What is LIFE

Socrates has said, “Unexamined life is not worth living.” This statement of million –dollar importance, which provides inputs to a scientific way of life. Life sans scientific approach of stupidity and absurdity. Scientific approach means to have doubt and when doubt creeps in , one automatically proceeds to explore the truth. Doubt is the means and the search and exploration of truth is the end.

Lord Buddha has also laid emphasis on the very term ‘doubt’ and it’s doubt which propels one to be on the way of search i.e. shodh (Research/Analysis). It is search or shodh, which makes a man arrive at truth, this is what scientists do. Science cannot be based on belief.

Research and experiments are the very basis of science and after undergoing several researches, scientists arrive at a particular conclusion. This is the sutra which Socrates and Buddha gives regarding life and thus, wants to save the humanity from being turned into humanoid. A humanoid is a human being that is incapable of knowing him and all his ideas are borrowed, nothing original. A humanoid lives in a state of unconsciousness-no awareness, no awakening anything at all. And without awakening, which is the main sutra of life, life is chaos and nothing else.

Belief and truth are poles apart-they are two separate entities. Belief enslaves the mind whereas truth liberates the mind. So, belief should not be taken as truth.

Buddha forbids to believe anything and to go by the experience of others. Belief means total acceptance-acceptance of the prevalent views without examining it and when one believes the particular thing, how can he know the truthfulness of that particular thing?

Believing means the end of possibility of knowing the truth. So, ‘doubt’ is the first step. That’s why, Buddha says to create doubt. He says, “Don’t believe the thing just because they have been written in scriptures. Don’t go by the experience of others, even by the experience of mine. It should be your own experience. And if through the process of examination and search, it the true, then it’s fine.” Mind should not be filled with prejudices and beliefs, otherwise life would become burden there would be no ecstasy or any bliss. Belief symbolizes slavery-a mental slavery. Belief is a way of escape-to escape from search and ultimately an escape from truth.

Belief means a borrowed concept. How can one believe if he has not known? Buddha and Socrates suggest dropping all beliefs and borrowed concept and starting searching. When one sets on the path of searching, he gets enlightened with awareness and Vivekananda says that this is the awareness fills a man with truth.

I have been thinking for a long time about what we do in our life. We start by being taught in school, how to become a good citizens. We spend a great part of our childhood studying. And finally we get the diploma that will ensure us “the position we deserve”. We participate to increase of unemployment……….until we find a job.  Through hard tests we are accepted in the world of work. We perform a good professional career filled with activity and efforts……a lot of efforts…….till we fall down exhausted… But we are great professionals with our valuable market share.

Time keep on passing, and….we select new targets. We meet the sweetheart of our life, and promise a never ending love. Passionate hugs and here comes a baby into our home. Dammed night couldn’t close my eyes. We keep on advancing in the society trying to make the best of our time. We are the stars. Where ever we go and we are finally rich, but we need sometime more to triumph completely. O God ! One day they tell they can do without you. By this time you think getting crazy. You feel destroyed. You feel you lost means of communication; you realize you are cut-off from everything. Now time does not pass any longer. Still you are loosing it. You realize you have been living in the fog, in search of a silly target. You become walking Ghost. Trying to escape your enemies. You are only one longing hours to pass till your time comes.

The Bank Account of Life. Imagine there is a bank that credits our account each morning with Rs. 86,400/- It carries over no balance from day to day. Every “Evening” deletes whatever part of the balance we failed to use during the day. What we do ? Draw out every paisa, of course ! Each of us has such a “Bank”. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits us with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this we have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for us. Each night it burns the remaining of the day. If we fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is ours. There is no going back. There is no Drawing against the tomorrow. We must live in the present on to-day’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it in the utmost in health, happiness, and success ! The clock is running. Make the most pf to-day.

To realize the value of One YEAR………… ask the student who failed in his class.

To realize the value of One MONTH…ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of One WEEK……..Ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of One HOUR….ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of One MINUTE…ask a person who missed the train.

To realize the value of One SECOND…ask a person who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND…ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

The whole life we accumulated money doing Day and Night job, never worried about our health and losing our health. Finally retired and whatever we have earned till the end of retirement is being used to cure our bad health.

We should treasure every moment that we have. And Treasure it more because we shared it with someone special, special enough to spend our time. And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is History. Tomorrow is mystery and to-day is a gift. That is why it is called …………the Present.

Upon this evaluation, an idea came to my mind on how to improve my life. I will take things easy. I will try to open my heart to my love. I will listen to the ones surrounding