We came into this world with nothing and will take nothing with us when we leave as well. Then why is that the time in the middle that we live just goes in collecting different “things”? What is that we actually take with us when we leave this world……”things” for sure not….”memories”? hmmm…maybe. Also what will we do with these “memories” after we die? Maybe we will use it in our new lives…..who knows!
“Memories” are a collection of experiences and knowledge; and our SOUL is that memory chip that carries “them” which becomes our karma. Be careful what you store in there.
-self
We get used to these “things” so much that when that “thing” is taken away from us we feel helpless or a void or inability to do the task that we did using that “thing”. Few days back my laptop broke down…..the screen went just blank. It is an old laptop so it keeps showing its various tantrums from time to time but this time it was serious. I rebooted….and rebooted…but nothing worked….until the reality dawned upon me….my laptop is ill……and needs to be sent to its doctor. So at the moment my laptop is hospitalised….also I don’t even know if it will survive. Pretty bad for a generation like ours for which life without a computer is unthinkable. All my data is collected in the laptop….from my sketches to write ups…to pictures and all important personal data. So dependent I am on this device. What will happen if all of that is lost? Well..some of it is backed up, but could I recreate the rest from the backup in my brain?
There was a time when people lived without gadgets like computer or mobile phone. Today we cannot imagine going a day without either. Although TV and landline were there, internet wasn’t. So books and libraries, cassettes and recorders were more popular information sources. If we go even back in time…information was carved on stone or even verbally transferred like our holy texts “Vedas”….so the information source was “brain” and it was practised through constant repetition. But as time passed this medium started losing its importance and we know the history. Also….the four vedas contained humongous amount of knowledge of science, art of living, ayurveda and yoga to name a few. JUST imagine all this knowledge was recorded only in the brain and remembered through repetition. The capacity of the brain was used to its maximum. What are we doing today is just not letting the brain remember anything…relying on the gadget to remember everything and sometimes even forgetting that. Smarter technologies and dumber people….is it what we are going towards? Is this happening because we are not training the brain to remember things or is it because there are just too many unnecessary “things” to remember? Isn’t it just relevant to collect and store the required and purge the rest? The less the information, the more space we will have to think properly. `
Too many “things” and “thoughts” means clutter . They say, that clutter creates fog in the brain. …that means inability to see and function clearly. Today we have filled our lives with both physical and mental clutter….with unnecessary items and thoughts which makes us go in circles and we feel stuck and overwhelmed…..no wonder. Sometimes it is not that thing we need but is either just a matter of habit or someone has told us we need it. Same is true with overthinking and useless thoughts.
In the span of last 15 months, on my journey of decluttering, I have given up things and even certain foods just to realise how bound I was to them only because of habits. In the beginning the change was hard but with time now I am happy I have given them up and have few items less in my house and lesser cravings which I actually didn’t need. Also, giving up things that once I (thought I) liked gave me a sense of self control. Also it opened doors to new ideas and possiblities. Just like with the banning of the plastic bags in India, that people were obliged to think of a new way (actually an old way) of using cloth bags and inventing new alternatives to plastics.
So …it is peak time to think and rethink of ways to bring back simplicity to our lives and live life more fully and responsibly with less “things” and more “memories” to make with people.
Detachment is not that you own nothing;
Detachment is that nothing owns you.
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita
Let on this festival of Diwali, we not just clean our homes and light diyas but also purge the unnecessary “things” and “thoughts” and light our lives with happiness and simplicity to create a sustainable and beautiful world for us and our future generations.
Happy Diwali !
Merry Scientist 