Innocence

This Magnificient Drama

A magnificient drama unfolds itself every moment. A world teeming with life - with the activity of millions of species, billions of actors - playing out their roles lost in the fervour of the moment, in the grip of what seems important and urgent in a ceaselessly changing reality.

‘The world is a stage’, said the bard. ‘And we are all actors’. Shakespeare was so right. But strangely enough, the actors do not know the plot of this drama. They do not even know their own part. All they know, is we must act. And we must act urgently!

Action! Focus the camera of attention on any actor, and discover the world of activity going on there. At every moment, an infinite range of options is available at the will of the actor. At every moment, a choice is made and history is created as the drama is scripted live.

Lucky is the one who would explore life and the rich experiences it offers.

A Universe of Experiences

A bevy of colours from the dull grey of soot laden city skies in winter to the riot of colours of a monsoon sunset, sounds gentle with the rustle of leaves or the ripple of waves on a normally placid lake...to the cacophony of calls by enthusiastic vendors in a tropical vegetable market, smells ranging from the fragrant jasmine to the pungence of industrial effluents, tastes sweet, bitter, salty, tangy... sensations soft, smooth, rough, blistery... the cool welcome breeze on an early summer morning and the warm sunshine on a chill wintery afternoon...each sense opens up a universe of experiences.

What can an actor do with these experiences? What can an inspired painter do when presented with a blank canvas and an array of colours? What can an inspired poet do to capture his fancies in ink? What can an inspired musician do? What can an inspired engineer do? Or for that matter, what would anyone who is inspired do? Create a masterpiece. The possibilities are infinite.

The Infinite and the infinitesimal

This amazing drama of innumerable participants, manifests in an infinitesimal planet… infinitesimal in contrast to the gigantic spectacular universe. The lights of the stage – a brilliant sun, a moon radiating white coolness and twinkling stars glittering on the dark canvas of the sky – they change the scenes on the setting ever so regularly. Gaze onto the stars, and you see eternity watching you silently.

‘Who am I in this grand scheme of things?’ – the actor starts to look within. And an infinite universe of thoughts and feelings manifests in the infinitesimal soul...

The world within

A world of meanings and perceptions. Each of us is privy to a world that no one else can see. For we create the world based on our perceptions, on our view of the world, on our emotions and feelings. We colour the world as we are. As the vision, so the world...

When we are happy, the birds chirrup merrily, the neighbourhood dog woofs and wags his tail vigorously and even the grumpy old bus conductor returns our smile. When we are sad, the sky looks grey, the wind is still, the birds are noisy and the dog is such an irritant. That rude conductor – don’t even ask!

We think and act and the universe responds to our intentions... we move and the world moves in response. It must for we are the co-creators. We conquer the world when we act with zeal and enthusiasm and we condemn the world when we are dejected. It cannot but happen in that manner. We encounter that which we have offered to the world. What we have not sent out, cannot come back to us... events happen in many a world, but we remain unaware of that which we have not created... There is nothing that happens in our world, that we have not invited... as a response to our own intentions.

An expression of joy comes back as an experience of joy. An expression of pain inflicted on another, comes back as an experience of pain unsought and unlonged for. The world is our mirror. It reflects everything back the way we express ourselves. And as we play with the infinite range of thoughts, feelings, emotions, perceptions, intentions, desires and choices...we mould our world of experiences and dictate our future experiences.

Unity and Diversity

A butterfly feasts on the nectar of a wild flower earnestly flapping its wings and seizing the opportunity of the moment. So different from another one that is content to sit quietly and gently savour each sip. So near and yet so far. So similar and yet so different. Like us - so similar and yet so different.

We live in our own worlds. We have our own unique view of things. When we meet, it is as though many worlds meet to become one. We see the same things and understand differently. We mean something and it gets perceived as something else.

A teacher teaches and each student understands the lesson differently. Is there just one world or are there many worlds? Both views are right in their own way…

Innocence - Beyond Perceptions

Ah the moments of bliss when we step out of the world of meanings and interpretations and just enjoy. To witness the game as it is and taste the bliss of it all… to be innocent of the detail and to stay in the unlimited...to be oceanic like that Ocean of knowledge who sees beauty in everything... for He is so beautiful. The innocent Lord... the wise One.

God is called the one who stays beyond. The one who knows it all and is equal to all. The wisest one is also called the most innocent one. He is also called the creator of heaven.

Heaven... a time when we just live and spontaneously express and experience that which is natural... from a vantage point of innocence.

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour...

-William Blake, Auguries of Innocence.