Discovery Of Man - Four Questions, No Answers

Who am I? Where have I come from? What is the purpose of my life? Where am I going? These are four basic and fundamental questions which are crucial to everybody born in this world. As crucial as oxygen is for life. In fact, even more important than oxygen since their significance transcends one's life.

Yet nobody seems to know the answer to any of these questions, let alone all the four of them. Just as the continued supply of oxygen is of no immediate ca use of worry to man, and some unknown agency, curiously publicity-shy, diligent and industrious, seems to be taking care of the production and distribution of the O., man is simply not bothered to find the ultimate Truth which constitutes the answers to the four enigmatic questions. Discovery of the Truth which would surely help blossoming of the myriad attributes of man to their full potential and set him on the course to evolve into a much finer specimen of God's creation well on way to Godhood, would surely not hamper his chances of beating his compatriots hands down in the rat race to material progress and prosperity, by its absence. Lack of the knowledge never hurt! So, there!

Pushed and prodded for a response, one may quote scriptures or holy men but that is neither here nor there. Not that the wisdom of the holy men or the sanctity or correctness of the scriptures is held in doubt. Not for a fleeting moment! We are simply not chartering into those treacherous waters. The point of the exercise is that nobody seems to have a first hand knowledge or account of the answer; in fact, nobody even seems to care to probe. To know for sure that there is a fabled treasure buried somewhere in your backyard and not be bothered about looking for leads and clues to the treasure!

What causes man to amble away from embarking on a glorious voyage for the discovery of the richest of all treasures? Man is basically an opsimath, not interested in anything but matters of the here and now.The humdrum of the mundane chores of the day-to-day life at the altar of the mammon saps man's will to seek the Truth. Already saddled with lack of conviction that the glory of immortality and eternal bliss constitute the reward of the quest claiming which is his inalienable right, man's lambent curiosity for seeking the Truth wanes by the day.

What ails man? For starters, one would assume that the matter is way too big for anyone to handle. It is, after all, not a conundrum which could be resolved by a lifetime's acquisition of worldly knowledge or wisdom. Nor is the realization of the truth likely to enhance the prospects of one's material success or prosperity hankered after by the hoi polloi in the course of scoring one-upmanship. Doubts whittle away endurance and makes the quest more brittle to stand the test of time.

And again, who has the time to seek answers beyond the scope of search engines? Secondly, what if the answers are not to your liking? Don't forget, the fear of the unknown is always at work. What if your past was not glorious or future way beyond your imagination? We are talking about periods prior to your birth or post your death. Real big ticket questions, indeed. Who wants to know? Isn't ignorance blissfully beautiful? Besides, once you know the answers, your whole attitude to life and all that jazz might undergo a sea change, so much so that either you may stick out like a sore thumb or simply go mad!

Given to inertia in matters of spirituality, man does not want to know answers to inconvenient questions unless and until those are capable of producing tangible results. Unless the thirst for the Truth is acute and polydipsic in nature, man can not be bothered to stir out of his cozy bed of complacency, no matter how foudroyant an effect it promises to have on the quality of his life.

A full life of sorts where a man has had a fair share of his fill at the fountain of life could some times set him in the right direction. Or the occurrence of a tremendous depression of cataclysmic proportions caused by a great let down or loss or a life-threatening situation could be the cause for one's transformation into a Truth seeker. One could even hotfoot it into force shutting his hitherto life by divine intervention. Whatever be the cause, the journey once set upon gives you the grit, motivation and inducement necessary to carry on the quest till you reach the pinnacle.

As it happens, there is no crash course on how to find the Truth. In fact, you cannot find the Truth. It is the Truth which finds you. You can only hope for it to occur sooner rather than later and prepare yourself for the experience of a lifetime. The first thing to keep in mind is that you can't serve mammon and God at the same time. Having carefully chosen the master, be diligent and unswerving in your quest. This does not warrant a throwing away of everything you think you own, Ferrari included! You can continue to be in the thick of things without getting personally involved or affected by the trappings of the materialistic life. Detachment and an emotional void help you steer clear. Be very conscious of the ephemeral nature of the worldly objects and experiences. Undoubtedly, it is easier said than done. Nevertheless, no matter how weak the flesh is, you can do it so long as the spirit is willing.

You have to be convinced that whatever happens to you in your day-to-day life at the hands of others is not actually happening to you but to some other person who others think you are! Getting out of one's body and dispassionately watching it go through the motions of life like in a state of trance or dreams helps you escape the states of grief and glee. After all, what happens to you in a dream does not actually affect you! So is the case when you learn to distance yourself from the happenings in your life, no matter which side you are on. Once you cut yourself off the lashings which bind you to the worldly matters of here and now, you truly and gradually approach a state of equanimity.

The final stage arrives, and only when you have gone through the earlier stages and no sooner, when you learn to delve into yourself. It is not a mere physical exercise of closing your eyes and trying to see in the ensuing darkness although this act does symbolise the act of delving into your inner self. Delve into your inner self, delve deeper as much as you can as there is no limit to how far you can go. This exercise, if it may be called that, calls for all the patience, gentleness and positivity that one could summon. Any inward resistance to the act is illusory, meant to make you despair and give up. Nevertheless no degree of force, physical or mental, is to be used. Resistance is to be countered by gentle and persistent forays into your inner chambers. Truth holds you by your hand and leads you to Godhood.

Expect no miracles although the final revelation is the biggest miracle of them all. And where does God figure in all this groping about? Why, anywhere and everywhere. He is the Truth. At the end of the journey, YOU KNOW that Truth is within you and you are part of the all-encompassing Truth.