He renounced all worldly desire to pursue a life of staunch austerities, meditation and prayer. He wanted to attain the state of Nirvana, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
For years, he wandered in jungles, survived the vagaries of nature, meditated in caves, and transcended mountains and crossed valleys, and yet he could not attain primordial bliss.
He was born again and again to pursue a life that craved for Nirvana. His only folly was that he could not liberate himself from the strong desire to attain salvation! His desire continued to bind him to the cycle of birth and rebirth.
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Snigdha Says:
October 15th, 2008 at 4:30 PMwow very well written. I also think at times, people who are driven by a strong spiritual quest, what is it that they are looking for? Some might say, they are looking for true meaning and purpose of life but in that quest when they finally realise the purpose they hav already wasted the time in the quest to fulfill their purpose. I dont know if I am making any sense. But you have written makes so much sense.:-)
Agendra Says:
October 16th, 2008 at 3:43 PMThis is so typical of Aneesha’s writing style…but for some time we were deprived of such philosophical pieces or let me call gems of wisdom.
What Snigdha has said also makes sense. But, I am of the opinion that even if someone spent a life time following the quest; so long as it is achieved it is worth the journey and wait. In any case the new things one would learn on the way would enrich the soul and make it far more enlightened for the next cycle.
Aneesha Says:
October 16th, 2008 at 4:07 PM@Agendra, great to see your comment on my blog! This piece comes from sudden thot on a sleepless night. I am glad you liked it. BTW, Snig, Manish and I are really interested in knowing what happened when you visited in the Naadi Shastri again! We are waiting for a piece from you!
Hitesh Kumar Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 AM@ansi
im at a strong disagreement with what you have felt/written about the guy not reaching nirvana, and you have termed it as “absurd desire”.
first and foremost, the desire for nirvana is THE only desire why the soul take the route of human body. nirvana can be reached only through the path of instinct refining into intellect, which developes into intuition and eventually reaches the state of nirvana. this flow is possible only in human form. so its quite clear that the desire for nirvana is soul’s basic nature. its more like, you are born with lungs and then you desire to breath. you dont desire to breath, its the nature of your body. similarily for the soul, the desire for nirvana is basic nature. so its no desire at all.
in bhagwad gita, it is said, that the desire for nirvana is the ONLY cure for all the desires. but the desire for nirvana is most misunderstood.
the guy in your short piece here, like the rest of such people, has the strong desire to break free from the cycle of birth and death, the desire to free the soul from the agony that is human body, the craving to reach the so called eternal peace. there is no desire for nirvana, but looks like it because nirvana seems to be the only way out. this is the binding desire.
the desire for nirvana is no desire at all. it actually is the first step towards the absolute and the only liberating force which eventually makes a human “gunaateet”, or become one with the absolute.
Aneesha Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 PM@Hitesh – agreed that the desire for nirvana is the only penultimate desire and aim. But in my story, I have tried to talk more in terms of the “ends and the means” – the end is nirvana, the means we employ is varied – each means leads to another means – another step to be covered – another desire to cover this step forward – and sometimes this cycle repeats.
With each birth and death cycle we inch a step closer to the aim, the end, and with each cycle the desire for nirvana predominates. Consciously or subconsciounly the innate desire of salvation pulls us into the karmic cycle of birth and death so that we may fulfill what we have set out to achieve.
Its just the perspective of how you look at the story – how you define why you are born again and again! From a common man’s perspective isnt it his basic desire for nirvana that brings him back to worldliness – the same analogy works here – lungs to breathe or breathe because we have lungs? A simple human being, who doesnt understand the intricacies of the Absolute Truth and the spirtitual aim of human life, would ask a simple question – why was I born or why was I born to this life of struggle and quest; and the most basic answer would be “because of your innate desire to attain nirvana!”
So you see, you and I both are on the same plane!
Hitesh Kumar Says:
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 PMagreed and dont agree. my point here is, for a common man, lets not call the desire for nirvana an absurd one. we actually need to encourage such desire. the plot of the story is flawed. a true desire for nirvana will take care of everything else. HISTORY IS EVIDENCE IT HAS NEVER FAILED…..IF IT WAS TRUE. if one fails its not because the syllabus is wrong, its just that the urge was not strong enough. Desire for Nirvana HAS to be the first step…dont have to renounce it.
i might agree that we are the same plane but disagree that you sent an unfavorable message to the common man.
felinemusings Says:
November 1st, 2008 at 9:21 PM@Hitesh, once again I am not disputing what you are highlighting, however, I will still asert that the short story depicts a matter of perspective – how one can look at the constant cycle of life and death and how one can define the cause and the reason behind this endless struggle. As a story goes, that when a devotee of Krishna died and reached the court of Yamraj, an analysis of his good and bad deeds determined that he must be born again to pay for all his bad karma. The devotee implored to Krishna to save him from the ordeal of another life, but Krishna agreed with Yamaraj that the devotee must pay back for all his deeds. In a moment of dejected revelation, the devotee cried out – “No, I have done none of these things, neither the bad nor the good. It is you and you alone who did them.” It was the realization that the individual is but the vehicle of the Divine Will. But how many individuals struggling against Fate, are able to find the answer as to why they suffer and why they are born again and again to die and then be born again. For a commoner its an absurd cycle, an Absurd Desire to free oneself from the cyclce, and an even more Absurd Fate that keeps on driving them away from union with the One!