Living - An Inside Job

Khalil Gibran tells a story: “Once, a humble man from a small village was visiting a foreign land. He didn’t know the language or culture of that land. He passed by a gate through which many people were passing. Filled with curiosity, he also entered. It was a famous restaurant. People were eating at different tables. He thought it was a place where visitors are welcome and treated at state cost. He also sat on a table and had a hearty meal. When someone came with the bill, he thought he was being honoured with a certificate for visiting that place. He thanked the person and started to leave. When he was taken to the owner for not paying the bill, he thought the owner was personally thanking him for the visit. He was taken to the court, whereupon he thought he was receiving state honour. He was asked to be taken on a donkey with a placard saying, “I am a thief.” While on the march through the streets, he was filled with unparallel joy of being accorded such a great honour by this country. The only thing that pinched him was that there was no body from his own country to witness this celebration. At this moment, he spotted his country man in the crowd. But, he soon disappeared in the crowd, fearing any association with this man, who was being ridiculed and humiliated. However, this man thought that his country man was jealous of his achievement.”

This man in the story was clearly living in his own world. We may laugh at him, but the fact remains that each one of us lives in his/her own respective world and considers it real. The world is what we perceive through our five senses.

If our senses are so critical in defining the world, then let’s scientifically investigate how these senses work. Light from an object enters our eyes, subject to their inherent limitations, and projects an image inside the dark chamber of our brain after processing millions of bits of information in a blink. This image is then subjected to cognition based on past impressions, values, expectations, interest, understanding, etc. Thus, a visual perception of the object is formed in our minds. Can everyone, looking at the same object, claim to have perceived the same object? Thus, no one can say for sure what, in reality, is that object. Similar phenomenon takes place with each of the other senses. What we hear is not what everyone else hears. What we smell is not what everyone else smells. What we taste is not what everyone else tastes. And, what we feel on touching is not what everyone else feels. Therefore, in reality, everyone perceives a world of one’s own inside one’s own brain.

Our senses can never tell us what the real thing is. It is absurd to fight, compete, feel jealous or get angry over things that are not real and mere creation of our own minds in our own little worlds. But, since we co-exist with others and have to perform certain duties in this so called world, we have to use whatever our senses bring to us. The first thing that we must do with our perceptions is not to take them seriously, as they never give the real picture. With this attitude, we can live in this world lightheartedly, as if playing a game. No doubt, we play to win. But, we must play a fair game. Those who cheat spoil the very fun in the game and add stress for themselves. Further, we should maintain a deep understanding that both winning and losing have no meaning in the end. After all it is only a game, and the real thing is to enjoy playing this game. Don’t we applaud the opponent for a nice shot, even if missed by us?

Living, essentially, is an inside job. We, no doubt, exist together, but live alone in our own worlds. The more we focus on the perceptions and consider them real, the less we live. Those, who spend their lives fighting for supremacy in such a world, miss the opportunity to live. The real fight is within, where great transformation can take place for every individual. The real yardstick is our internal growth based on our own internal benchmark. All external benchmarks are mere illusions, which ultimately result in frustrations. No one has ever achieved them, nor will anyone ever achieve. We are shrouded by layers of dark mysteries. Where did we come from and where will we go? What exactly happens in death, which will take away everything that we fear of losing now? Who, essentially, are we and why are we born? However hard we may try to avoid such questions by indulging in the world, they would continue to haunt us in our private moments. The answers are so subjective that no book or person can share. They can, at best, give powerful indications. We have to find on our own by contemplating upon these questions within, while playing a fair game in the outside world. We shall intuitively know when the right answers appear.  Like an onion, we have to peel layer-by-layer each veil of secrecy. With the fall of every veil, we will be filled with unparallel joy, which will culminate in the everlasting bliss when the real identity or source reveals itself. Such, I believe, is the meaningful living.