What's common to money....and air ?

Plenty if you ask me ! Here's a broad level comparison that seems to hold on many grounds :

- Money is like air, in that it's required to live life. Just like air, if not kept in circulation money is worthless by itself. They are just means to an end.
- Both are of no use to a dead person, nor can they be carried over. No amount of air can save an ailing/dying person; no money has been known to buy happiness.
- When polluted both tend to get "black". Blackened form of either is dangerous !
- The faster you run, the more air you need. Similarly, the faster paced life you lead, more money you spend and vice-versa.
- Montain dwellers lead a good or better life than the plains people, surviving on much less air; People accustomed to the rarified spiritual heights require no more than a minimal amount of money.
- Family people are like swimmers immersed in water, exhausting the supply of air (money) and coming up every now and then for a breath of fresh air ! No matter how many times they come up, they go down again and again thus repeating the cycle.

With some imagination, I'm sure many more can be found...

Orchestra of sorts

I attended a concert last week, the details of which are unimportant here. The music, ambience, artists were all good...as I've experienced many times in the past with other concerts. There was something mighty unusual in the way I listened ! Normally I tend to focus on the vocals, or whichever instrument I like. The rest of the instruments given less importance (by me) sound in the background of my mind. But this time, I was able to perceive the entire music as a whole, without concentrating on any particular instrument. With everything in consonance, the music just flowed...like a river in which you can't see the separate drops of water. At the same time, I discovered that I could listen to each instrument in all it's individual glory. A wonderful experience sprung forth from this deeper appreciation for something quite mundane. Another aspect that struck me was that silence always remained at the background, whether there was music or not. Silence, a mute spectator never seemed to get involved in the concert, yet it stood still as a mountain, being a firm foundation !

I began to realize what a profound significance this has. Life is like that too. Drawn by likes, repelled by dislikes we focus only on particular aspects of existence, without enjoying everything, all at once. Like the silence aspect, Brahman remains the firm foundation upon which entire creation rests, but like silence, it never gets involved in anything !

Like the concert, how many such wise teachers exist surrounding every moment of our life. If only we would listen ! Where did this new found knowledge arise from ? Did it come from the ambience, the musicians, the music or myself ?! Neither - it always existed...with all these only serving to remove ignorance thus exposing existence of knowledge.

A shloka that comes to mind is :

Om purnam-adah purnam-idam
purnaat purnam-udacyate
purnasya purnam-aadaya,
purnam-eva-avashishyate

Taken from the Ishavasya Upanishad it literally means "That is complete, this is complete. From that completeness comes this completeness. Take away this completeness from that completeness, only completeness remains"

Every experience is complete in itself, appearing incomplete due to our focus shifting to particular aspects !