During social interactions, we come across different people following different paths and almost everybody is so sure of the path he or she is following. That's the beauty of this world. However, I am not really sure whether they are really sure of the path they are following or keep arguing the same vociferously because they also know the fundamental problems associated with the path.
Most of us are trying to gather the ways and means to make life more comfortable. They know very well that all of us are fast approaching old age and the physical pain associated with the deterioration of the body is quite unavoidable which will be followed by death. We are spending our entire lives in pursuit of the comforts while knowing very well how temporary that is. Since the foundation of our lives is so weak, probably we feel quite insecure about hiding these insecurities, and out of such insecurity, we become aggressive in our arguments at times. We try to find different logic to justify our pursuit while knowing very well that this logic will not stand the test of time.
There is a saying that we become what we practice. When we live life oriented around comforts and possessions, we confine the meaning of life to material possessions. Sometimes, I feel suffocated discussing life from such a narrow perspective, while some other times, I feel pity that what a wasteful way to live life.
Strangely, we pray Rama and follow Ravana, pray Krishna and follow the footsteps of Duryodhana, pray Buddha and live life desiring what Buddha left. I feel these contradictions in our characters make us quite weak and shallow. At least we can gather that much courage to publically accept our ideals. Rama did not become Rama in the comforts of Ayodhya. He had to leave the comforts of the palace to become Rama. Had he decided not to go to the forest, he would have set his life on a very shallow plane. Had Buddha continued to live in the palace, he would have wasted his life living a very small portion of his potential.
I do not know whether there is a free will. However, I do feel that we become the sum total of all the decisions that we make in our lives. I do feel that there is always more than one option available to us at almost each of every moment. What we practice our entire lives unconsciously has a great influence on our decisions. Some practice living with safety and comfort and when a decisive moment comes, their decisions are generally tilted towards the options that are more comfortable and secure. Some of us live a life of fear and in the moments of decision, generally, these fears drive the decisions. Some of us live life to explore and in the moments of decisions, the decisions get tilted towards exploration.
I am not sure how can a mountaineer explain his motivations to the one who is afraid to climb the mountains. How does a musician explain his passion for music to one who has no interest in music? How does a scientist explain his passion for discovery to one who has no curiosity? Probably, the worst part is that the majority of society is full of people who just follow the herd. Probably, the ones who have different callings will eventually have no option other than to move away from society to find time for their ventures. They can not take the society along and why should the society too carry their burden? Both will have to learn to move along their path giving little freedom to each other rather than forcing their choices on the others. Slowly, I am growing in my conviction that a person moving along the path of spirituality owes no explanation to the ones who can not understand what is going on inside him. That's why one has to learn to walk along this path.
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