Few nights back, I had this interesting discussion with my hubby, which led me to start blogging! And whoa....Here I am, In all my glory, ready to blog...The unusual topic was - Moksha,Salvation. After talking to him, I realised there are innumerable schools of thoughts and one to which my hubby belongs, doesn't even acknowledge that this phenomenon exists...And strange but true, I was fuming on his so little knowledge on this subject. Not that I'm a degree holder in this subject, but at times, you start questioning your very existence, which direction you are headed towards and what happens to you after death...I mean this thought has been doing rounds in my mind since I got aware of my surroundings...A lot depends on your upbringing which steers your mind in a particular direction. The main argument between us was as you tend to grow old, you need to be detached from your loved ones and the wordly things...That is the path taken to go near the almighty and consequently, pave way to salvation...This is the old school of thought in Hindu Religion which I comply with but my husband strongly disagrees with and doesn't think that attachment is the cause of all ailments.
I often find myself in a dilemma as to which path to choose...Am I wasting my time worrying over certain mundane things in life and not treading the spiritual path shown to us by various gurus...'Cos according to my understanding, people who have attained moksha started on early in life and it became a way of their lives rather than waiting on for the 'Grihasth Ashram' to take its course. I mean who will answer my Unanswered questions like these? My Parents have shown me a path and it's my personal choice to choose it or not but will I be able to take it without the consent of my partner who dismisses all this theory as crap. He seemed too worried with the idea of me leaving him along the way for quenching my spiritual apetite...Would that be considered selfish...I know I have to search for answers within me, and noone would come to my rescue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
First things first. Congratulations on entering the blogosphere wearing a writer's hat. Long overdue!!
Good topic - Interesting Thoughts - No answers. What can one expect?
Take this as a beauty of life. Questions that you don't find answers to will always leave you intrigued and fascinated and will encourage your exploration or quest or search for the same.
What is the fun if you have answers to all the big questions? Everyone would take the same route and there wouldn't be any variety or individuality. Aren't your takes on such issues a big reflection of your personality? So, I guess you have to take it with a pinch of salt!!
As you said, there are zillion schools of thought as far as this salvation thing goes. What you chose to believe in is correctest for you. Also, what seems correctest might not be the easiest to attain. Not everyone everytime agrees with what one thinks! So, it's a trade-off for one to decide what (how much) to implement and what to lament ...
As I had once written, it's very hard to be a rebel and for mere mortals it would be very difficult to renounce all worldly things (completely forget about societal traditions and familial norms) and go all out in pursuit of the 'unknown' ...
Resign to fate ... Live on
OR
Design your fate ... Move On!!
Well said Jimit...I was expecting such a long comment from you. And the Last part is like "Golden Words". Its for us to decide which way to go and it does seem like a tough decision. And your thought also gives me an impression that I'm not alone in this pursuit...
Although I'm not into blogging stuff but somehow I feel compelled to leave my 2 cents here.
First of all : well written, great effort put and an excellent topic.
I guess this topic is such a complex one that we( being very ordinary human being) can never have a well defined answer until unless you get the ultimate thing : Moksha….
Somehow I feel myself to support the idea of your hubby to some extent. Don't call it "Males think alike"…
Just like we have different paths to the same destination, I believe that you can reach and achieve the state of "Moksha" by a lot of ways. Important thing is direction should be correct… Leaving one's near and dear ones for Moksha might be one way but isn't it sort of injustice done to your near and dear ones ??? Hindu texts give us instances of a lot of Saints who were married and achieved what we discussing here. Greatest examples will be Lord Rama and Krishna…. Not that I am saying "you cannot get Moksha if you don't choose solitude" but I am saying there are other ways also.
That is typical Maloy style:) But true, there can be several paths to attain the same goal but none of the paths is easy. Its not necessarily leaving your loved ones physically, but to remain detatched even while being around them.B'cos if you remain engrossed in materialism and "Moh Maaya", how will u attain spiritualism?
It is a matter of belief..e.g. wives keep karva chauth for their husband(I know U also do ..),this does not make the life of husband longer,it is just a belief or a gesture of love(trying to answer to why people offer food to GOD).To attain moksha is a very difficult thing and it is not that if U go to a lonely place or solitude U will attain moksha,can be attained by finding GOD within small deeds we do daily and doing some good to human beings thr' small gestures and deeds which brings us closer to GOD.And finally it is one life which GOD has gifted us why not enjoy it fully.If we do enough good work in our life I am sure our soul will lie in peace.Moreover it is not easy to sit in mountains and attain moksha :-).Also it is written in shlokas that a person who remembers GOD while doing his work is dearer to GOD than one who just sits and remembers Him..
Guys ..don't get sentimental..
just chill ..
btw - have u ever see the movie "Moksha" ? with that foot tapping song "Jaan Leva"..
anyways deepti i will leave my serious thoughts on this later...i m kinda busy on a new project but din't want you to think that i did not read your blog.
PEACE OUT!
Congratulations, Deepti!! You have succinctly raised a very basic question. I am afraid my comment may be a bit longer than expected. The Sanskrit word Moksha is derived from the root 'muk', in the sense of freedom. We all are searching for 'freedom from sorrows' or 'freedom from our sense of limitation'. In this way everybody is a seeker of moksha. However, it may not be proper to equate it to the concept of 'salvation'. We are not salvaging anything (like used parts of a damaged car). Rather we are qusetioning the meaning behind our very existence and trying to understand our reality, truth, essence or fundamental nature.
We tend to use the concepts of God, almighty, heaven etc. rather loosely. The concept of 'going to God' or finding a path presupposes much and needs a vigorous questioning, we can't simply swallow it.
It is true that we all get initiated into a pattern of thinking based on our culture, religion and society but we never pause to question the very concept. Your question as to why we offer Haldi/kukum to a deity etc. is part of a model that we follow. Any model is relative and can be viewed from its standpoint only. Since we find ourselves helpless at times we like to take refuge in something that we think is more powerful and it gives us some relative peace. I believe there is nothing wrong in it, it is simply a model. God is God because we choose to call Him that way, we superimpose our concepts on God.
It is true that God may be a concept but "I" exist here and now is not a concept, it is a reality and that I want to live happily is also a reality. The pursuit of moksha is directly related to one's fundamental quest. It doesn't depend on one's marital status (grahastha or sannyasi), our scriptures and history vouch for both lifestyles, one is not superior to the other. Rather, it all depends on the preparedness of the seeker.
One last comment - if freedom is not my true nature and I acquire it (via some means) then I may loose it also and in that case it is not a very useful freedom. On the other hand if freedom is my true nature I can never loose it but then why don't I see it? The answer lies in knowledge versus ignorance. Perhaps we are ignorant of our true nature and start seeking what we need not just like your car keys that are in your pocket but you don't know and turn your house upside down looking for them. Therefore, the pursuit of happiness (moksha) is perhaps a pursuit of knowing one-self (one's true nature) rather than 'going somewhere (like heaven)', acquiring some objects (wealth etc.) etc. However, knowing oneself is a very big question and is not trivial by any means.
My suggestion - concentrate on playing the role you find yourself in (a mother/wife). Your hubby's concerns are not totally baseless. Living a life of values will help you mature and see through the pursuit (moksha) properly. All chips fall in place when we are ready. The way to making oneself ready is to uphold all human values and stick to one's duty.
Wonderful job done! I am not too much into writing but you chose a very good topic & people think they are too young to get into Moksha which is not true but these things come with surroundings, experience & time.Very well said though.
Congrats on your first blog.. Dont know much abt Moksha etc so didnt want to put a comment just for the heck of it.. more importantly - out of laziness...
Many people have put their thoughts.. and I too think that Moksha can be achieved through many paths..
As you mentioned "The main argument between us was as you tend to grow old, you need to be detached from your loved ones and the wordly things", I believe detaching yourself from your loved ones would not be correct. Wouldnt it be selfish, first to create a bond and then try to break free at one's will. If feelings are mutual it would be a different story. But seldom would you find a person/family/society where such mutual feelings would exist. Achieving salvation/moksha through this path, I guess, can be achieved by not creating bonds in the first place. There are some bonds which are inherent (brother, sister, parents) - but the least one can do is not creating new bonds (marraige, kids, friends) which in itself is very difficult.
Also why should one try to achieve all this. Is it just because people say so or people around us are doing so or is it something that one wants. I think we need to put some thought here as well.
Also regarding people believing and performing certain rituals, I think its just a way of life. Its a way to quench your thirst and feel satisfied of remembering god before/after/during any auspicious events/activities. I guess all this is just a difference of thoughts & beliefs which according to me is an ongoing endless debate with no right/wrong or true/false.
Oye DJ!! Congratulations on stepping on to the world of blogging...Impressive topic, but u know all these are heady stuffs for me..will leave you with out any comments on the topic.
What better spirit to chill on a weekend than a heady dose of spirituality :)
I must say its been quite an engrossing discussion to follow, but I dare not attempt to answer your question .. I will choose to leave it as it is .. an unanswered question !!
Was it socrates or Plato who said All I know is that I dont? - So probably questioning is the first step to knowing about something, and in this case I would imagine a lot of unlearning too would be needed! - I wish you the best on the journey.
I would urge you to read this wonderful allegory by Plato, who used it to suggest what englitenment (or salvation or moksha or nirvana) as you would like it is to his fellow greek citizens ... look forward to more digging around on a piece of ground :). I found it interesting
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/plato.html
I realized the URL hasnt appeared completely. Here is an easier one
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html
Congrats Deepti for the new spark inside you.What i feel, while being with oneself and going deep into it helps you find many unanswered queries.One thing more, this is an ongoing process that keeps peeling off layers by layers and thus taking closer n closer to the ultimate reality.
In my opinion, doing our duties whole heartedly accelerates our journey to higher levels. Devotion towards all the assigned duties will obviously help to emerge as a better seeker.
Post a Comment