What are you accumulating?

We spend a lot of time looking after and grooming our bodies. This ‘Kaaya’- the physical self is something we feel is ours. We own it. We take pride in it. We groom it. We nourish it. We feed it, etc. If we count the number of meals that we eat in our lifetime, the amount of cereal, fruits, vegetables, milk and water that we ingest, it’s a mind boggling figure. A normal adult consumes about 2kg food and 1-2kg water/fluids every day.

Our body is literally made up of recycled vegetation, rocks, streams, dead fish, tiger skin etc. These are broken down into portions that are invisible to the naked eye and used to make new humans, birds, flowers etc. This is so complex yet so simple to decipher!

But this body that we love so much, is not really the ‘I’ in us. We say ‘my body’, ‘my head’, ‘my feet’. The ‘I’ is definitely separate from the body and its organs. Who is this ‘I’? It is the soul! It is the spark of Divinity immanent in each one of us. It is a micro miniscule portion of the supreme soul! It is that which is eternal, indestructible and ageless. It is the in-dweller of the body.

If there is a candle or lamp with a steady flame, you can light numerous candles by touching their wicks to the flame that burns bright and strong. Does the original flame diminish? No! The original flame is God. We are the small candles. We burn for some time. When our ‘fuel’ gets exhausted, we die. The ‘I’ is finished!

The body is like a car for the ‘I’; that’s all it is! We must tend to it and keep it in good working order just like we clean our car every day, keep it fuelled, get it serviced periodically etc. When we have to go from this world; just like you can’t take your car, you can’t take your body along too. This ‘Kaaya’ has to be left behind. If you walk in the sun or under a light source, your body casts a shadow. This is your ‘Chaaya’. If you are in darkness, your shadow vanishes. This is true in life too. If you are in the limelight, if you are famous and rich, people flock around you. If you’re going through hard times, and everything around feels dark, people around you vanish. When life comes to an end- just like the kaaya, the chaaya too stays here.

What about ‘Maaya’ or wealth that we slog to earn? We may have a huge bank balance, jewels, property, cars etc. but when we die, our ‘Maaya’ also stays here. Because Kaaya, Chaaya and Maaya all belong to the Earth. It is a misconception that they belong to us. The Earth owns everything including our Kaaya, Chaaya and Maaya. We just get to use them for a short period of time.

If you have a house guest who comes to stay for a week, you expect that he will leave after seven days. But if he wants to stay on forever and starts to own your place you shall react differently. I real ‘I’ is a guest in this body! One day its time will be over.

If everything has to be left here, is there anything at all that we can take along? Yes! Our good karma. If we help others; if we do something to reduce the pain of another, wipe the tears from another’s eyes… that merit can go with us. It is said, ‘Samaan sau baras ka, pal bhar ki khabar nahin’. Meaning: We accumulate stuff for a 100 years, but we do not know if we shall live for the next second also! It is better to accumulate good karma … because that is all that can go along!

This piece has been published in HT on 27.05.2024. It can be viewed here https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/what-are-you-accumulating-101716666086594.html

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