Living Dispassionately Like A Disenchanted Spectator

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 27 January 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Human Life Finds Its True Significance, In Fact, Its True Calling In The Non-Involvement Of Life's Interminable Illusions. A Superior And Un-Agitated Mind Realises This And Gets Insouciant To Worldly Pleasures, Though It Doesn't Make Its Indifference Obvious. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Go beyond limit Travel beyond time Like an evolved hermit Live life sublime Arthur John Arberry's translation of Persian mystic Anwari's Rubai A few days ago, I read a beautiful thought in the Persian mystic Jami's profound poetry, ' There's a mystic in a truly intellectual self which doesn't let one get too attached to anything.' It made me think. A truly intellectual mind is above mundane attachments because there's an ever present hermit in the core of an enlightened person. Gita's eternally thought-stirring exhortation by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield, 'Tanmay Apitu Tatasth' (engrossed, yet not involved) articulates this evolved state of mind which remains like a 'Drashta' (spectator) despite being in the hullabaloo of life. Asadullah Khan 'Ghalib' articulated this higher consciousness in his inimitable manner, 'Bazeech-e-Atfaal Hai Duniya Mere Aage/Hota Hai Shab-O-Roz Tamasha Mere Aage' (The world is like a child's play/This charade has been going on before me for ages). The cavalcade of life is best observed from a distance when one is an indifferent spectator. A little distance always lends a new perspective to life and Truth. 'Saahil Pe Baith Ke Lahron Ko Dekhte Hain/Saakit Khade Hum Door Se Chehron Ko Dekhte Hain' (Sitting on the sea-shore, I look at the swelling waves/Remaining silent and unfazed, I observe the faces from a distance). To see life in its myriad avatars, it's a must to observe it from a distance with the heart and mind of an uninvolved onlooker. When the great Buddhist monk Sariputra was arrested and taken to the king of Java, the king asked him, 'Young man, you'll soon be beheaded. Are you not afraid?' The ever calm Sariputra said, ' Why should I be scared just because the blade of the sword will cause me some pain while getting decapitated by it? I have a body but I'm not in it. I have gone beyond the quotidian feelings of pain and pleasure.' The king was stunned by the fearlessly measured reply of 23-year-old Sariputra and he freed him to spread the compassionate message of his master Buddha. The same happened when the great Arab mystic Mansoor Hallaj was being excoriated for proclaiming 'An-al-Haq' (I'm the Truth) in 922 AD. The evolved mystic went beyond all perceived pains of the human body and proudly declared on the cross that this very pain had now metamorphosed into indescribable bliss: Dard Ka Had Se Guzarna Hai Dava Ho Jaana' (When pain exceeds its limits, it becomes its own remedy!). We all can be interested and disinterested in life just like the great souls mentioned here. It's very much possible to be engrossed, yet not immersed just like water and oil. The two remain together but don't get mixed up and merged like milk and water. ' Duniya Mein Hoon, Duniya Ka Talabgaar Nahin Hoon/ Baazaar Se Guzra Hoon, Khareedaar Nahin Hoon' (I'm in this world, but I'm not desirous of it/I've gone to the market but not as a buyer). Akbar Allahabadi’s philosophical take on life is further consolidated by an unknown Urdu poet's equally apposite couplet that puts an accent on the dispassionate existence of an individual, despite his ostensible involvement in life's varied activities, 'Majnoon Hain Magar Khwahish-e-Laila Nahin Karte/ Hum Ishq Toh Karte Hain, Tamanna Nahin Karte ' (I'm a lover but I don't long for my beloved/I love but I don't covet). Human life finds its true significance, in fact, its true calling in the non-involvement of life's interminable illusions. A superior and un-agitated mind realises this and gets insouciant to worldly pleasures, though it doesn't make its indifference obvious. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/dispassionately-disenchanted-spectator/d/128971 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism