Being a person who thrives in urban, metropolitan
chaos; it is a reward to find some time alone, just by myself, doing nothing. I
crave for absolute isolation and embrace it at every possible opportunity. I
love to shut myself from outside world and am happy with my cave like world, a
womb of complete peace, deep inside my cerebrum. Such interludes are always
soaked with sacred moments of deep rooted piety and invariably unfold fascinating lessons about life in general.
Our life has become so harried with zillion things that
our minds are deafened with its maddening cadence! Every person is running
after some insatiable chase, moving like addicts into unheard, unseen rhythm of
uncontrolled chaos!
Sometimes, I wonder if there must have been times when we human beings were mightily happy and content to just sit and be! How many moments during the day do we actually feel stillness to focus on the moment we are living; the present and deeply enjoy it? Exploring the alchemy of stillness and its beautiful intricacy in otherwise chaotic and often claustrophobic spaces is an art not many of us have mastered.
The reason I am ruminating about “Stillness” today is
an interesting experience I recently had during our holidays to Coorg,
Karnataka.
I was taking walk near the place we were staying at; a golf
course surrounded by forest and mountains and barely any soul around. While
exploring the small path leading to the unknown I stumbled upon a small boy
sitting quietly on the steps. It looked as if he was sitting there since ages! His solemn face had so much calm! Despite the dirty clothes, he came across as portrait of purity and radiance. I could
not help asking him what he was doing. Surprised by my question he replied with a
smile, “Main kuch nahi karta hoon. Sirf hoon”. (“I am not doing anything.
I am just being.) His simple, innocent answer bowled me over and kept me
thinking about how the boy was able to enjoy the stillness at that young age!
He looked part of the whole scene, a small, beautiful piece of a perfect
picture, absolutely at peace, just happy to BE!
Some occurrences are understood in essence but very
difficult to describe in words. When we refer to stillness, we think about
cutting ourselves from the world, away from all the chaos. But discovering
contours of stillness doesn’t necessarily entail a long journey to the woods. It
can be encountered all around us and can be inhabited with complete surrender
to the moment, like that little boy.
Far too often we miss out open, playful little
moments to this long, unending scroll of floating world; a lyrical stream
of tenderness running through life right amidst the chaos and cacophony. There
are several moments that offer “vismaya”, that elevating sense of
wonder our scriptures talk about. All we need to do is just embrace these simple,
poignant moments and realize that stillness is not about external aesthetics
but a complete surrender to poignant journey within and discovering our own
creative, spiritual pulse and in those magical moments finding the universe
resonating tranquil peace. It is in such moments that we discover nucleus of intellect, creativity and even spirituality and find ourself anew in this solemn journey!
“Be
still.
Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity”
- Lao Tzu
