All those things called Constraints!
To all those people, who take as the words of God, books written by men, some special and some not really so, I have a few words to say...
First a few words from somebody else actually,
Imagine there's no heaven...
No hell below us...]
No religion too.... - John Lennon of the Beatles
Goodness is not defined by what you don't do, instead it is defined by what you create
(Actually something close to it) - The priest towards the end of the Juliette Binoche movie, 'Chocolat'
A majority of constraints that we face are self imposed. Living a life with lots of these self imposed constraints for the sake of one without - in a different place, in a different window of time, will seem downright silly if you come to realize that you can have the latter rightaway!
For instance, choosing not to eat meat, or certain kinds and forms of it, just because some book by somebody says so, is akin to chaining yourself up. For all you know, this somebody, who contributed significantly to this holy book you choose to lead your life by, might have been only as smart as you are, or probably less so. He probably enjoyed a position of power which allowed him to put some of his not so broad minded ideas into implementation!
Imagine current day Bihar in India as nation of its own and that Laloo Yadav decided to add some sections to the Gita. Considering the clout he enjoys there, he might implement some of his 'nice' ideas very well, I wouldn't be very surprised if this passed on from generation to generation and became a part of our tradition.
If you think Laloo is too much of an extreme example, there is atleast one other chap who changed lives of a lot of people more than they would have wanted it - Manu with his system of justice for the different varnas!
So, if you are not eating meat or taking alcohol because somebody in some book told you so, your education is fundamentally flawed - you don't question!
For all those who just don't do some things and have never tried them out, or those who still share foolish notions of purity, by claiming to be the forbearers of a religion who would not eat in dishes stained by anything to do with meat, I have just one thing to say-
You're not living life to the fullest!
First a few words from somebody else actually,
Imagine there's no heaven...
No hell below us...]
No religion too.... - John Lennon of the Beatles
Goodness is not defined by what you don't do, instead it is defined by what you create
(Actually something close to it) - The priest towards the end of the Juliette Binoche movie, 'Chocolat'
A majority of constraints that we face are self imposed. Living a life with lots of these self imposed constraints for the sake of one without - in a different place, in a different window of time, will seem downright silly if you come to realize that you can have the latter rightaway!
For instance, choosing not to eat meat, or certain kinds and forms of it, just because some book by somebody says so, is akin to chaining yourself up. For all you know, this somebody, who contributed significantly to this holy book you choose to lead your life by, might have been only as smart as you are, or probably less so. He probably enjoyed a position of power which allowed him to put some of his not so broad minded ideas into implementation!
Imagine current day Bihar in India as nation of its own and that Laloo Yadav decided to add some sections to the Gita. Considering the clout he enjoys there, he might implement some of his 'nice' ideas very well, I wouldn't be very surprised if this passed on from generation to generation and became a part of our tradition.
If you think Laloo is too much of an extreme example, there is atleast one other chap who changed lives of a lot of people more than they would have wanted it - Manu with his system of justice for the different varnas!
So, if you are not eating meat or taking alcohol because somebody in some book told you so, your education is fundamentally flawed - you don't question!
For all those who just don't do some things and have never tried them out, or those who still share foolish notions of purity, by claiming to be the forbearers of a religion who would not eat in dishes stained by anything to do with meat, I have just one thing to say-
You're not living life to the fullest!
posted by Mohanakrishna C at 12:00 AM
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