Bedrock On Which We All Stand


Image of the Week

Do you realize, sir, that you are the world and the world is you? The world is not separate from you and me. There is a common thread of relationship weaving us all together. Deep down we are all totally connected. Superficially things appear separate. Separate species, separate races, separate cultures and colours, separate nationalities and religions and politics. 

If you look closely, you will immediately see that we are all part of a tapestry of life. When we can see ourselves as part of this glorious pattern of relationships then conflicts between nations, religions and political systems can come to an end. Conflicts are born of ignorance. When we are ignorant of the fact that all life is inter-connected, then we try to control each other. When there is no  understanding that relationship is the basis of our existence, then there is only disintegration in society. Relationship is the bedrock upon which we all stand.

[I asked, "You say that religion, politics and ideologies have wounded humanity. How can we heal these wounds? How can we return to the state of relatedness?"]

The problem goes much deeper than religion or politics.  It starts in our minds, in our habits, in our lives. There is a constant conditioning which has gone on and on for centuries. We are subjected to conditioning and we participate in our own conditioning. Judging, prejudice, likes and dislikes, they are all part of the same problem. We have been conditioned to believe that the observer is separate from the observed, the thinker is separate from the thought. This dualism, this compartmentalization, is the mother of all conflicts, basis of all pain and suffering. Do you understand me, Sir? It is very important.

["I hope I do. However, how do we go from dualism to wholeness?" I pursued my inquiry.]

For healing to take place, we have to go beyond theories, formulas, and ready-made answers. We have to be silent and pay attention. Silence and attention provide the ground for meditation. Meditation is a process of healing the wounds of fragmentation. In meditation, divisions end and wholeness emerges. Then there is no longer a division between `I' and 'you', between 'us' and 'them', between 'good' and 'evil'.  

When there is no ego, no vanity, no fear, no isolation, no insecurity, no ignorance, then there is healing, and wholeness.

 

J. Krishnamuti was a great Indian philosopher and sage. The excerpt above is from his dialogues with Satish Kumar, as archived in 'You Are, Therefore I Am.'


Add Your Reflection

10 Past Reflections