Random Forays: Riding the relentless tempest of time

Hark! The tempest of time rolls on relentlessly. Time and tide wait for none, goes the proverb. At times it seems as if these two forces of nature have ganged up against us and are galloping forth, leaving us quite breathless in their wake.

Another New Year is already upon us. We have hardly had the time to catch our figurative breaths in the outgoing one. The tide of time batters us, but it also serenades us, soothes us or elevates us, depending on a myriad collection of factors beyond our control. Indeed, there are some controllables in our lives, but such aspects of our existence lie mostly within us. External forces are perennially subject to upheavals (and of course market risks)!

The tempestuous nature of this journey makes its presence felt the moment we’re born and doesn’t let up till the curtain falls. There’s a very inspiring talk by Brother Bhumananda, a monk of Self-Realisation Fellowship, a US-based spiritual organisation that disseminates worldwide the teachings of India’s Paramahansa Yogananda. He compares, in lighter vein, the process of being born with the hair-raising experience of white-water rafting! “And as soon as you’re born, the doctor slaps you!”, he states, to peals of laughter from the audience. The overall thrust of his talk is clearly upon the fact that the world will keep tossing us about and treating us unceremoniously, but we have to raise the level of our consciousness and connect with the divine, despite all the turbulences!

No baby has yet displayed the wherewithal to describe to the rest of us what it truly feels like in the mother’s womb or the initial moments of actually being human in this world. And we have no recollection of it either. All we know is that the mother has had a torrid time of it and the newborn spends most of his waking hours crying as if someone’s been very mean to him by bringing him into this world!

Thereafter, we go through varied stages of what is called life, and some phases prove to be adequately pleasant while others are quite unbearable, to put it mildly!

The crux is that we have obviously come to this earth to learn something, which probably is to withdraw our consciousness from the dazzles of the world and seek happiness within. To focus on the creator rather than his creation, and to lead a good natured, empathetic, creative and cheerful life. Father Time does test us, and the years wither away our enthusiasm. Very few are able to retain that boundless childlike energy in their later years. Not for physical reasons but for reasons of the mind.

What is the answer to life then? The secret is very likely to lie hidden within our inner fortress, the mind, the heart and the soul. Whatever happens to us as the years motor by does not matter. The kinds of human beings we transform into, does. Are we able to grin and bear it; are we able to “stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds” as the saint put it so beautifully?

Winning each battle that the world presents before us is well nigh impossible even for the mightiest. The very greatest of women and men: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and Dr Abdul Kalam had to undergo trials and tribulations, some of which were almost unbearable. And if these gigantic personalities had to undergo torment at times, we mortals are not likely to be spared some acid tests.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens. The strategy for us is to try and ride the tempest, to go with the flow, to offer little resistance to life’s unalterable givens. Yet, to treat each New Year as a magical opportunity to renew our resilience, to conquer our own demons, to discover new facets of creative excellence and to lend a caring shoulder to the downtrodden. To be grateful for what and whom we have, and to not be a crybaby at what we don’t. The New Year is nigh. It’s time to take fresh guard and play on the front foot!