Living dead are those
who have lost their job in their middle age and nothing looks prospective!
Living dead are those who do not have anything to continue their livelihood on their own nor have other’s confidence to help them!
Living dead are those who once upon a time were respected by everyone around because they have been remunerated handsomely but have now lost respect from the same persons because of their unaffordability now!
Living dead are those
who have now become boring because people no longer feel the need to listen to
them!
Living dead are those
who now have lost all rational thoughts according to others since they now no
longer have any intrinsic values because they have lost their buying powers!
Living dead are those
living in conditions of perpetual depression but people around do not have the
eyes or ears for it!
Living dead are those
walking corpses because it hardly matters to others or to themselves as to whether
they exist or not!
Living dead are those who never wishes to be brought back to life by any supernatural force because they are already living in hell everyday!
Living dead are those
mad men who are realized but cannot make anyone around understand that!
Living dead are those
who are actually not in illusion but the people around them think so: It is
they who actually run around all the time like birds gathering for food and do
not go beyond the first level of awareness of the soul (Annamaya Kosha)!
The real “Living Dead”
in the true sense of the word are those:
Living dead are those who
are actually in the mode of ignorance but presume they are happy, dominating
and enjoying life!
Living dead are those
who see people around them suffering but do not have the inclination to help
them even a bit!
Living dead are those
who give respect to those who do not deserve any respect but give undue respect
to those who do not even deserve it a bit!
Living dead are those having
born as a human being still do not attempt to know the purpose of their existence
till the last day of their lives only to fall into this desperate material pool
of existence perpetually without knowing the consequences of this repeated birth
death old age and disease!
கொடியது கேட்கின் நெடியவெல் வேலோய்!
கொடிது கொடிது வறுமை கொடிது
அதனினும் கொடிது இளமையில் வறுமை
அதனினும் கொடிது ஆற்றொணாத் தொழுநோய்
அதனினும் கொடிது அன்பிலாப் பெண்டிர்
அதனினும் கொடிது
இன்புற அவர்கையில் உண்பது தானே
Meaning: இந்த
உலகில்
மிகவும்
கொடுமையானது
எது
என்றால்
வறுமைதான்.
அந்த
வறுமையும்
இளமைப்
பருவத்தில்
வந்தால்
மிக
மிகக்
கொடுமையானது.
அத்தகைய
வறுமையை
விடக்
கொடுமையானது
தீராத
கொடிய
நோய்
ஆகும்.
தீராத
கொடிய
நோயைவிடக்
கொடுமையானது
அன்பே
இல்லாத
பெண்ணுடன்
வாழ்வது.
அதைவிடக்
கொடுமையானது
அந்தப்
பெண்ணிடம்
உணவைப்
பெற்று
உண்பது
ஆகும்
என்று
கொடுமையானவற்றுள்
எல்லாம்
மிகவும்
கொடுமையானது
அன்பு
இல்லாத
பெண்
இடும்
உணவை
உண்பதுதான்
என
ஒளவையார்
குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.
Translation: People in the following conditions are considered as “Living
Dead” because of their terrible sufferings.
The severity increases in the ascending order as
mentioned below:
Living dead are those suffering in poverty. More than this
are those who are poverty-stricken in their youth. More than this are those who
suffer from a terrible disease. More than this are those who live with a woman
who have no love for him. The most terrible thing possible for a living dead is
to eat the food given by that woman!
Concept inspired by Srimad Bhagavatham: “Due to his pious activities in previous lives, the conditioned soul attains material facilities in this life, but when they are finished, he takes shelter of wealth and riches, which cannot help him in this life or the next. Because of this, he approaches the living dead who possess these things. Such people are compared to impure trees, creepers and poisonous wells.” – Srimad Bhagavatham 5.14.12 – The material world as the great forest of enjoyment.
Inspired by the grand old lady of Tamil poetry Avvaiyaar (Tamil: ஔவையார்; literally means ‘Respectable Woman’) and her classic treatise Moodhurai (மூதுரை) , where the opposite characteristics are beautifully poetically expressed in two consecutive stanzas, I am writing this post on similar lines to my earlier post titled Unknown and this post is titled Mundane!
The intention to depict opposites is because everything is relative and hence opposites are inevitable in this world and may be taken relative to one’s position based on the observer and the observed, perceiver and the perceived.
For example, a person fallen on the ground will not have to fall down further because he is already fallen! but a person standing on the ground or a person sitting at an elevated position can experience a fall 😊.
The purpose of this post is to depict the dual states of being in knowledge and being in ignorance.
Ignorance
is not bliss in all circumstances!
Fire
causes a burn to a little child irrespective of whether the child knows the
characteristics of the fire or not.
Water drowns a person irrespective of whether the person is aware of this fact or not because that has got to do with the chemical composition and physical properties of the person and the water and it will act according to it.
Poison acts on the person irrespective of whether the person knows its side effects or not and whether he has consumed it voluntarily or not.
Medicine acts on the person irrespective of whether the person has the knowledge of its potency or not and whether it is has the propensity or cure or whether it causes adverse side effects.
It is the nature of substances to act according to its composition and properties.
Humans are no exception in this regard, having constituted of five gross material elements in various proportions, each having its own properties and the three subtle elements mind, intelligence and false ego governed by the combination of three modes of material nature – goodness, passion and ignorance.
Thus we (mind) are helplessly acting because of the functions of these gross and subtle elements in material creation.
It is to understand this fact that we mundane, needs to transcend beyond the modes of material nature. We are not mundane in the real sense because we have a mind and an intelligence that can discriminate but since everything is governed by the modes of material nature in this material universe and we are also part and parcel of it, we are in the cycle.
Akrura
during his mission to Hastinapura emphasises this fact to King Dhritharashtra
through this beautiful advice:
“In this world no one has any permanent relationship with anyone else, O King. We cannot stay forever even with our own body, what to speak of our wife, children and the rest. Every creature is born alone and dies alone, and alone one experiences the just rewards of his good and evil deeds.” – Srimad Bhagavatham – 10.49.20 – 21.
The accumulation of our good and evil deeds since time immemorial and also the deeds in our present life determines the ever-transforming combination of the three mode of material nature that is responsible for the unique mental composition of each one of us and that drives our way of life in the present and the next destination after death! It’s only by the endeavour to being in the mode of goodness and by finally transcending even this material mode of goodness to a transcendental mode of goodness or Suddha-Sattva, there is an escape from this material existence.
Before
going to the aspects of mundane, first, due respects to the grand old lady of
Tamil poetry Avvaiyaar as to how she brings in the pair of opposite nature of
people in this world:
“It is beneficial to see people
of good character,
It is beneficial to listen to
their words,
It is beneficial to talk about
their lives and
It is beneficial to have them as
friends.”
The opposite has been written with such a minimalistic effort and choice of words and can be noticed just by visually observing the arrangements of alphabets between the two stanzas, even without knowing the language! This is reflected even in the translation!
Mundane
is the Jivatma (due to its externally looking nature and perceiving through
imperfect senses)
Mundane
is the activated (by the Paramaathma, Antaryaama, Indwelling or Supersoul)
Mundane
is the eternal servant (either to senses (during material existence) or to the
supreme lord (after liberation))
Mundane
cannot realise that unknown
Mundane
speculates using the imperfect knowledge of material sciences
Mundane
cannot attain the unknown
Mundane
drives itself using the material senses
Mundane
identifies with the body
Mundane
identifies with the senses
Mundane
identifies with the mind
Mundane
identifies with the intellect
Mundane
identifies with the intelligence
Mundane
identifies with the ego
Mundane
is being in a state of forgetting the original identity
Mundane
is being bound by feelings and actions
Mundane
is being materialistic
Mundane
is being in a tendency to dominate material nature
Mundane
is being in a state of inequilibrium
Mundane
is being bound by the modes of material nature
Mundane
is being superficial
Mundane
is being predictable to circumstances and situations
Mundane
is being known
Mundane is
being slave of the senses
Mundane is
being in the concept of “I” and “Mine”
Mundane is
being conditioned
Mundane is
being in a bodily state of existence
Mundane is
being in a state of lamentation due to failed desires
Mundane is
being afraid of death
Mundane is
being considering oneself as a “doer”
Mundane is
being in a sense of proprietorship
Mundane is
being in a state of sense gratification
Mundane is
being in a state of forgetfulness
Mundane is
being in illusion
But…
Mundane
is to be overcome
Mundane
is to become self-realized
Mundane
is to realise the pangs of four-fold misery – birth, death, old age and disease
Mundane
is to attain the Unknown
Mundane
is to realise it is only spiritual knowledge that is factual and eternal, all
else is temporary and nescience
Mundane
is to realise the tricks of speculators, jugglers and pseudo-mystics and not to
fall into their trap
Mundane
is to listen to the inner voice by shutting out the external noises
Mundane
is to engage in solitary pursuits to purify body mind and intellect
Mundane
is to thoroughly understand the transient nature of material existence
Mundane
is to slowly get detested detached from this transient world through knowledge
of revealed spiritual literatures from a spiritual master (alive or not alive
taking the master by heart)
Mundane
is to learn to tolerate bodily and mental pain inflicted through the three
sources 1. Adhyatmik 2. Adhibhautik 3. Adhidaivik. (miseries inflicted by the
body and mind itself, those inflicted by other living entities, and natural
disturbances)
Mundane
is to realise the futility of senseless exploitation of mother nature and learn
to live in harmony with all the living entities
Mundane
is to reject man-Gods or man-made Gods and understand that there is a supreme controller
who is the source of everything
Mundane
is to learn to surrender to that supreme
Mundane
is to totally understand the helplessness in the hands of material nature and
the illusory energy of the Lord
Mundane
is to learn to activate the intellect to our pursuits towards the absolute
truth through devotional service
Mundane
is to acknowledge the indwelling that is doing its designated duty and functions
in a subtle manner
Mundane
is to acknowledge that it is the indwelling that activates the consciousness to
awaken ourselves from sleep
Mundane
is to acknowledge that it is the indwelling that activates our vital organs to
perform its functions
Mundane
is to acknowledge that it is the indwelling that controls the fire of digestion
that digests four types of food stuff – Bhagavad Gita 15.14
Mundane
is to acknowledge that it is the indwelling that activates the five prana
Mundane
is to acknowledge the indwelling is unknown…no one knows how it does these
activities for our survival in the material world
Mundane
needs to understand that the process of self-realization can only start from inward
to outward.
Mundane
needs to understand the futility of material existence and want to give it up.
Mundane
needs to understand whether to transcend from this mundane existence to a
transcendental state is self-discretion…
To summarise, a mundane should realise that human life is a misery at every step, confronted with dangers due to the propensity of the soul to lord it over material nature through the deluding power of false ego, injecting the concepts of I and mine, having lured by the unsurmountable illusory potential of Maya (at least in theory) to get entangled perpetually through the attractions of opposite sex, progeny and wealth remaining in the trap of material existence, the way out of this trap is self-realization through knowledge and surrender through devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
