with the universe. That is the real religion! Such a simple idea, and yet, we make life complicated.
ReplyDeleteWe make life complicated because of our own vulnerabilities. I'll conclude this series with the vulnerability of Alfred Prufrock and the alien wisdom of Little Prince. 👍
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteZorba captivated my younger self and was one of the inspirations for my own search for the simple. I've been told so many times that I've not lived to my full potential... And I say I have lived it as intended: day by day, roll and sway, bringing the tale my way! YAM xx
I've got that impression about you, Yam. That you're a person who's found fulfilment in life.
DeleteA fine philosophy.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt.
DeleteZorba's enigmatic and persona is full of insights for the reader.
ReplyDeleteZorba is an embodiment of the wisdom that Kazantzakis acquired in his life.
DeleteI love this idea of the bond with Universe being the religion. Yep another fulfilling post. Bookmarked and shared with a few people I think need to read it.
ReplyDelete