Comprehending the mammoth task!

Being in the present moment is a mammoth task. Each one of us knows the beauty of this moment when our minds retire from the job of being a circumnavigator of illusions. People have quoted very beautifully the benefits of living in the present but how to practice it is still a mystery to some extent.

Right now I am sitting in the ladies compartment of a Mumbai Local. My bag is placed comfortably on my lap and the ladies sitting beside me are engaged in a humorous conversation. Thin strands of hair are flying over my face and as I looked up, I saw a policeman in guard standing right in front of me. There is a itchy feeling on the back of my neck and I am even feeling thirsty. There is complete darkness outside the window and I am not able to give a complete description of the station that I left behind.

The things I mentioned in the second paragraph constituted my present moment. They are the observations that circle the moment 'now'. But as I was typing my observations, my mind tried its best to make me travel in a train which moves back and forth. It implies that the past thoughts and even thoughts about future (we are so creative!) launched themselves to divert my attention. The best way to put it up is like this: we are torn between past and future.

It's so damn frustrating, isn't it? But what can we do about it? Try to control our minds? But 'control' is such an authoritative term. Why not hear them out? I am sure that in everyone's life there is one or more than one individual who is quite irritating. What most of us do is we ignore them but what would you do if you have to tolerate that individual for half an hour due to some reasons? Best solution: keep your calm and hear what they say. Hear don't listen. So when your mind starts chattering something pleasant or unpleasant, just hear what it's saying. Listening can again make you ponder over your thoughts.

These are my views about how to be in the present. It would be fun to know your perspectives as well. Please do share your views in the comment box.

The feeling of liberation

We, who term ourselves as 'civilised' homo sapiens, have created innumerable divisions in the society for our own convenience. Once a division is made, we decide over which one of them is superior to the rest. The superior one enjoys prestige and respect whereas those who are inferior suffer 'imposed diseases' of the society. Then comes the time when the inferior empower themselves for a mass revolution. After a continuous span of bloodshed and traumatised cries, someone rises to power and the new 'hero' promises to establish peace. 

So where is peace? 

Did you ever feel that the attitude of electing someone as your leader itself is divisional by nature? Again someone is loitering above you, only this time you have the notion that the leader will be working day and night to establish peace. 

On one side we believe that God resides in every living being while on other side we idolise any human being as a 'God' and are ready to follow his footsteps blindly to proudly declare ourselves as his true followers. 

Seriously! What's wrong with us?

Let's have a look at another perplex division. Read this incomplete sentence carefully: 

The man has evolved.......

We have come across such kind of wordings a lot. But why wasn't it ever put up as:

The woman has evolved.....

Well the perplex division doesn't end here. Statements like 'boys are insensitive', 'girls are smarter', 'men shouldn't cry because they are not females' and many such brilliantly crafted statements are passed on from generations to generations as an entire package of tradition. Here we are learning about empathy in our varied curriculums and on the other hand chatting endlessly with friends where such kinds of utterances are happily encouraged. 

But here my focus doesn't rest on the types of divisions. We all know about them and they are even passionately criticised. But then why do disparities still occur? Because one often ignores to have a look at its cause, the one powerful enough to create distinctions like mine and thine. It's our own thoughts. 

Thoughts give birth to concepts and the concepts open the gates for divisions. When the oppressed wants to revolt, his/her thoughts shape concepts which are favourable for him/her and those give rise to further divisions. The same applies to those who are already termed as superior in terms of power and prestige. So what I feel is that there is no conflict between inferior and superior. Instead there is a conflict between two perspectives whose outer coating seems different but the inner structure is completely the same! 

According to me, liberation doesn't take place when a situation one wishes to escape from finally withers away. It happens the moment when you are not the prisoner of your own thoughts. Can we try to observe our thoughts without being involved in it? Involvement creates biases. And when we are not biased, we tend to observe the beautiful chaos all around us.