auld lang syne

impermanence

so I woke up today thinking about impermanence.. and this put in my mind images evoked by a friend's mention of the aghories who frequent cremation grounds in india. I happened upon a couple of videos documenting the aghories incorporating human remains into their worship rituals..


I thought about the stark contrast of this open embrace of impermanence as compared with western culture's denial of death and the impermanent nature of all forms. In the west, death is mostly hidden from view, but in the world of the aghories it is accepted and incorporated into life.. even to the point of sometimes consuming the bodies of the dead, or adorning yourself with their remains. I suppose the closest we get in the west to an acknowledgement of impermanence is the mass bombardment of CSI-type tv dramas.

Not to romanticize this infatuation with holiness anymore than to glorify an infatuation with worldliness. both represent attachment of the ego to some ideal. both exist in time. any path that is separate from its destination may be just another obstacle to the always immediate realization truth.

At some point there is no desire to overcome fears nor habits; no desire for trinkets, nor to distinguish oneself with costume, nor colors, nor letters, nor words.. no desire to go beyond the present moment, nor to dwell within it.

I don't know what is the point of writing this other than perhaps to say I find the aghories comforting in that they provide a kind of counter-balance to the vast materialism that consumes us much the same as the aghories consume the bodies of the dead. perhaps oddly, i'm not offended by their consumption. I suppose in this world where I am still frustrated by desire, it's comforting to know that eventually, I & everything I covet will disintegrate into dust & fly away on the wind.

Dalliance

I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. [Ecclesiastes 1:14 - New American Standard Bible (©1995)]

How do I feel about that quote? there are several different translations.. the Lamsa english translation of the Syriac Peshitta (which I usually prefer) says this:

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. [Ecclesiastes 1:14 - Lamsa English Peshitta Translation]

All the works which have been done under the sun.. Sometimes I feel as if I have seen all of them, but other times I realize that is not so, at least not on a personal level. All is vanity? Excessive pride.. egotism.. unreality.. I think perhaps most is vanity, not all.. No -- now that I consider that more carefully, not even most is vanity..

Most is comprised of what is found in nature, and nature is not vain, except to the extent that it cannot be separated from the consciousness that perceives it.. Therefore, if I see all as vanity, then it is I who is vain..

Vanity as the unreal.. Most is unreal? Hmm.. most is unreal, I suppose, if one considers the world of form as "unreal." What is reality? If reality is something that exits independently from the ideas concerning it, then only no-thing is real.. Thus, all is unreal and all is vanity after-all.

It only stands to follow that if all is unreal, then there is only striving after wind.. because any striving would be after some-thing and no-thing is real, only transient like the wind.. and all things exist as concepts in this dream of reality.

Is this a vexation of spirit? Both vexations and spirits, being things are unreal and only vanity; therefore, there is no vexation of spirit..

And so yes, I agree that "all is vanity and striving after wind." I do not necessarily concur that it is a "vexation of spirit." :-)

*whew! glad I got that figured out!*

For some reason the Narayana Mantra is what is evoked for me after this discourse.
"om namo narayanaya"

The War on Terror

". . .the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. . ."
-FDR Inaugural Address, March 1933



And the question becomes, if or when something terrible happens are we propelled by fear to participate in a tug-of-war with terror, or are we the visionaries who are inspired to move toward a new thought that creates something great?

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
-Bene Gesserit Rite from Frank Herbert's Dune