जीवन सरिता (Jeevan Sarita)

जीवन सरिता 
जिन्दगी अथक नदी के जैसे 

जाने कितनी सदियों से 

बिना रुके, बिना थके बस

चलती जा रही है!

हिमनद से सागर का रास्ता 

तो दिखता छोटा ही है

पर सागर से फिर हिमनद पर,

बदल की झोली में छुप कर

शीत श्वेत कपास की कोंपल

या फिर बर्फीला झंझावत बन 

एक कभी न रुकते हुए चक्र में

जिन्दगी अथक नदी के जैसे 

जाने कितनी सदियों से 

बिना रुके, बिना थके बस

चलती जा रही है. 

हम हर मौसम में आते हैं 

नया चहरा नया एक नाम लिए

जीवन को 'अपना' कहते हैं ता जो 

यह रहे हमारी पहचान लिए 

(किसी एक नाम का नहीं है जीवन

हम भूल के सच को जीते हैं कि)

युगों से गतिमय जीवन सरिता

की है बस पहचान गति, और 

जिन्दगी अथक नदी के जैसे 

जाने कितनी सदियों से 

बिना रुके, बिना थके बस

चलती जा रही है!

Old friends

This is something that I started writing in 2002 after a trip to Daytona Beach, FL. I could not close this when I initially wrote and at that time I didn't know why.... Now I know what was holding me from finishing this piece.

2002

I walked a few steps and the waves touched my feet, welcoming me on the beach. I smiled, looked towards the sea and said, “Thank you!” And the Sea not only smiled back but also roared. I was happy to be on the beach and I had a feeling that the beach is happy because I am there. I have a strange relation with sea. Ever since I was a kid, Sea fascinates me and invites me. And when ever I am near it, it talks, in its own special language and it understands what all I have to tell.

From the little fisherman’s village near Mumbai, India to the roaring beaches of southern California, it speaks the same language. It connects miles. That day I was at Daytona Beach, Florida. A small book tugged in my pocket that I wanted to read sitting near the sea. I was miles away from my apartment in Orlando. I was all alone, just me and the Sea. There were hundreds of people all around us, but two of us were so engrossed into each other that we didn’t notice. I think sea was giving same ‘feel of importance’ to every one present. I smiled again and winked, and I am almost sure that the sea winked back, and again roared with laughter. There was this bond that usually good friends have and the warmth was so obvious……………

2012

Many years since the above was written (it has been almost 10 years), and the ocean of responsibilities had seemingly submerged the old friendships. A bond once so strong (between Sea and me) was almost forgotten. Not remembering any of that, I drove to Virginia Beach last week, with my wife and our two sons, driving to the hotel parking late at night. A late night walk at the board walk and I think I heard someone call my name but I couldn't tell who. Next morning was magical, as I felt almost no tiredness of the long drive and in spite of having slept very late I woke up early and saw the sun rising from behind the waves while sitting in the balcony. And that moment I knew I had to run on sand again. A few minutes later I was on the sea side with my family. Very different from 10 years back in Daytona, no book tugged under the arm. Just a few folded chairs and a box with water and some food on my shoulders and instead of being alone I had my wife walking by my side and a somewhat nervous little boy in her lap and an over enthusiastic big brother giggling while running towards the sea. I looked at the waves and saw something, more like a faint smile. I looked again as if trying to recognize an old friend after meeting him or her unexpectedly in a mall. And yes there it was; the bond that was established many years back existed as strong as ever. I dropped everything on the sand grabbed my older son’s arm and ran to the waves. I am sure what I heard was the familiar laughter from my old friend, the Sea. Right then a big wave rose to me and my son and embraced us. I showed my son to my old friend and then they played  with each other for hours. Actually all three of us played together for hours.

Having spent a couple of days listening to the roars of laughter from my old friend and spending time playing and chatting; it was time to part and I said, “You have not changed even a bit.” “Neither did you," he replied  "just now you started playing more than reading your books, and ......” He paused  and teasingly smiled while looking at my overweight frame and a thinned hair line. “We will meet soon.” I said realizing how much I have missed this. “I will wait, for you, right here, like always.” He said and winked. I winked back. And then he laughed ; his usual big roar of a laugh!!!

Happiness and Law of Inertia

Happiness seems to be one thing where Newton’s 1^st law fails. I know the laws are meant to be applied to the physical entities. However I have this habit of drawing come emotional and some logical (non-physics) conclusions based on the Sir Isaac Newton’s master piece (the laws that has made understanding nature of things so easy).

Newton’s First law: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that state by external forces acted upon it.

Applied to a state of mind, (assume a state of mind being a physical entity, and I am not saying it, I am just following what my interpretation is of something that was said in the Gospel  "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."), It would mean that if you are happy you should continue being happy unless and external force (something against happiness) is applied on your mental state. But that rarely happens.

Happened to me once after watching an episode of “Whose line is it anyway” many years ago, I could not stop laughing for almost an hour (considered to be very long time for something like continuous laugh) and my wife (of just a few months at that time) thought that either I am crazy or (demon) possessed. I am sure that she even tried to look for some doctor (maybe even a Witch Doctor) contact in the directory to stop my seemingly uncontrollable laughter.

I just ended talking with one of my direct reports. He was unhappy with the fact that he did not receive a great pay raise recently. I tried to convince him that as per the company conditions and his level/status he is very well compensated (actually he is the highest paid employee in his level of experience and expertise). But in the end he was still not happy. I remember he was very happy about his compensation just a few months back and now that he has received a raise (though small but still a raise) still he was unhappy. So the state of happiness even though got a push but changed direction and turned to unhappiness.

That is to some extent what Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory is about, I guess. So Maslow’s theory in my opinion is the psychological opposite of the 1^st law of motion.

Developing a little bit on that, so being happy needs a push and continue to be happy is not our natural state of mind. We by default might be unhappy creatures and continues in its state of unhappiness, or of lethargy, unless compelled to change that state by external forces (happy things) acted upon it. Sadly the friction is inborn to the continuous state of being happy.

That is why it Buddha said enlightenment is bliss. So Bliss is when you reverse your mind polarity and make happiness as the natural (continuous) state of things with unhappiness being an exception at times forced by external factors.

Example: Me and my wife once were having a fun evening lots of laughing and all of a sudden one of us said something, the other one got upset, sad, unhappy. That made the person who had said that unhappy and that person insisted, can you please be happy again? The answer, “Mood  is not like a light bulb that can be lightened just by the flip of a switch.” Now if it can be closed by the flip of a switch like a light bulb why can’t it be lighted in the same way? Big Question; isn’t it? Simple answer; reverse polarity so the mood can be switched on like a light bulb and cannot be switched off like one.

Confused? So am I, if reversing polarity was that easy then it would be a blissful life.

My quest to enlightenment is hidden in finding that switch, reversing polarity and let Sir Isaac Newton’s law take care of the rest.