Who Cares?

If we seek real, lasting happiness (which we do), we need an inner change in our understanding of the world and ourselves. But we keep trying to trade in one set of circumstances for another keeping our ‘take’ on everything the same. We change schools, colleges, teachers, wives, jobs, servants, houses, business, and even Gods. The only exception we make is our mind which remains the same in all the above changes we rush into. When all we need to do was to change the mind and its conditionings/patterns. And for this, it is vital to observe our mind, life, where it has led us so far. We must do this self-introspection objectively and seek knowledge/wisdom/better understandings/truths about this world/who are we/what is love, etc., etc., etc. (the list is endless). But we don’t feel this need as we are convinced that we know everything. Therefore, my favorite one-liner is “The trouble with most folks is not so much their ignorance as their knowing so many things which aren’t so” – Josh Billings. And our education system is not structured to give us any understanding of our mind. In fact, it systematically destroys our entire inner personality. It gives us degrees, but does not teach how to think, since it does not educate us about our own self, or about why we get stressed or its resolution. It gives us the means of living, but not what living means.  And thus, today our inner security/sanity is totally dependent on outer favorable circumstances over which we have no control as to when they can change and crumble us. Our state is totally perilous and yet we say “We are alright” (when we meet someone) when most of it is wrong potentially.

My Guru Haribhai Kothari gives a small example in His Geeta talks about Poet Kalidas who says in one of his works (Raghuvansh) that no student who passed from the Gurukul then after completing his study (staying in the Guru’s Ashram for years) could marry unless he had his Guru’s sanction and certificate in this respect. Only the Guru could judge whether his disciple is ready or not in spite of getting all wisdom about both means of living and meaning of life/mind/self-knowledge. And today, the only certificate we need or rely on is “Age-certificate” to marry. We do not feel the need to go to our guru or any other man of wisdom to know whether we qualify to marry or have children. The parents get worried if their daughters cross 30, and yet are totally oblivious about whether she or the guy she marries qualify to do so. Do they have what it takes to marry? Who cares as long as she has the looks and he has the money or the so-called “good family”. But what about their minds-who cares?