MAYA
In all my previous blogs/articles, be it esoteric to an extent “Be No-Thing” or “Relation with Elements” or “What is Ticking Away” or something very mundane as “Friends with Colonial Mindset” and others as well (www.medium.com/@pankajbhor); there is an underlying concept of non-tangible being more important than the tangible. This I noticed while writing this particular blog and that is why for this blog, I am writing the first paragraph after finishing the blog.
I do not know if people have noticed it or not but even in the mundane day — to- day transactions of the commercial world, it is always the non-tangible which is much more important than the tangible. That is why it always hurts more when one is cheated by a friend or a loved one. Let us take an example with which almost all of us can relate to and those who are quite young then they will relate to, what I am trying to say, when they will reach at that stage of life.
Most of my friends or people known to me are from middle- class economic group and therefore, to buy a house, they have to depend upon the existing financial system i.e. loans available from banks.
When someone take a loan from a bank for, let’s say, a house then as a norm is usually, for 95% of the people if not more, the tenure is minimum 10 years. It can go up to 20 or even 30 years but in India usually it is up to 20 years. So, the deal that happen is usually between the seller, the buyer, the bank and the fourth non-animate entity is the house, which has yet to become a Home.
Now, the bank gets the mortgage for the house, in lieu, of the cheque it has provided. The seller gets the money from the bank and the person (buyer) gets to live in the house with the opportunity to repay the loan over a period of 10–20 years. But since he has not paid the entire amount and if unable to pay the rest of the amount at any point of time during those 20 years then he can be evicted by the bank. However, if the buyer continues to pay the EMI’s then he will continue to enjoy the warmth of the house. This warmth makes any four walls a Home.
However, what have you provided to the bank that it allows you to stay in the house and convert it into a home? Why you have been given the privilege and not someone else? So someone who is engrossed in the physical/commercial say because you are the “Privileged one” and since you have the wherewithal to pay the amount over a due period of time that is why you have earned the right to enjoy the warmth of a home. However, if we look at it not in commercial terms then what you have paid for those 20 years or so is your “Future” or you can say “a part of your Future”, what you mortgaged is your “Risk taking abilities”. So what you have mortgaged is not the house but the Home and your Future (as you have encashed it today) and by encashing your future today itself you have mortgaged your Risk taking ability. What you have mortgaged is your free decision making power. What you have put on the anvil to get crushed is yourself. If you are not getting what is written here, then you will get it if you get an acerbic and insecure senior at your work place.
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If you think in those terms, then you will understand that you have to repay the loan as soon as possible. As the loan is like a restriction which is not letting you take a leap of faith or a calculated risk as well because if the risk does not materialise the way you wanted then the consequence of that would be losing your Home. Remember that what you bought is a house but what you are losing is a home. To an unrelated third party that distinction is useless, this distinction is intangible. That’s what makes all the difference.
So even in this commercial world, it is the intangible that is much more important. Now let’s have a peek into the spiritual world as well. Spiritual practices rather than spiritual world. I have always insisted that in India, Spirituality is not a separate baggage to be taken care of or carried along but our systems are devised in such a way that spiritual process is intricately interwoven with our day to day life (Stillness, Exuberance and Intoxication | by Pankaj | Medium). Similarly, if you ever happen to be in an Indian village then chances of getting a shake hand or a hug is impossible (although its slowly changing now). A hug which is much more intimate is limited to your near and dear one’s even in cities but handshakes are ubiquitous but not in village. People in villages will greet you from a distance and will carry on with their business and even if you have gathered for a discussion even during that they will take their seat after greeting everyone around.
If you read any modern sociologist or any other such so called experts, then the obvious explanation that will be provided, is that in cities the personal space of people have shrinked and that is why shaking hands or giving a hug is considered normal in cities. This becomes very much clear if you happened to visit Mumbai where every nook and corner of the city is occupied by us i.e. humans (Mumbai Population density is approx. 21,000 per sq km compared to Delhi’s 11,320 persons per sq km while Gurgaon is at miniscule 1,204 persons per sq km and that of a Tier III districts like Hisar is 438 persons per sq km). However, it is the villages where the bond among the family members is considered strongest at least when compared to city dwellers. So if the emotional bond is strong then how come the physical bond is not showcased as often as it is showcased or shown off in cities.
Namaste or Namaskar has come back in vogue thanks (but no thanks) to covid but what is the reason that people in villages have been doing that since time immemorial. Personal space or lack of it, is not the reason for sure.
However, socio — economics is not the reason for our ancestors to not do the handshake but as always it is the knowledge of a concept called RuᶇaᶇBandha (bondage at elementary level of body/memory i.e. Manas). It is simply the knowledge that when two people interact they transfer memory, energy and information. So when you shake hands, in a way you are, letting the memory and energy of the other person interact with that of yours and if you do that with one person regularly then you will start imbibing the same qualities whether you like it or not. Our ancestors were aware of this and since in India, mukti/Moksh is considered the ultimate goal thereby the efforts are also to avoid any unnecessary memory or tendencies as well. Sex is the ultimate form of memory and energy transfer between two people. So potent is the process that it can create new life. Thereby, in our culture people are discouraged to have multiple partners (esp. men, as man has the biological tendency to spread and protect his lineage like any other animal or plant). I know we have many contrarian stories and the dogma is more attached to woman but that’s for another blog someday. Now a day, diseases related to it dissuade the people, but earlier people were aware that more you indulge in such practices, more it will be impossible for you to lead a spiritual life or thus impossible to attain mukti.
Even the new age sensation i.e. Harry Potter series is based on the intangibles only. Whom do you think are the main protagonist of the series? it is definitely not Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. It is the hate of Tom Riddle against the Love of Lilly Evans. Rest of it is just a story to lead the characters to their ultimate destination within the realm of setting. Those who have closely enjoyed the Harry Potter series (the book not the movie) would agree with me on this. You might have seen or noticed the hate of Tom Riddle but it is intangible Love that takes the series through and through. Love is just an emotion a very powerful one for sure. It is considered very powerful that even the Headmaster’s definition of the same is “Love is the most Terrible and Beautiful thing at the same time therefore it must be handled with utmost care”. Similarly, an experienced person (Stepin in Wheel of Time) defined love as — Love, usually a bad idea, still we allow it to happen, or this life would be intolerable.
What is it that makes Love so beautiful and dangerous at the same time? Another example with which all of us can relate to is that Harry Potter was saved by the bond of Love which at the right moment saved him from “Aver Cadaver” but yet the author failed to explain it completely when the protagonist sneaked into the Ministry of Magic along with his friends. In Ministry of Magic, the room of Love is always locked. The entire Harry Potter series is an excellent story where everything is explained at the right time but still what is love (intangible) is not explained. Consequences are explained like People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right, that is why, one always get angrier because of the fact stated by a loved one rather than an enemy or Do not pity the dead, pity the living and above all pity those who live without love (that’s headmaster again).
Sticking to Love, in India, it is never just a physical thing, it has its part in the life of a Being but never beyond a certain level. I do not remember that my parents ever overtly stated “I love you” to me when I was a kid (I am not an exception in the family). They are there for me and my siblings all the time, so much so that like present generation, we also took our parents for granted and that’s like any other generation as well. The bond, which still, is created among us is not because of the words or because of pampering but because of the awareness that they are there for us and now we have to be there for them. Having said that, it is also important that Love is an emotion and not an existential reality. Like everything in this commercial world, it is also a constituent of a façade identified as Maya in our scriptures. Maya works through the constituents of Bhram (confusion) i.e. Asti (seems existing), Bhati (you can feel it) and Priyam (creates infatuation) through Maya (illusion) i.e. Naam (Name) and Roop (shape, size etc.) only. One may say that a combination of all of these sub-components is actually the World itself, well, that’s why Maya is so convincing. Isn’t it?
Ultimately, the questions that comes to the mind is; is Love tangible or intangible? The more important question here is and what I am trying to do is to ascertain, what is more important? Tangible or Intangible? My vote is for intangibles but that too is Maya.
