Hare KRshna ?
I just laid witness to the rage my brother released on the cats. He hasn’t changed after all these years. I’m terribly concerned of him.
Then again, its the same kind of rage that we are all subject upon.
I, myself, included. Beyond that, its the same fiery destruction that lays waste upon our flowery souls, leaving us no more than a barren desert of regret afterwards. Re-witnessing it all again, I know of my sin of indulgence in it. Its the same passion that burns me that comes out as a dragon of destruction at times, whilst it can also be that winged eagle of ambition, or that lamb-like clinging meekness of love. An enjoyable rush, but still ultimately destructive when unbridled by self-control.
Just a few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be Sanjaya and lay witness to the teaching of Krishna to Arjuna before the epic battle of the Mahabharata. In one of the dilaogues, Krishna mentioned the 3 kinds of men :
1. Men of Knowledge that knows what ought to be done and does it.
2. Men of Passion, committed to the pursuit of earthly fruits.
3. Men who are consumed by self-destruction or darkly inert.
Men of knowledge are those who lose himself in his Dharma or Sacred Duty. In this, when a man is even a killer, as long as he thinks of no "fruit" for himself and does it wholeheartedly, he is even said to be doing his Dharma and committing to it. Remember, its not about morality, but its all about balance. Just as in Zen and Taoism, Buddhism/Hinduism finds delineation of good and evil into seperate camps as "destructive" to outright "absurd". (Sorry guys, no bibliography here. Try and read "Hagakure" or "Book on Family Traditions on the Art of War" by Yagyu Munemori)
Going back, Men of Passion are those consumed by their incessant desire for pleasure or "fruits of their actions". To the eyes of Krishna, doing something with the thought of something at the end of it bears sin itself. Come to think of it, the Sufi records, even Zen ones, actually propagate a form system wherein even a "thank you" is tantamount to a trade — you do a service, you are thanked for it. The best deed of doing is doing something for the benefit of another without letting them know about it. This is termed as Karma-Yoga, I believe.
Lastly, there’s the darkly inert beings. Folks in dark inertia, that is — those that are on a highway to hell by their own choosing. Just as passion and knowledge, its a momentum that is a challenge to alter once it goes; its like riding a train to a destination, and the only way to disembark is to break your own ticket’s destination and consciously disembark at the next station to ride the next train.
So, what to do? What to take? Just live life and face what you have to face. Carpe Diem, as Westerners would say! Your path is yours and yours alone.
And I have to free my mind from these idealogies too. Its already installed locks and chains around me. But am I ready to be free? True freedom is to lose all thoughts, all idealogies, all. Perhaps I’ll never be ready for that. But hey, its a shot at Nibbana, right?
