Living with Illusions

I often say that Life is a journey that is both eventful and utterly pointless at the same time. Life is indeed a series of illusions; some that we create of our own accord and many others that we find littered along the road that leads to salvation. I have often said that no matter how false and dreamy the illusions in our life may be, man needs to actively be a part of their fallacy if he is to survive. But how can man truly strike a balance in this situation? How can man actively be a part of the illusion and yet be in touch with reality? The answer to that question is indeed what true spirituality is all about.

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Living with illusions does not necessarily mean that an individual as to be completely ignorant of the reality of life. You may be surrounded by people who praise; people who endlessly rave about your achievements. Now enjoying this flattery and the shallow gratification of the ego that it yields is to be expected. But yet within himself, the seeker should always be aware of where he truly stands. Praise and dispraise are both relative. They are fickle; what people think of you is necessarily based on the perception that the people have about your life; and most importantly their intelligence as well.

Thus the first key to living with illusions is to always be aware of where YOU stand. This awareness or this knowledge is not something that is drawn from outside; it is something that comes from within. I am not saying that you don’t acknowledge the praise or enjoy the flattery. Do that to your heart’s content, for that in itself often motivates an individual; but be rest assured that people who praise you in this moment can very well stone you to death in the next. Hence their rebuttal or their disapproval should in no way be a demotivating factor for you. Thus it is always prudent to not let your own understanding of yourself be in any way influenced by the world

The aforementioned scenario is but an example. In our day to day life, we see countless such incidences where if we truly introspect, we realize that we were indeed living in delusion. There is no problem with illusions themselves, but for the fact that they cannot last forever. They are but shadows in the twilight and with time are bound to pass away. When we latch onto those illusions with all our heart and with all the passion that we have within ourselves, we indeed commit a grave mistake; for when the illusion passes on, with it so does our passion for life. That is indeed a deathly scenario in itself.

At the onset I said that life is a journey that is both eventful and pointless at the same time. That was necessarily owing to the fact that in life we experience many different things; we achieve and acquire all that we wish for in our worldly life; and yet someday, we all sit back and think. “Why am I doing this? For whom am I doing this? Where would this journey ultimately take me?” That is the grave realization that ultimately dawns upon us when we discover the illusory weave of the human existence.

So how can we live through this illusory dream? Well the answer to that question is one word. Creativity. Live your life as if you were writing a story or painting a fresco. Any artwork is but a series of lies that leads on to a greater truth. Thus should be your life. No matter may be it entrenched and engulfed in illusions, but through your creativity and through your acts of benevolence, you can indeed give this fallacy a master stroke at the end, so that your life ends up being a creation of beauty. A life lived as such would not only make you the happiest person in the world, but it can inspire others as well.

Work through the illusions; work with the illusions; work as an illusion. Point of the matter is, no matter how intricately distractive the dreams may be, just keep walking…

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The Need for an Illusion

The entire colorful mosaic of human existence is indeed a grand illusion. It’s an illusion that makes the human being believe in its realness to the point that the individual forsakes all that he has to acquire that one illusion. Many a times it so happens that all great individual achievements and grand success stories have at their center naught but an illusion. Many a times, it so happens that owing to the virtue of that one illusion, a person is able to achieve the impossible in his life. However what happens when reality sets in and the illusion ceases to exist? What happens when the person realizes that the secret to his success was indeed that one illusion that he had held so close to his heart? What happens when the illusion breaks?

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That is a question that I have often asked my own self incessantly through the years. Human life is centered around illusions. These illusions give the human being the will to live; the will to endure and the will to persevere. If we but introspect, we realize that all of us in our heart secretly covet a solitary illusion in our life. That one illusion is the key to all our energy; that one illusion is the key to all our efforts; it is indeed the reason for our enthusiasm and our determination.

So what happens when reality crashes this party? What happens when that solitary illusion that we so earnestly covet is shattered to pieces? The answer is simple. We falter. All our intricate plans of grandeur come to an eerie standstill. There remains within us no enthusiasm, no determination and no courage to move on with the purpose that has been ordained to us in life. As the illusion falls, so do the many real things are associated with it for long. Thus when reality checks in and drives the solitary illusion away, the illusion departs taking with itself a part of our own soul. When the illusion that we so covet within our own self, dies, with it dies a part that is associated with that illusion. With it dies a part of our own self.

As we live this life, we always feel a constant need for an obsession, a possession around which we can shape and style our life. In our heart we always yearn for an image that we could cherish and love forever. Still at some point in our life, we find out that we can never satisfy our heart and its endless thirst through these illusions. For that is what they truly are, shallow illusions, in which we try to find our happiness and our purpose of life. And if that one thing, for which we would turn away from God Himself, is lost to us, our life becomes a living fallacy.

Thus in the end, that one illusion ends up representing our entire life; the intensity with which we latch onto it only increases the grief that we experience at its end. In the end, the human being realizes that he cannot live in the absence of an illusion; in the absence of an image that would occupy his heart. Thus he moves on through this world until he finds another illusion that pleases him; one that attracts him. Besotted with this new found dream, the individual finds his love for life renewed. With great zeal and unparalleled enthusiasm, he goes ahead and accomplishes many great things. But yet as is the nature of any dream, it always fades away with time; thus does the illusion wilt away as the seasons pass in line. Again the cold winters set in and alone lies the man; wishing for naught but a dream to covet through the endless span. Such is the endless story of doom, where man in his life moves on fluidly from one illusion to another, until a day dawns when he realizes that he indeed cannot continue to live in such a way. That is the day when realization dawns; and that is day when man is reborn.

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Episode 4: Introspection Demystified

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Realization is a process that follows keen self-introspection. Hence today, in the fourth episode of the second season of The Mysteries of Life, we elucidate and elaborate on the concept of introspection. What is introspection? Why is it so essential on the spiritual path? How can an individual effectively introspect and analyze his own actions? What benefits do they yield him? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers.

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Episode 6: “Conquer Illusions”

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Perception is Reality…or is it? In this episode of the Conquer It! series we question our perceptions thus. Often we find that the greatest obstacles that stand in our way to achieve enduring success are the illusions that we bear about life. Often when we fail to get a correct overview of situations that we are in, we encounter persisting failure. Thus many times, our inability to accept reality the way it is, results in our downfall. How can we change this? How can we uplift ourselves from our deluded perceptions? How can we conquer the illusions that forever cloud our discerning intellect? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…

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