Are We an Egg or a Bird?


Moonbeams dance likes pixies in a Shakespearean garden. Thoughts float like a friendly spirit wooing another friendly spirit. Night has fallen and yet looks dignified. But if man falls, then the situation is different?  
Life shouldn’t be led as an afterthought. The moon blushes as countless stars glitter in the dark sky. Sensations cease when desires freeze. Failure is a myth that continues to influence us.
Why is it taboo to know who we are? Alan Watts in the preface to his book ‘The Book’ writes
‘We are in urgent need of a sense of our own existence which is in accord with the physical facts and which overcomes our feeling of alienation from the universe.’  
We learn languages, we study different subjects, we explore and imbibe and absorb but we hardly get to know who we are. Someone asked Buddha: ‘I want happiness.’ Buddha in his infinite wisdom replied, ‘Remove ‘I’ because it is ego, remove ‘want’ because it is desire, and you will be left with happiness.’
But does that answer who we are?
‘I’ is a much abused and misunderstood word. Unless we know what is ‘I’, how will we ever know U (you)?
Alan Watts says,’ Egg is ego and bird is the liberated Self.’ Outside my window the moonbeams flash and my soul wanders away to investigate whether I am an egg or a bird.

-         NZ

24.11.2019
BN: 198 










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Mother named me Haider

My mother named me Haider so said Ali son of Abu Talib to Marhab when he said that his mother had named him Marhab. If only Marhab had recalled, at this juncture, what his mother would tell him when he was a child. ‘My son, you’ll be a great warrior. Your fame would spread throughout the Arab world. But keep in mind one thing. If in any battle you come face to face with a man named Haider, do not fight him. Just lay down your sword.’ If Marhab had paid heed to his mother’s advice, he wouldn’t have met the fate he met with in Khaiber. But he was high on ego; drunk on his strength and fame, he thought, how anyone could fight him. He was Marhab – how anyone could challenge his might? In every battle, Ali always introduced himself as Ali son of Abu Talib. But in Khaiber, he introduced himself as Haider because he was aware of what Marhab’s mother had told Marhab. This is sufficient evidence of Ali’s knowledge of the unknown. If in Khaiber Ali had introduced himself as Ali a...
Read more

The Lady in Red

Yesterday after my morning prayer, I went for my 30- minute walk. My wife did not accompany me because she preferred the warmth of the bed to the cold outside. Usually, she does. I did not take the path that I normally take every day. The road was deserted and not a soul was in sight. I walked briskly, determined to do a certain number of steps within the time that I had. It was dark and the wintry breeze was making me shiver. I thought of the cosiness of my bed and for a moment was tempted to abandon the walk and go back home. But commitment is commitment. So, I kept walking. When I reached the end of the walking trail, I turned left instead of right. I don’t know why I did it. I should have turned right because that’s where the walker’s path continues. On the left is an alley between two high-rise buildings. Before I could turn back, I spotted a lady smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a long, red gown and her lips were painted with blood-red lipstick. Her tired eyes had da...
Read more

Zaidis and Wastis

                                                         Many people believe that Zaidis and Wastis are two separate surnames. The truth is that it isn’t. Zaidis and Wastis hail from a place in Iraq called Wasit. Wasti is actually Wasiti but over time, it became Wasti. They are descended from the fourth Imam Ali bin Hussain, also known as Zain-ul-Abedin. His eldest son’s name was Zaid. Hence the name Zaidi. These people are Sayyeds meaning they can trace their ancestry to the Holy Prophet. In the 11 th century, Sayyid Abul Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti (son of Syed Daud al Hussaini), came to India from Iraq, with his twelve sons, and most of the Zaidis and Wastis in India and Pakistan are their descendants. Let me clarify one point here. There are Zaidis who are not Wastis. They are those who believe that Zaid and not Mohammad Baqir ...
Read more