Agony and Ecstacy of Eman - V

The Eman knows that all around him all the energy, indeed the whole energy and vitality of the intelligence of the being is directed to solve the problem of living. It is as if the problem of meaning had already been solved by the ancestors long long ago , when there was neither scarcity nor plenty. Today, the world appears distinctly divided into those haunted by scarcity and those troubled by plenty. The Eman suffers for the return of the problem of meaning, when there will neither be poverty nor plenty. That will have to wait!

    The Harvest is plentiful!

    And, workers are few.

Eman was listening to dissertations of the learned, specialties he soon found have acquired unlimited sophistication, unlimited power to construct. He shakes his head in disbelief 'Not this, Not this,...'

Eman has become experienced in this marketplace of descriptions. He can now smell the significant things happening around him. Endowed with a passionate zeal for grasping the true significance of the works of the times, finds to his utter disbelief that less and less,... and now almost nothing, touches even remotely the center of his being...beyond his labor, beyond his responsibilities, his customs and rituals, beyond just keeping himself alive. And slowly he senses the stirrings originating within him, freedom, immortality, rebirth, fate and host of significant realities unpleasant to his rational counterpart.

But, mostly, in the face of the uncaring might of his present master, he has to withdraw muttering to himself :'after all, the meanings have been nicely expressed here,..., there, by the ancestors, illuminated and elaborated by our masters in our sastras'. Our masters?, our sastras?, who are we?

And, thus does he postpone indefinitely the crucial task of the rediscovery of meanings, discovery of new meanings. Instead, he gets busy with the problem of living.

Thus, the men who starved and suffered, braved all obstacles in the path, sustaining the struggle with a vision characteristic of the Eman, now forsakes it all; just as the hero of the vital man searching for the beautiful princess of his dreams, wanders across continents of forests, mountains beyond the seven seas, braving the winds and ghosts, finally releasing all his vital energy at the altar of a living princess whom he finds!

The Eman does not crave for food, shelter and clothing! 'oh, the rains shall soon come, we'll sow and reap enough,... this mud hut, thatch here, the tree there or the cave beyond would be fine, and stitch our clothes in all the fall colors. Shall I weep or laugh when the King and his durbar advise us to apply the whole mind to fulfill the three cravings and starve like this?

Eman then sings his song about keeping oneself alive:

    When there is wealth in the sky, air, earth and water

    Trees in my countryside eat their food,

    Build their houses and dress up;

    All on their own...effortlessly,

    Responding to the cosmic moods.

    And, the animals and and birds?, you would ask.

    They find a shade and keep their skins clean,

    Eat their fill and keep busy,...almost effortlessly.

    Then sit and contemplate a thousand things,

    Are quick to know the change in light ,

    the roar of thunder and fall of rain as well.

    The men in my countryside,

    Spend all day eating their meals,

    Spend all their nights dreaming of the food to be eaten!

    Something within me tells:

    To be free from hunger is infinite blessing,

    and also infinite ignorance!

    The former leads to the desire to forsake wealth,

    the latter leads to the desire to seek it!