Join now

Nirvana – In a Coffee Cup!


As they say that “You create your own world” is not some kind of perplexing or mysterious statement; neither does it contain any so called ‘quantum’ implications, as some may think, but is a simple and undemanding FACT.

Yesterday, we were discussing this matter over a cup of coffee.And it turned out to be a very straightforward affair.

We start from the very basics. …I see the world. …Just as it is. Without being biased or condemnatory in my perception, … I see the facts. Both what we call goodness, in form of charity, philanthropy, helping others, trying to preserve environment, the technological and social advancements that humans have brought about through research for the sake of common well being etc. And also the disorder in form of religious and cultural divisions, conflicts, wars, the fight for territorial supremacy, quarreling and bickering to become more successful and accomplished than others. Beating others up physically or by argument. Upholding our beliefs and ideologies to the point that the opponent of our ideas is decreased to such an extent that to us he seems exterminable. In result of this, I (as an individual) also observe the anxiety and psychological commotion that is caused in the society as a whole.

In addition, it begins to dawn upon me that what is considered to be goodness is a ‘reaction’ to the badness, and therefore is essentially rooted in the badness itself. Whichever part of reality that is consider to be morbid, a reaction occurs against it which is not completely divorced from the evil that I intend to depart from in the first place, but has a direct relationship with it. Communism is related to Capitalism. Democracy is related to dictatorship.

…I am observing. Very responsibly, applying great care, I perceive each and every happening. Not seeking a journalistic thrill, but with a poetic depth.

In doing so, the mechanism of factual issues and the ‘escapes’ that are invented (and in current times have come to dominate and blur the facts themselves), gradually starts to unravel.

Because of the personal responsibility that has taken place in the very core of my heart, firstly, the acknowledgement that the circumstances that I (the individual) is living in, have an unavoidable effect on my personal well being, and secondly, that so far I have partaken in the advancement of this chaotic mechanism by adhering to it and taking it to be an unchangeable reality, brings home the yet unrevealed comprehension of my tremendous role in the further continuation of this mayhem.

Through the process of this surge, I (the individual) have also understood the aspect of TIME. I know, with minute clarity that although I may have been born on a specific date, my very existence as a human being to this very point of drinking this coffee, is the result of human progression spanning over hundreds and thousands of years. My physiology, as well as psychology, the tangible and the intangible in what I assume as ME, contains the whole history of the human race.

At the very point when this realization occurs, the idea of distinction between I and you, us and them, black and white, American and the Russian, meets its cessation. …. An effortless, and obvious cessation.

The process goes on. But now this act of contemplation has an element attached to it which hitherto has been absent. The element of personal and acutely subjective interest. The matter suddenly becomes of incomparable seriousness! Not something to be played with by consuming oneself in the rat race of dualities.

For the first time I find myself in a position to observe holistically (here, holistic implies whole, health and sanity). Which contains the good and the bad; the right and the wrong; the so called Divine and the Evil; and the consciousness takes a turn into an uncharted dimension.

I want to change things. But now I (the individual) am aware. More aware than ever before. I have not only intellectually observed the whole existence, but have savoured the taste of being the creator of all this. Now I look at the world with absolutely uncorrupted eyes which are not blurred by my inheritance or background, but I myself have implanted this ability in them to explore and be observant. It has suddenly become a matter of the greatest urgency for me that my brother is not hurt because he is a part of me. He may be American, Russian, Indian, a Christian, Jewish or Muslim, it does not matter.

The process of this exploration goes on within me and I see that external or collective changes, which have been superimpositions, however subtle or crude they may be, have always failed. All they contributed to was the perpetuation of continuous division and segregation. So, I see with my own eyes the futility of trying to bring about an external change. The revolutions have come, and the revolutions have gone, but the human situation has not changed.

So what do I do? I comprehend with the utmost precision that what had evolved the ‘previous’ me – who was tribal, with all his tribal instincts intact; territorialism, linguistic and racial divisions, the segregations implanted by fear, jealousy, hatred etc – has also evolved my war waging contemporaries and their opponents in the current times. The only difference is that I have seen the content of my own mind, and the mere act of seeing, has cleared it of its contaminations. I feel more awake. The coffee was good!

When you become a part of the other human being, you become a part of the entire creation. Call it enlightenment, call it Nirvana or whatever. One thing is for sure, it is nothing exotic and nothing foreign. It dwells inside you.

Become empty. And in that emptiness begin to explore and discover. You are bound to find it!!

Perhaps a refill?!

Protected content

World Forum

Our Global Partners