"Given some 'fodder' for our spiritual practice; a good friend of ours died suddenly and unexpectedly while sleeping. For me, it brought about some profound meditations on impermanence, attachment, the source of grief, bodiless existence, etc. Also, the precious and ever-fleeting opportunity at hand to realize the Self! I've always found great meaning to Chapter 2, Verse 11 in the Bhagavad Gita - "neither for the living nor the dying do the wise grieve". It had always hit me as something aspirational, and also as something indicative of the exalted state of the wise. But in recent meditations on this subject, it seemed there was a small glimpse of the direct and self-evident nature of that verse, something from the depths that could clearly never be touched by grief. As tragic as this event was, it also seems to have brought with it some grace and a drawing towards introspection. I always deeply appreciate your insights and commentary on the Gita; if you felt compelled to share a little about this or other verses regarding death and dying, I would certainly cherish it!"
As per his request, I wrote back:
Of course, 2.11 in Gita is immediately answered to some extent in 2.12, where Krsna tells Arjuna that 'Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future will any of us cease to be.' If all are eternal, then why would one suffer for the living or the dead.
There's a story I heard somewhere about a man with a new child. As is sadly often the case, this young child got sick and passed away during the night. The man, awoken by the wailing of his bereaved wife, asks her what has happened, where she tells her husband that during the night, their only child has passed. The man remains quiet, and the wife asks, "How are you not devasted by this news - our only child is gone?!" The man says, "This last night I was dreaming. I dreamt that I was a great king and oversaw a whole country. With my queen, we had raised 6 beautiful boys, 6 princes, who had become strong and wise boys. But our neighbors had invaded our country, and we were at war, so I sent the troops out to fight the enemy, led by my illustrious sons, the princes. Unfortunately, they were all killed in battle, and I was left alone to mourn the loss of these beautiful sons. Now I have awakened, and been told that our one son has passed on. But I don't know if I should be more upset by the loss of this one child or the loss of all six of my princely sons!
The reality is that this world IS more or less a dream. A projection of consciousness wherein everything that arises is also that consciousness. Exactly like the dream, everything in the world appears from our own projected mind. We don't lament the loss of anyone in the dream, for the moment we wake up, we recognize that it was only a dream. Similarly, when we wake up from our daytime dream, we can recognize that it is all a temporary experience, of which we've had thousands and thousands of lives and deaths over the millenia.
It doesn't mean that we don't care. We can certainly love what is happening in the life story and love those within it, but simultaneously recognizing that it IS but a story. Even sometimes watching our favorite tv shows or movies, we are moved by what happens, EVEN THOUGH we know it is simply a story. Part of this life experience IS to experience the light and dark, the good and the bad. And ultimately, to transcend them, just as Krsna tells Arjuna in 2.14 - The non permanent appearance of happiness and distress, just like winter and summer, come and go. One must learn to tolerate and transcend them without being disturbed. :-)
The trick, so to speak, is to recognize that eternal part which IS You, that has never changed and you've recognized as 'me-ness' from being a child even to the present moment. That 'Me' simply experiences all the good and bad, ups and downs. Simply experience them without being too attached or identified with those things. I think perhaps one of the few goodish things about television is that it allows us to see exactly how the world is taking place, and yet we can be completely removed from it - it's just a show.
Or as the late comedian BIll Hicks used to say:
"It's Just A Ride
The World is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round, and it has thrills and chills and is very brightly colored, and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.
Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they've begun to question, 'Is this real, or is this just a ride?', and other people have remembered, and they've come back to us and they say 'Hey, don't worry. Don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.' and we KILL THOSE PEOPLE.
"Shut him up! We have alot invested in this ride! SHUT HIM UP! Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account, and my family. This just has to be real."
It's just a ride.
But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that. You ever noticed that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because ... It's just a ride.
And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear wants you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead see all of us as one.
Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride:
Take all that money we spent on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding, clothing, and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and WE CAN EXPLORE SPACE, TOGETHER, BOTH INNER AND OUTER, forever ... in peace."
I know Bill Hicks is not exactly scripture - but still pretty on point!
And, it also gives us the opportunity to share our love as much as possible while we (and they) are still here. This IS all temporary, though we all think we will last forever.
In the Mahabharata, King Yudhisthira is questioned by Lord Dharma with 100 questions. One of those questions is, "What is the most wonderful thing?" King Yudhisthira replies, "While every day, people see those around them dying, they think that 'I shall never die'." But we will each die in our time.
And as the Romans kindly reminded us - 'Memento Mori' - remember that you too shall die. So while you ARE living, consider loving a lot more, and maybe being hateful a lot less. After all, It's just a ride!
Deep love always,
Aja
_____________________________
Faye and I are visiting Arunachala for a few weeks and happen to be doing a deep dive into Ashtavakra Gita🙏 Another gem expounding the dreamlike nature of existence.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! ❤️🙏 After Bhagavad Gita it's probably my favorite book! Offer prayers to the mountain for me. 😁🙏
Delete