The sun has risen. It sounds funny to say so. The sun is stationary and stays where it is. Yet we keep saying that it has risenor it has set.It is indeed interesting that we think we are stationary,static, fixed and permanently glued to our present location,as inhabitants of Planet Earth and everything else moves relative to our determined position.Astronomers have been at pains to prove, even at the cost of lives of some of them, (remember Copernicus, Bruno, Galileo) that it is the Earthwhich movesand that too, around the sun, which we perceive and declare as either rising or setting.

Such is the mental set-up of human-beings that they believe and propagate what they think is correct or worthwhile from their point of view.Einstein gave time and space its own time and space and with his theory of relativity,highlighted the fact that the virus or germ in the human-mind prevents him from comprehending the utter
futility of definitive assumptions, as every single event, act, phenomenon or entity has actually to be viewed and evaluated in the perspective of a broad and substantively wide sense of relativity.If Bush calls Saddam a terrorist, why blame the arrogant and selfish wolf who gobbled up the lamb in the story? The meek shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. But the crook has his way in this world of conceit and deception.This reminds me of the umpteen number of TV serials on the Indian channels which have a common thread, a common factor of showing the good, noble and sincere human-beings as hapless, helpless victims of intrigue and repression by the vicious, devious and ugly forces of the evil, who invariably have good looks, pretty faces with scheming minds and almost always succeed in their satanic plans.They do face etribution but only when they have had generation leaps and full lives and have turned old enough alreadyto be of any consequence. The suffering souls in the meantime manage to meet accidents and perish, again through the machinations of their tormentors but many re-emerge with new faces through plastic surgery which dramatically also changes their voice, height and general demeanour and attitude to life and affairs.Most of them become as ruthless as their foes and venture to take revenge. The message probably is that it is no good to be too good and worse to be goody-goody.Modern culture perhaps expects people to take up arms against the enemy and seek to destroy him. We also have the concept of Gandhigiri which has been applauded in recent times. But one thing is clear. There is no room for the weak and the weak-hearted in this age. Probably there never was any chance for such unfortunate souls. The strategies may vary but the fight in the human system has to subsist for life to carry on the struggle for existence and to oust the evil by the dominance of the good and the noble.

Escapism was never and can never be an answer to life’s problems. In the modern co

ntext of speed and unprecedented pace of life, the running away to forests(whatever is left of them) has already been replaced by the recourse to the runway approach of flying away to distant lands to explore, seek and conquer and achieve.

In one sense, modern man has become a hunter once again as in the pre-historic times with the important change that here the stakes are very high and the tools are technology , knowledge and speedy communication.What is really inexplicable is that education and sophistication seem to be no bar to brutal behaviour. Imagine well-educated, science and technology -oriented persons flying plane-loads of unsuspecting people into mammoth towers avowedly to strike terror and achieve aims which are not only irrational and diabolical but also the products of bigotry,ignorance and hatred. You deny happiness to yourself and others to qualify to have pleasures in heaven . Culture has become an ambiguous concept.

One of the most amazing miracles of the world is the manner in which a human being
adopts himself to his environment. He is indeed the supreme negotiator who tries and turns every situation,howsoever daunting,unsavoury and absurd, into a win-win scene by sheer will-power, adjustment, manoeuvring and acclimitisation to the change that is imposed on him.The natural phenomena around us are miracles too– the oceans,rivers,mountains,flora and fauna, the day turning into night and re-emerging as the day again.Wonders comprise of the solar system,planets and innumerable such systems. The list is unending.


Miraculous is also the way in which life and death invade each living creature.Every single creature is born with a death sentence and some of us, in fact most of us, through sheer stupidity additionally impose upon ourselves a life sentence too by seeking to carry unnecessary burden on our minds, bodies and maybe souls too,by wasting our energy and vital force on anger, avarice, hatred and enmity. We see people dying everyday and we know that it is not a wonder how one dies. The wonder probably is how one lives with hostile polluted air, water and all similar and worse inflictions. Yet we cling to life with an intensity which belies and beats the dictates of sanity and rationality. When Yaksha asked Yudhishtra as to what in his view is the biggest wonder of the world ,he replied that it is this love of life even when one is sure of the finality of death. What is baffling is that we not only go on as if we are immortal but we hold on to our emotions and thoughts like dear life itself, forgetting that we are travellers on the journey of life and our baggage is only making our journey tougher.

But above all is the supreme wonder, the ultimate miracle which can be described as the simple factum of love,which is not just an emotion but a philosophy of life and a route for the journey which we are performing.It converts a human-being into an angel, a god and absence of love makes one a devil or at the least,a non-entity.The greater the love one gives and shares, the more fruitful is one’s life.It takes away all the angularities, crudity and venomfrom the mind. A human-being is transformed into a good human-being in no time and effortlessly, thus benefiting him and the entire human society.This is undoubtedly the highest miracle. Coscious efforts to strengthen love between human-beings should receive support from all those who want that life should acquire meaning.

One practical way of reaching this destination of falling in love with all human-beings and treating everybody as a friend and showering affection is through meditation. Meditation , for this purpose, sshould not be defined narrowly only as the classic Yogic method of breath-control and breath management and concentrating one’s thoughts and channelising them into a particular given or chosen direction. In the wider sense, meditation for our purpose would be conditioning of the mind by behaving naturally,eliminating every type of artificial or structured strategy in living one’s life.An artist who is engrossed in painting, a sculptor chisselling out a fine piece, a musician composing a tune, a factory worker doing his job with rapt attention and sincere application of mind, a farmer tilling his land and sweating happily, are all engaged in meditation.As long as they are carrying out their work,in right earnest, unmindful of their remuneration and accolades that they may receive,they are true “karamyogis” and advanced in meditation. This is a miracle which, if one were to pursue on purpose, would probably either not materialise or if it happens, it would be arduous and very, very hard.

A person who does the right, whether he trusts in God or not, will surely enrich human society and his love, manifest in his devotion to work(which is worship) would be of abiding benefit to humankind.The world is probably able to hold its happiness and its appeal only because of such human-beings. They are quintessantially the raison’detre for life and for growth.The Darwinian theory of evolution and survival of the fittest, the”Big Bang” theory, the Adam-Eve legend and all other scientific, mythical and other formulations notwithstanding, the world has moved and will continue to move only when human-beings are able to infuse a spirit of camaraderie and brotherhood through love, otherwise the prophets of doom will drown the voice of logic, sanity and rationality.

The dervish was aghast. He had lost sleep trying to teach the demon to mend his ways
and take up the noble path of worship and sacrifice. But the incorrigible demon persisted in his devilish philandering, troubling all and sundry, indulging in pursuit of pleasure for himself and himself alone. He would not allow anyone to be at peace, he would make others carry out his ordersand work hard to keep him in comfort and luxury. The dervish thought the matter over and having given up all hope, he made it to the door of his Master. The Master was deep in meditation and the knocking at his door went in vain.

The dervish returned,totally dejected,to his hut. He did not want to give up ,yet he had no choice but to stand down.

Time passed. Days, months, years.One dusky evening, someone called out to the dervish.He came out and saw the demon.The dervish was astonished and asked,”What brings you here after all this time?” The demon gave a derisive, demonic laugh and said,” I was always with you, in your heart, mind and soul. When you were with burning with anger, I was there. While you were feeling sad and sorry for your hurt ego, I was there.When you gave up in dismay and desperation,I was there.In fact , I was never nearer you than when you were trying to get rid of me.”


The dervish shuddered. He embraced the demon and said,” You are the true dervish, my friend,as you are your own master.”