योग-साधना LifeSkills/जीवन कौशल – ☆ Nirvana ☆ – Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

Nirvana is an Illusion, Serving for a Cause is Divine

I am penning this piece on the banks of the holy Ganga in the sacred land of Sages and Rishis on the foothills of the Himalayas.

I feel blessed as I am attending an international festival of yoga in Rishikesh. Around me are more than a thousand yoga gurus and yogis from more than a hundred countries. It is but natural to feel high on yoga, meditation and spiritual discourses from 4 am to 10 pm.

Last night was a restless one for me. Thoughts moved as fleeting clouds the whole night in my mind. Is nirvana a necessity or a luxury? Is it for real? Or, is it an illusion, delusion, confusion, or hallucination created by the spiritual guys?

I am an old man now by worldly standards. Even then, I stand on the crossroads like an Arjuna on the battle ground of Kurukshetra, with no Krishna around.

All my life, I tried all the available faiths and doctrines by hit and trial. I did not find much solace anywhere. Finally, I saw a silver lining – the path of the Buddha. Meditation is the quintessence of his teachings. I started practicing it.

I am just a step away from nirvana. Nirvana looks down upon me and gives a wry smile. I feel I am not interested in taking the next step. It seems futile. What will anyone else gain if I am enlightened?

I have seen the glow in the eyes of spiritual persons at the sight and smell of dollars. And feel saddened when they ignore us who have the most valuable currency – authenticity and happiness. It really hurts.

I do have a few vices remaining – ego which erupts from time to time, aversion towards those who play games, and craving for the beautiful ones. I sometimes feel that I am a sexual volcano on a human, spiritual journey.

I tried to attain all the perfections and succeeded to some extent. I admit that I have not been able to develop patience, temperance and humility. Why should I be polite to the hypocrites, scoundrels and rascals?

As I told you, I am almost in the neighborhood of Nirvana but I am not interested now. I feel disillusioned by the very concept of nivana.

Nirvana is non-productive. It makes people idle and alienates them from real world and their duties. To be here and now in the present moment, I feel one should be totally engaged in work, play, love and relationships. That is true happiness!

I feel the best form of spiritual life is serving for a social or humanitarian cause. One should strive to be a Mother Teresa, a Gandhi, a Martin Luther King, an Abraham Lincoln or a Malala or Satyarthi, instead of chasing a mirage called nirvana.

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills