The art of being busy has been mastered by us humans. We adapt so quickly to this eventful life that not even a pandemic has been able to stop us. We’ve found ways to be busier and quicker in everything. Instant results are a thing now. A monk I know jokes about how instant idlis are in now. Not just that, even the technology available to us now is amazing with the kind of data it provides us instantly. I was stuck in a traffic jam as my cab driver and I watched the Mumbai crowd chanting Mohammad Shami’s name as he claimed seven wickets in a single match. But with technology taking over our lives, I am surprised that we still haven’t found a way to invent a device that’ll help us take a pause.
I have mixed feelings about this busyness that makes us as a society far from peaceful. It is daily that a bird will sing its song, an array of flowers will bloom, the deer will graze and newborns will be brought into this world; the joy of all these sadly gone unnoticed by many. We have lost the art of taking a pause. I love a peaceful walk just as much as the next person. Leave me on the beach with the sound of the sea roaring nearby and you’d find a more tanned and happier version of me. Perhaps I am known to take this ‘peace-loving’ a bit too far. But I can’t be the only human who thrives on alternating between being a lazy sloth and an overhyped golden retriever on some days. Funnily, the thing is that the goldie knows how to take a pause and relax too. Do we?
With the habit of running and catching buses daily or simply running for fitness, because that seems to be the trend, we’ve forgotten to run life’s marathon for joy. A friend did run a couple of marathons recently, which made me aware of how rare it is for us humans to take out time for ourselves.
I feel privileged that I was introduced to spirituality at a very young age and have had the opportunity to learn from different religions and spiritual paths. I find great joy in following various teachings. What I like about them all is how each one can promise a glimpse of joy in their own way. “Be calmly active and actively calm,” said Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said that’s easier said than done. But through the days I’ve spent in various meditation retreats, I see a glimpse into the possibility of peace that can be accessed in this world. Does that mean not being busy at all? Well, au contraire, it means simply reducing the pressure that comes with engaging in the act of being busy.
I understand that some of us thrive under pressure. To others, busyness is even a way of life. I myself have been through a phase, where during the lockdown I was working from the moment my eyes fluttered open until well past midnight. But burnouts are so very real. And if isn’t a physical one you feel, then an emotional burnout is enough to wear you down.
Another quote of Paramahansa Yogananda is to “stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.” Whoa, now that itself is scary. I can barely stand unshaken when my dog tugs on his leash, let alone when all the world is breaking around me. But that is what we have to learn. There is a state of peace that dawns upon you when you are calmly able to deal with all situations that come to you. It may seem impossible at first but after treading the path of staying in the very present moment, we may be able to take things as they come. In times of self-doubt, I like to remind myself, that if Po the Panda, (in the series Kung Fu Panda) could learn how to use the Wuxi Finger Hold, then I am sure in times of busyness, I can surely learn how to find some peace within.