THE BOOK OF MIRDAD: Book review by Ratish Iyer

THE BOOK OF MIRDAD – AUTHORED BY MIKHAIL NAIMY

BOOK REVIEW BY: RATISH IYER

“There are millions of books in the world but The Book of Mirdad stands out far above any other book in existence. It is very unfortunate that very few people are acquainted with The Book of Mirdad for the simple reason that it is not a religious scripture. It is a parable, a fiction – but containing oceanic truth. It is a small book, but the man who gave birth to this book… and mind my words, I am not saying ‘the man who wrote this book’… nobody wrote this book! I am saying that the man who gave birth to this book – he was unknown, a nobody. And because he was not a novelist, he never wrote again; just that single book contains his whole experience. The name of the man was Mikhail Naimy.” – Osho

Do the aforementioned words from Osho suffice to trigger one’s curiosity to know more about this book, for those who are unfamiliar with this book or its author? Let us know about the creator first before understanding his creation.

Mikhail Naimy was born in Baskinta, in Central Lebanon. He was educated in Russia and obtained degrees in Liberal Arts and Law at the University of Washington, USA. In 1916, he moved to New York where he founded with his close friend, Kahlil Gibran, a dynamic movement for the rejuvenation of Arabic Literature. He wrote this book on his return to Lebanon after the 2^nd World War. He has been described as one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20^th Century. He died in 1988.

If it is true that ‘A man is better known by the company he keeps’, then it would please one to know that Kahlil Gibran and Mikhail Naimy were closely associated and they were contemporary revolutionary thinkers and remarkable writers. If Kahlil Gibran is held in high regard and undoubtedly, deservingly for his masterpiece ‘THE PROPHET’, then one must also know where Mikhail Naimy stands in comparison with him:

“It is not for me to assess the relative merits of Kahlil Gibran and Mikhail Naimy, but although as a much younger man, I derived immense satisfaction from reading THE PROPHET, I now find a much deeper wisdom in the less well known works of the prophet’s friend, Mikhail Naimy.” – Dr. Kenneth Walker.

What is the book about?

The BOOK OF MIRDAD is an allegorical book of philosophy (and much more), presented in a series of dialogues between Mirdad and the abbot of a monastery along with his disciples. One finds similarities with the works of Leo Tolstoy as well as teachings of Sufism. Although the wisdom contained in this book cannot be made mortal with descriptions, but for the benefit of first time readers, here are some of the themes from this book in simple terms: the possibility to expand one’s consciousness, to uncover God in man by dissolving man’s sense of duality, love, the master-servant (disciple) relationship, creative silence, money, the money lender-debtor equation, the cycle of time and death, repentance, old age etc.

What is so unique about this book?

In my opinion, I know of no better authoritarian figure that has been able to give a better review of this book than the legendary Osho himself. For only Osho could have purported the mystical words of the author in the best way possible – from thinking to feeling; like a true Guru who guides you to cross the abyss of ignorance using the drawbridge of words on to the other side of absolute bliss. Once, the silence has been reached using words, who would desire to return to the chaos left behind? As the wise sayeth in the East, ‘Once the shore has been reached, the boat must be left behind.’

Like a parched desert, one’s famished spirit is blessed by the soothing words drizzling like raindrops from the clouds of wisdom from Mikhail Naimy. The reader when drenched in this beauty is enlightened just as struck by lightning and the heart then booms with silent thunders. Like the alternating lightning and thunder, epiphanies strike and emotions emanating from the thunderous silence reverberate from in to out and out to in – surging within and without the body, mind and spirit. Again here, Osho’s words describe it best:

 “It is an extraordinary book in the sense that you can read it and miss it completely because the meaning of the book is not in the words of the book.  The meaning of the book is running side by side in silence between the words, between the lines, in the gaps.”

How significant is this book?

To me, personally, if I were to be faced with a crisis of losing all my precious books and Holy Scriptures, save only one – then it would be this book alone. If yoga and Tai-chi denote meditation at rest and motion respectively, then this book is a process of meditation with words soaked in mysticism. And there is no doubt that with this book, even if the reader is not prepared, this book takes one into a meditative state provided that one surrenders unconditionally to the master author in helping one to seek the truth! Here is what Osho has to say in this respect:

“If you are in a state of meditativeness – if you are not only reading a fiction, but you are also encountering the whole religious experience of a great human being; absorbing it – not intellectually understanding but existentially drinking it – the words are there but they come secondary. Something else becomes primary; the silence that those words create, the music that those words create. The words affect your mind and the music directly goes to your heart. And it is a book to be read by the heart and not by the mind. It is a book that is not to be understood but experienced. It is something phenomenal!”

How shall the journey be for the reader?

Mikhail Naimy made my personal journey an unforgettable one! Usually, I would use a highlighter to mark interesting lines whenever I read a book. In this case, as I was already aware of Osho’s description about it and so I kept a highlighter ready – only for me to realize by the time I had finished reading the first chapter, that if I had used my highlighter at all, I would have ended up highlighting the entire book. Unbelievable? Then why not check with Osho again?

“Millions of people have tried to write books so that they can express the inexpressible, but they have utterly failed. I know of only one book, THE BOOK OF MIRDAD, which has not failed; and if you cannot get to the very essence of it, it will be your failure and not his! THE BOOK OF MIRDAD is one of the greatest devices that have been created down the ages. Don’t read it like any other book. Don’t read it like any other book. Don’t read it like Shri Bhagavad Gita or Holy Bible. Read it as beautiful poetry, as music spread on the pages. Read it as a message from a master of meditation. The words are code words. Don’t look for their meaning in the dictionary. Their meaning is when they strike something in your heart.” – Osho

What makes THE BOOK OF MIRDAD unique?

“The BOOK OF MIRDAD was created by a man who knows the inner workings of human consciousness. He was not a writer, hence, nobody ever bothered to give him a Nobel prize. He was alive in this century and he was our contemporary. His book has not been translated into many languages for the simple reason that this book is unique – it is not a book; it is a device. And it is not meant to be read, it is meant to create a certain atmosphere around you. If you are ready, available, receptive, the atmosphere will be created and there will be great silence. And silence is always blissful.” – Osho

In my view, this is one of those books that the reader does not seek – rather THE BOOK OF MIRDAD destines itself to land up on a few chosen hands; some blessed eyes and some great souls in pursuit of enlightenment. To possess the book is one thing, to read the whole book is another, to understand the challenging content is yet another; but to absorb from what is understood is a rare and a stupendous feat in itself!        

“The book of Mirdad needs to be in every house – it is so precious… just don’t start having expectations and it will help you on the way immensely.”

What is THE BOOK OF MIRDAD according to…?

Ø  The Author: Mikhail Naimy, the author, has described it as the ‘pinnacle of his thought and summary of his view of life.’ 

Ø  The Master: According to Osho, “… it is a book worth reading thousands of times. You cannot  understand its oceanic meaning in one reading, because in each page, each turn, each chapter, each line, there is a possibility – because the man who wrote it… I understand that man. He was one of the greatest men of this century. He lived unknown to the world, but just this one book makes him the greatest writer not only of this century, but of all centuries.” 

Ø  The reviewer (Yours truly): Rather than doing injustice by using my own inferior choice of words, it is best that I respect the immortality of Mikhail Naimy’s words by quoting from his masterpiece:

“I say to you, there is no God and Man. But there is God-Man or Man-God. There is The One. However multiplied, however divided, it is forever One. Is not the sea – though vast and deep – a single drop? Is not the Earth – though flung so far – a single sphere? Are not the spheres – though numberless – a single universe? Likewise is mankind but a single Man – likewise is Man, with all his worlds, a singleness complete.” – THE BOOK OF MIRDAD – A lighthouse and a haven.

RATISH IYER

*****

FROM ILLUSION TO ILLUMINATION - THROUGH ORDER AND CHAOS

An essay that won an award!

~ with blessings~received from Mrs Shyamala Iyer - my mother

FROM ILLUSION TO ILLUMINATION - THROUGH ORDER AND CHAOS

"Without order nothing can exist - without chaos nothing can evolve." - Author unknown

We live in a world of desires. Our desires chase happiness. But once we possess what we desire, that happiness eludes us. Isn’t it so? And we go on chasing… We continue our pursuit of happiness when at some point of time we may wonder when this pursuit shall ever cease. Can we ever be happy, without ‘desiring’ to be happy? Gautama Buddha had realised that suffering is the result of desire. And to live a life without desire is impossible as long we live through our bodies. The body cannot survive without the principle of consumption and elimination. The ‘programming’ or mechanism of the body can be viewed as desire governing the ingestion of food/water/air and ejecting the excess or harmful form of the same components as faeces/urine/sweat/gas.

Our existence revolves around three factors: body, mind and consciousness. The naïve perceives the ‘self’ from outside to inside, i.e. a body with a mind and consciousness. The enlightened one’s perspective is from within to without i.e. consciousness with a mind and body. Wisdom lies in realising and embracing oneself as a unified entity of body-mind-consciousness. 

Most of us remain engaged in normal living; the usual day-to-day living where we organize our lives in order to give some meaning to it. What is order? What does order/organization have to do with normal living? The answer lies in one word – BALANCE. Aren’t we familiar with words like ‘balanced diet’, ‘work/life balance’, ‘balance sheet’, etc.? Balance gives a certain meaning to our lives instead of letting chaos reign. When we experience balance, we feel secure and that makes us happy. Subsequently after achieving such happiness, does the pursuit of happiness finally come to a halt? Logically, it should stop; but often it doesn’t. Why? Because happiness is a state of mind (internal) and is not something that originates from the object of pursuit (external). Why do we fail to recognize this illusion and not remain eternally content? It is because change sets in.

Change is the law of nature. Nobody escapes change. Change requires order to be agitated – that means back to chaos! We then endeavour to bring back order (to restore balance; to regain happiness). Most people are confined to and some are even content with this ‘chase-stop-chase’way of existence. Only an intelligent person is able to perceive the futility in pursuing this fleeting happiness. One asks, ‘Why am I not permanently happy? It is because there is a conflict between me and the world in which I live, and both have an ever-changing relationship. Why is change happening? Isn’t anything permanent? What is the truth of my existence? If truth stands for something that is unchangeable under any circumstance and is forever valid at any point of time, what could it be – that reality which I have still not been able to realize?’

Socrates said ‘Know yourself and you shall know the world’? Be it Socrates or Albert Einstein or the ancient sages and prophets – these extraordinary people as we would like to call them, were people who evolved from the usual and mundane ways of thinking and living. They were highly intelligent people who scrutinised life using their own unique methods to understand why we suffer despite all our endeavours to ensure we remain happy.What did the world look like to the first person who landed on moon; to the first person who conquered the summit of Mt. Everest? Wouldn’t anybody else wish himself/herself to be in their place or be a part of that experience? Similarly, how would existence look like to such a genius whose life has been devoted to (and to those who have been successfully able to) find eternal peace or bliss?

“The fabric of existence constitutes the weft and warp of life and death” – Anonymous

Normal life as we perceive it goes through four stages – birth, survival, growth and death. We are considering it as normal life taking into account that most people get to experience all the four stages. Desire is ubiquitous in all these stages. Life goes through the four stages endlessly. 

The first stage is birth. We live in a world of opposites working on the principle of duality. Every form requires its opposite energy to also exist. Male and female energies contribute to creation through reproduction consciously or unconsciously. Either ways, it is nature’s way of ensuring continuum and balance through desire executed subtly. Birth of an offspring begins with a desire. Even if the procreation comes from a conscious desire from the individual’s perspective, from the macro-level perspective it is actually the cosmos desiring to bring forth a new form. For creation, birth is necessary and this requires the state of order to be imbalanced. Chaos emerges from order. In other words, the already existing balance (order) of a male energy with its opposite (but complementary) female energy is disturbed when a new form appears. This disturbance refers to chaos and chaos means change. For every birth of a form, death of another form is inevitable to maintain cosmic balance. The reason for this is mentioned ahead in the explanation of the last stage, death. With birth, the ‘I AM’ feeling of consciousness appears.

Survival takes off from birth, where the ‘I AM’ through the mind, experiences separation from the source. Psychologists may know it as birth trauma. The ‘I AM’ identity is the first layer of ego. Ego is in essence, the mind framing its first identity as a consequence of separation – that of being an individual entity. Crystallization of the ego begins. The ‘I AM’ starts getting conditioned by self-imposed and socio- environmental factors, forming a shell layer by layer (I am XYZ). In the case of humans, the layers comprise one’s name, religion, family, nationality and so forth. The ego begins to learn and adapt to the environment, even moulding the environment to suit oneself – fuelled by the desire to survive. Survival of the self means surviving chaos and that involves the impulse of controlling oneself and controlling others. Fear is the driving force of survival and that means chaos must be managed with order. At this stage, order emerges from chaos. 

Growth is where the primary needs of birth and survival have been successfully met. Humans become philosophical and introspective at the highest level. This is only possible when the basic survival needs are met. That means a reasonable order was required to succeed up to this level. Now, change is essential to prevent complacency or stagnation setting in. Thus, horizons of learning and perception widen to understand the relationship of self with the cosmos. Where order rules birth and survival, chaos is a pre-requisite for growth and so it springs forth from order. The self evolves through chaos at all levels – physically, mentally and socially with the desire to obtain the ultimate understanding or what is commonly termed ‘enlightenment’. A collective revolution is impossible without evolution at an individual level (the self). Here come into play the great thinkers and leaders, sages and healers, artists and teachers, scientists and doctors, etc. who bring about a fresh perspective by way of breakthrough concepts, discoveries and inventions. When we see the bigger picture, all socio-political structures including religions, cultures and civilizations become dynamic to accommodate new changes and once again order is sought to sustain the same.

Death is where the old is replaced by new. Creativity means that the old must pave the way for the new. The new then becomes old and finally makes way for another new to come. This process goes on forever. Death upsets order by eliminating the old and bringing in the new. Death is the final act of balance wherein chaos on unit level leads to order in the existence as a whole.

Logic demands answers to some questions based on the above: Where does the old go? And how is it possible to have overall balance when a part of the whole is affected? What is this paradox of death being a double agent of chaos (microcosm perspective) as well as order (macrocosm perspective)?

When we talk about balance, we ought to look at it from two levels – the individual (micro) level and the collective (macro) level. The interesting thing about our creative universe is that it works on the principle of recycling. What are we referring to when we say recycling? Remember the science lesson from our school days – energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed? Quantum physicists tell us that matter and energy are not different from one another. Matter is condensed energy appearing to have a certain structure based on our subjective perception. The whole existence is said to be a field of energy. So, old and new essentially represent the same energy albeit in varied forms. That means the concept of opposites is an illusion. Darkness is not the opposite of light; it is the absence of light. Cold is not the opposite of heat; it is the absence of heat. Could it be true then, that death and life are not opposites but merely appearing so? Could it signify that life is the visible part of the field of energy due to the presence of our perception and death is the absence of that very perception? That means our minds work on the principle of split perception or selective perception in order to understand the phenomenal world in which we live. Why is it said that our mind is like an iceberg with the major potential remaining invisible and unutilized? It is because if we were to perceive everything at once the sight will be that of chaos! To live is to experience; to experience means to have understanding. Understanding requires having to split chaos into fragments using the concept of space and time. The act of splitting means separation. And doesn’t death refer to separation? That means what we consider exists no more…what we consider having been separated from us (read death) has actually taken another form in some dimension within the space-time fabric and now that old form is absent from our existing perception. This is the wisdom of reincarnation. Death is the final act of balance wherein chaos on unit level leads to order in the existence as a whole.

To summarize the role of chaos and order in four stages of existence with desire as its theme: Creation/Birth starts with chaos. Survival requires putting chaos in order. Growth requires chaos for evolution in adherence to the creative design of the Cosmic Intelligence. To carry forth this growth, order is required for development to continue. Death is the final act of cosmic balance where chaos occurs at a micro level but order results at macro-level. Chaos and order are opposite yet complementary and interdependent energies.

 

So far we have examined the functioning of chaos and order and the significance it has in our individual and collective lives. We notice that it is desire that fuels chaos and order. We understand now that the act of desire occurs on both micro level as well as macro level, that is to say, that when change occurs in a part it certainly has an effect on the whole – BUT  - it does not necessarily ‘affect’ the whole. What seems to be a disruption at individual level (the self) may not necessarily affect the whole of existence (universe) but can be for the benefit of the entire cosmos. The wave when descending to the surface may feel that it is losing itself, but if it opens it eyes and looks around it realizes itself to be the mighty ocean itself in perfection. If only we could place ourselves in the capacity of a wave and the universe as the ocean, we would never fear anymore, we would never think of life and death as separate but mere illusions playing on the screen of consciousness.

Now, when imagining oneself as a wave ending up as ocean ultimately, is there actually that feeling of eternal freedom and peace? Are we really happy to see ourselves dissolved – into something greater? Can we picture ourselves existing no more this very second? It is extremely frightening, isn’t it? Alas! It is very difficult to extinguish our precious individuality and become one with the universe. Why is it so difficult for us to understand and experience death without fear? What is the resistance that holds us back from becoming ‘Fanaa’(the ‘self’ dissolving and merging with the cosmos) as the Sufi mystics rightly say? The answer is simple – we resist something because we are unhappy. But this simple point needs further examination.

At this point we would need to refresh our understanding so far and observe our unhappiness more closely. We are unhappy because there is a conflict reigning within us which is sometimes silent, sometimes loud. That conflict has been the result of our conditioning. That conditioning has been sown in us to base our actions on the concept of right and wrong. The concept of right and wrong has come about as a result of order/classification/separation. So we are again left to examine what we had discussed earlier, but with a fresh perspective - how does order affect my ability to be happy? 

Doesn’t order refer to organization through separation/classification/segregation? Isn’t it true then that order is but chaos split so as to perceive existence to achieve understanding? Isn’t order a desire initiated by the self so as to understand chaos part by part through duality; the mechanism of duality (perceiving the world of forms having opposites) being programmed into us by nature? If chaos is an infinite ocean, then order represents the waves. In essence both symbolize water. One mirrors the other. A piece of Buddhist wisdom states that it is not difficult to perceive a drop in the ocean, but rare it is to come upon a wise one who sees the entire ocean in a drop. That there are opposites is an illusion of mind. Perceiving something as opposite is to have the desire to remain in duality. Ego thrives on duality. Eliminating the duality is as good as death.  Now observe: I exist. You exist. There is a relationship. The perceiver is the subject. The perceived is the object. For me, you are the object. For you, I am the object. Within you there is the ‘I Am’ consciousness. So it is within me as well. Now, what happens when this ‘I Am’ consciousness no longer exists? Feel it. Does fear creep in? What is that fear? That fear is the fear of death; the fear of ego losing its identity. This fear makes us unhappy. Death is considered good in the overall picture as it brings about order. But when it comes to our individual selves, we cherish our lives and do not wish to be a part of this overall cosmic order. Thinking of death makes us unhappy. This answers the question about the cause and effect link between order and unhappiness.

The mind is very clever. We suffer when we choose one aspect consciously and unconsciously reject its’opposite. If we are bodies of energy existing in a field of energy, then thought is also energy. In time, rejected thoughts remain as suppressed memories in our sub-conscious mind. Suppression built up over a period of time become repression. Our repressed energies surface in those moments when we experience that we have acted abnormally. Psychologists call it catharsis, in which such repressed or suppressed energies are released, resulting in peace and balance of the ‘body-mind-spirit’. Sages see it as duality dwindling away. It is no wonder then that the experience is so relieving after such an immense release that one finds peace and harmony. The gist of the aforementioned analysis is that consciously we seek duality – the illusion of opposites, but unconsciously we are always seeking our way back home (reunion). 

 

The overall cosmos is always in balance no matter how chaotic it appears to us. Where birth is, death must be. Cancer cells are those cells that oppose death as required for growth. When cancer cells refuse to die, they multiply relentlessly under the illusion that they can survive. At individual levels cancer cells seek and march towards immortality. But when we see the overall picture, due to these cells’ irrational desire to live on, the whole body ultimately dies to sustain the balance in accordance with the laws of nature. Real growth is when the old dies to make way for the new. That is why it is said that we do not have the same bodies as we had them say, even six or seven months back.To the wise, death is but a gate leading back to where we came from. According to Osho, birth and death are not separate. It is as if existence is divided into two sides by a common door. One side of the door reads BIRTH. The other side is labelled DEATH. The interpretation of existence depends on which side of the door one faces. Osho also described in a similar context, how land and water are not separate in the actual sense - in the depths of land, one finds water; in the depths of seas, one finds land. 

Following are some excerpts from The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy pointing out at the suffering caused by an illusory separation nursed by one’s ego:

 

“Yours is a world of cradles turning into tombs, and tombs becoming cradles; of days devouring nights, and nights regurgitating days; of peace declaring war, and war suing for peace; of smiles afloat on tears, and tears aglow with smiles… Yours is a world set against itself, because the ‘I’ in you is so divided.

Yours is a world of barriers and fences, because the ‘I’ in you is one of barriers and fences.

Some things it would fence out as alien to itself. Some things it would fence in as kindred to itself. Yet that outside the fence is ever breaking in; and that within the fence is ever breaking out.

For they, being offspring of the same mother – even your ‘I’ – would not be set apart.

And you, rather than joy in their happy union, begird yourselves anew for the fruitless labour of separating the inseparable. Rather than bind the cleavage in the ‘I’, you whittle away your life hoping to make thereof a wedge to drive between what you believe to be your ‘I’ and what you imagine other than your ‘I’.”

Should we not halt and reflect upon our own lives? How estranged are we from one another with our various superficial labels of name, religion, nationality, race and cultures, forgetting that we are in essence one and the same? Good and evil are two ends of the same universal spectrum. The epitome of good can be considered as God. The extreme end on the negative end of the spectrum can be considered as Devil. Religion is after all a matter of personal interpretation, but the fact remains that we change our forms within this spectrum fluctuating mostly somewhere in the middle. Some incline to one end of the spectrum, and the others swing to the opposite end. Some religions appraise these actions based on the ‘judgement day’ doctrine and some religions call function on the concept of ‘Karma’ in which actions are ruled by cause-effect principle; the ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’ theme of reincarnation. New age spiritualists and philosophers are of the opinion that all actions are rooted either in fear or in love - all positive actions stem out of love; all negative stem out of fear. But if studied carefully, fear and love are two sides of the same coin of existence. Fear is absence of love. Love is absence of fear. 

To sum up, unhappiness is the result of feeling incomplete. Incompletion stems from separation. Desire is the root cause of separation/ duality. Desire causes chaos. Chaos causes evolution. Order eliminates imbalance and the process of elimination is nothing but destruction/death. Hence chaos-order, birth-death, evolution-destruction are actually complementary but ‘seemingly’ opposing energies required for cosmic harmony. 

In conclusion, from our own experience we should be able to identify and measure the burden of negativity that we carry knowingly and unknowingly. Living in an illusion of opposites, we forget the truth of non-duality and remain in conflict. We are always inter-connected in every way, no matter how different or separated we perceive each other from by means of our imperfect senses that keep us in illusion.With the light of this truth, let us individually kindle our minds trapped in the darkness of ignorance. When collectively illuminated, we could then co-create worldwide peace and balanced progress. The successive generations must inherit a much better world, mustn’t they?

 

*****

THE ETERNAL CONFLICT

Blindly following ethics or responding consciously ?

EXISTENCE: PERFECTION WITHIN IMPERFECTION

Sylvester Stallone hit bulls'eye with the words of wisdom from ROCKY BALBOA, stating: THE WORLD AIN'T ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS

Taking a cue from the first line itself, one can infer that the world we live in is undoubtedly filled with conflicts of many forms. There is this battle between good and evil, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, peace and war and so on.. not just this world, but the entire cosmos is structured on the principle of duality - for every form has its opposite form somewhere in the fabric of existence and one cannot exist without it's COMPLEMENTARY OPPOSITE other.

Though the topic of duality features in many of my posts in this blogsite, I have been intrigued for some time to express my thoughts on the theme of resistance, delving more into stuff like Competition, Perfection and War.
I am of the opinion that absence of 'competition with the other' results in harmony, absence of 'fanatic perfection' results in bliss and absence of war results undoubtedly in peace.

How could we understand the above statement? What was 'competition' before it became competition? What was 'perfection' before it became perfection? What was 'war' before it became war? No matter what the choice of words be, but the answer boils down some way or the other to harmony, bliss and peace; Right?? Of course, we have spared no effort to invent an opposite word- an antonym for every possible form or quality that we know exists! But the question is, is the principle of duality really true or is it some kind of an illusion that conceals THE TRUTH - THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING ?

There are ample education sources available to explain and prove that light is not the opposite of darkness, but the absence of light; heat is not the opposite of cold, but the absence of heat (vice-versa) and so on. My question to you is - WOULD YOU CALL A WAVE AN OPPOSITE FORM OF THE VERY OCEAN FROM WHERE IT EMERGES ? Therefore, would you not agree that from the 'Status Quo' comes forth a certain agitation and leads to a series of eruption of forms that give an illusion of one form being opposite from the other? That is to say, before competition there was the state of  'no-competition' or shall we safely say The Absence of DESIRE for competition; before perfection was the state of no-perfection or The Absence of DESIRE for perfection; before war was the state of no-war or The Absence of DESIRE for conflict. Isn't it so ?

One has to be prudent to understand that the use of antonyms is in itself a desire to be separate one from the other. Words like incompetence, imperfection and peace instill in our minds the desire to remain separated - that is if you do not fall under one category, it is to be implied (sic!) that you ought to be in the other (opposite category). Why should one be either THIS or THAT ? The moment the mind thinks of 'peace', that very moment it has swung into desire to resist war. If this is so, then where is that source - the one - before even the idea of peace and war appeared? The same rational approach is applicable when examining 'bliss' and 'harmony'.
Isn't there a neutral state - a stateless state that indicates the source of forms that keep transforming and evolving ? Why do you think the wise Indian sages invented the concept of ZERO?
Check out my post on THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ZERO - RATISH IYER by searching within this blog site where I have written at length on this topic.

I agree with the fact that forms change - But is the REAL YOU to be associated with various forms you undergo? The REAL YOU is the CONSCIOUSNESS upon which all changes flow in your life - from your growing and ageing body, to your relationships, to your ideas and ideals and the perception of the environment in which you exist. No matter the length of passing time - your feeling of  I AM - this consciousness remains the same until you live no more. Advaita and Zen masters preach the technique of Neti-Neti ( Not this-Not this / Not that-Not that) to arrive at knowing WHO YOU REALLY ARE. Just as the wave is no different from the ocean - although it may consider itself to be separate -- is in essence the very water that permeates 'heaven and earth' in its myriad forms.

If you read what has been written up till this point once more, you would see the use of the word DESIRE mentioned in both extremes of forms - like, desire to compete/ desire to Not Compete, desire for war / desire for peace.. what is this desire?? Isn't this very desire the very shrewd factor that makes our minds swing on to THIS and THAT? Is it of any remedial measure to swing from one extreme perception to another? Do we as a result, become ETERNALLY HAPPY? NO! Because it is the very nature of our minds to categorize and perceive! Without this, how would we experience and understand our existence? How can an experience happen without a subject and an object/ objects ? When I know war, I know what peace is, if I experience sickness, I realize what optimum health is; right ? Was I consciously aware of and knowing what peace is - without the event of war? Was I consciously aware of and knowing what it would be to have my health going off-balance/ or knowing what it is to be healthy without first falling sick? Do you recall any point in time when you were truly blissfully unaware of these opposite feelings and experiences? With knowledge and experience comes CONDITIONING and depending on the type of experience, one holds on to what is acceptable and resists what is not - the very idea of THIS and THAT - the very emergence of LOVE and FEAR. But before these two polar forms appear in our lives, we were Blissfully Unaware - a stage of nothingness to say - the stage of ZERO (Neutral) - the original nature of all things. Zen masters have a saying: WHAT IS YOUR ORIGINAL FACE - THE FACE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN ?

So in other words, experiences happen when one form (event) is perceived in relation to its opposite other (form). And as long as this desire to know/experience/create exists, it automatically triggers the existence of its complimentary opposite form. For the layman's understanding, this is where Einstein's theory of relativity comes in where an experience/event is understood on the basis of space-time continuum. And within this structure we form our personality based on our ideas and experiences and with constant conditioning, we look at the world/ the other form/ existence with Love or Fear depending on the intensity of our consciousness. The only difference between an enlightened person and the normal/ ignorant person is that the former knows the truth about Non-Duality - that in essence we are the same. albeit subject to changing forms in order to REMEMBER THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS (based on experiencing duality) AND DISSOLVE BACK TO OUR TRUE SOURCE.  

Coming back to the topic of Perfection/Competition/War - ask yourself: WHO AM I PERFECTING? WHO AM I COMPETING WITH? WHO/ WHAT AM I IN CONFLICT WITH ? When the world and I are no different, what is the fear that is driving me to perfection/competition/war ? Why should I even cling to the notion of peace/harmony/bliss? Where is the original nature of all things before categorization set in ? That state - where there is neither the Love of what is acceptable, nor the Fearful denial of what is not acceptable - should we call it Pure Innocence or Ignorance is Bliss? Should we adulterate that understanding by even naming it? Because the moment it is uttered, it loses its pure identity - such is the Satori! If there is any Zen wisdom that can put the aforementioned attempt to explain, in the most brief and profound manner - it would be this:
 " WHEN YOU SEEK IT YOU CANNOT FIND IT" - Zen riddle

If you are able to be struck with even the slightest flash of understanding from the above, you would realize that we are so heavily conditioned with our ideas and doctrines that we forget that we are truly inseparable from one another - and that means the entire existence of the past/present/future !

In spite of our notion that our lives are imperfect, Existence has perfectly blended perfection within imperfection. Check out the following facts:
A WATER THAT IS PERFECTLY PURE CANNOT BREED FISH

EXTREME LAUGHTER LEADS TO TEARS, EXTREME CRYING APPEARS AS LAUGHTER

SHARPEN A BLADE TO THE EXTREME AND IT IS OF NO USE ANYMORE

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY; ALL PLAY AND NO WORK MAKES JACK A  DISASTER- (Self-quoted for humor's sake)

The moment you start associating yourself with one form you are bound to have an antagonistic relationship with the other - After all who doesn't want happiness all the time? But we aren't eternally happy, are we? How does Existence ensure phenomena govern our lives? Boredom, of course! Desire for change comes into action: When static mode sets in, dynamic mode takes over. But dynamism cannot go on forever. There is always the need for balance. The balance is between static energy and dynamic energy. The point of balance is neutrality, where one can perceive it as the beginning or the end of either forms. Neither form dominates the other for one is non-existent without the other. A simple example to consider here would be the rotation of the earth on its axis and the revolution around the sun: indicating why there is day on one side of the globe and night on the other side; why there are seasonal variations on either side of the globe; why vegetation differs across the globe.

Therefore, the desire to have only one side of existence as dominant is utterly futile! Even in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna that there has never been a time nor will there ever be a time when everyone including themselves (Krishna, Pandavas) and their foes (Kauravas) ever was or shall be non-existent - the forms vary but the essence/ soul beyond the dual forms remains infinite. So, for every good there will always be a bad -- for neither can exist without the other.

Thus, the idea of UTOPIA is NOT that everything is only good in such a world, but the truth is that UTOPIA CAN ONLY REFER TO A WORLD WHERE THE OPPOSITE FORMS OF EXISTENCE REMAIN IN BALANCE AND HARMONY.

For those who have watched and enjoyed the movie series of THE MATRIX -

In the final part, the protagonist's (Neo) choice to die at the hands of the antagonist (Agent Smith) comes after Neo having contemplated thoroughly the purpose of his existence and what is required of him to be done. After terminating Neo, the antagonist is left perplexed. He was under the illusion of usurping Neo's energy to become 'the Ultimate', but eventually he ends up being annihilated himself! Why? How? Smith fails to realize what Neo had realized - Being opposite forms of each other, Neo's death meant that his 'opposite other' (Agent Smith) was also required to be pulled out of the equation to reset balance, i.e. the very event had to ensue the programmed execution of the Matrix's rules (nature's law) - the deletion of the opposite! In the end balance sets in, but the audience is left to contemplate as to how long such a status shall prevail...!

What do we learn from Neo ?

1. The Matrix (Nature/Existence) is made up of duality - opposite forms interdependent and complementary to each other. Good and Bad co-exist.

2. Perfection that means only good should remain - is an illusion - as long as we live in this world made up of duality.

3. Imperfection does not mean that 'Bad' is really bad for the system - Where good is bad must be! So it is futile to project the illusion of Utopia where only good should flourish.

4. Our decisions should be focused only on harmony of the dual forms and we must strive to achieve the right balance.

So how do we make an 'ideal' choice or the 'perfect choice' given our limitations? The first step would be to accept the present moment and Existence as it is and acknowledge the validity and harmony of duality. The second step is to transcend duality through conscious awareness. The third step would be to act consciously based on the conscious decision and trusting existence to take care of the consequences - regardless of what the choice entails - balance will always prevail !

THE POINT IS: WILL YOU BE DELUDED THAT THERE IS A DOER, AND CONTINUE RESISTING, OR WILL YOU ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST UNDERSTANDING THAT 'EVENTS HAPPEN, DEEDS ARE DONE, BUT THERE IS NO DOER' AND LET EXISTENCE FLOW TAKING ITS NATURAL COURSE ?

THE CHOICE ON THE PATH OF TRUTH LIES WITH YOU!

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