An Email to remember...

What is my purpose in life? The question the Godfather planted in my mind still continues to bring out things I least expected!

 

This edited email is now almost an year old. Yet its content is as relevant as ever. I was feeling a bit lonely and insecure when I wrote to my family back home in India last year. All of them replied. Everyone gave their own feelings that soothed me greatly. Just receiving a response in itself was a great reliever at that time. My eldest brother though wrote back with an email that contained this message. I loved it then. I love it even more now since his advice is so soothing, yet so practical. So personal yet so universal. So simple yet so elegant. Its timeless. You may find it to be an interesting read too.

 

What is life? Is it true? Stretch your memory till your farthest. Perhaps, you could remember a happening, a moment when you were two or three years old. What about before that? Technically, we all take birth before our birthday. That is when our Mother conceives. On the same day, we get our mind, our self, our ego. What was there before? Have we really started our life on that day only? Or  have we just changed the form of our life for some brief period? If we consider the first option that life started only with our this birth and will end with our death and nothing will be there after that, then there is no point in worrying either for ourselves or for others. Whether we (that includes our loved ones) live for 30 years or 40 or 70, it doesn't matter at all. Because it will be a one time show for everybody. Everyone will have to end the show at some point. We start dying right from the birth. The belief 'LIFE IS THERE FOR ONCE ONLY' can give you immense strength because you know that it will last only for a brief period and only once for everyone whether you are happy, unhappy, rich, poor, famous, notorious, comfortable, uncomfortable, loved, hated, secure, insecure etc.  Now, consider another option that life did not start with our birth and it was already in existence before. It will also be there in future after this birth. We will just change the form of life. Then also, there is no point in worrying because you are sure of the eternal existence of you and your dear ones. Nothing is going to happen either to you or them. There are many more spiritual theories of life which are quite interesting.

 

You would perhaps think that you were already aware whatever I have written above. But if it doesn't vanish your insecure feelings then in reality you have not properly understood or felt it. As Sangeeta very rightly said that you have to live in present only. But it is very difficult to follow in practise. How do you do that? To me, the answer is very simple. The ancient wisdom. Pranayam and meditation. If you practise both these, it will become easier to learn to live in present. You will understand the hollowness of our worries. It has a strength to make you fearless without being reckless.