Life and Death: Don't Rock Your Boat On the Sea of Life

By Surekha Kothari

Followers of Advaita philosophy say that the soul and the Divine are one. But, when a soul takes birth encased in a physical body, its new physical identity after birth and the process of socialisation overtake and even obliterate the memory of its connection with the Divine.

As the external identity strengthens with a first name, family name, religion, caste, and the "mine and thine" tendency, the ego strengthens and the world and everything in it begin to appear real.

It would not be incorrect to say that while we are in this world, the world is real, as much as our living in it and performing our karma is real. But how do we live our life on this earth? Indian tradition says that the first and perhaps the final purpose of the atma is to realise its unity with the cosmic consciousness by removing the veil of ignorance that distances it from the Divine. Our inner world and its knowledge, thereof, should be the prime focus.

The 'I' that is our identity and the multifarious roles we assume on account of this identity makes us play the game of life, completely involved in the world of dualities: mine and thine, good and bad, joy and sorrow. Here, the senses and emotions play a part. Add to this all the deep-rooted conditioning that we receive from home and outside since childhood and the externalisation of the individual is complete.

The story of each one of us revolves around our circumstances, duties and responsibilities. We tend to blame our circumstances but this is only an indicator of our inability to recognise and accept our shortcomings. Circumstances may be perceived as conducive or adverse, but they can never be detrimental to the evolution of an individual provided the attitude is positive.

Only then can we look for sunshine even on a dreary day. A clouded intellect can drag the individual downwards. That would be a tragedy because the journey of a soul is upwards. How do we know this?

The coiled energy called the Kundalini travels from the base or mooladhar chakra to the crown chakra, situated at the crown of the head and which is our connection with the Divine. While all human beings are ruled by the gravitational force which anchors them to the earth, upward movement requires an effort and therefore, every elevation of the human being is "an uphill task". It involves breaking old patterns and letting in new ones, withdrawing the senses from the temptations of the outer world and moving inwards.

Given the discipline and focus required, salvation seems a distant dream to most of us. This is because we are very comfortable living in the easier modes of reaction, expectations, desires, cravings for wealth and fame and other worldly trappings that are so habit-forming that the uncharted inner world is nowhere on our radar screen. In order to bring this region under our purview, we require the right knowledge.

Acquiring the right knowledge can help but bookish knowledge is just information, only a step towards an awareness of what we don't know and need to know. A change will occur only when the know-ledge is reflected upon and applied, first, to the thought processes and then with the right attitude, to actions.

As wisdom dawns, the intellect becomes sharper, the vision crystal clear, the instincts honed to such a degree that there is no scope for any confusion. The only principle of living that works is that of "nadi naav sanjog". This means living like a boat on the seas which is safe as long as it travels parallel to the seas but can drown if water fills it. The message for us is that we, too, should traverse the waters of this world without involving ourselves in it or run the risk of drowning.

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See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)