[Preachy philosophical outpouring (read over-do).

Ironically, it talks about

the lofty ideal of selflessness and of the need to nourish the soul, though
it was written with the sole materialistic aim of getting a prize. Maybe
thats seen. No wonder, it ends up here! As for me, Im sticking on to my
beliefs; going back to my old ways- extolling the need to be ambitious in
life. Ayn Rand fanaticism can never die!]

A man who has no inner self is a slave to his surroundings

- Henri Frederick
Who are we? As proud denizens of a technophilic civilization, we could perhaps click
a selfie, flash it and scoff at the question. But would a few pixels capture our fickle
emotions, our deepest fears and insecurities and our material aspirations? Or
perhaps we should delve a little deeper, divulge details of our lives, of how we are
considered by the society or what we presume we are considered to be. But is that
all to us? Do our names define us? No, one could have been called by any name.
After all, isnt a name just a string of letters put together, the choice of which was
beyond our say, stamped over us for a lifetime? Does our nationality proclaim our
identity to the world? Perhaps no, for nature, epidemics and terror know no
boundaries. Does gender or occupation define us? Again, no. Though, no two people
would agree that they lead essentially the same life, irrespective of whether they
are engaged in the same profession or belonging to the same gender. Does being
called someones son or daughter, convey who we are? Nah, for how can an
undefined existence be defined by pegging it to yet another mortal and undefined
existence.
Essentially, as humans we are all the same. Veiled in different garbs, forgotten in all
the different languages and divided by boundaries that never existed is the same
soul, yearning for nourishment, yearning for an acknowledgement of its existence.
What nourishes the soul is the same for all. What sustains the body, the carrier of
this soul is also the same for all humans. Despite the simplicity of this fact, we lead
an entrapped and confused existence.
We create standards and benchmarks, we strive to achieve what we assume could
possibly make our lives happier and comfortable. We lead hyphenated identities to
fit into the mould, the society. Eternally suffering from an identarian dysphoria, we
fail to realize what actually constitutes this identity. We set targets, race against
our fellow beings and race against our own ageing to reach that stature. A stage
when we feel, we have all material goods that can guarantee a life free of drudgery.
A stage when we feel, we have all the necessary qualifications to be recognized and
appreciated as a successful person by the society. We crave for a validation by the
public gaze; for we assume that its the pinnacle of achievement. Yet we sense a
melancholy and hollowness in our existence. Sadly, the balance sheet of wants and

needs never gets closed, and long before we even realize, we foray into a vicious
circle of greed, constantly fueled by more greed. In this pursuit of an ever elusive
happiness, we invite more misery. And thus we become slaves to our surroundings.
Our slavery to our surroundings and our inability to overcome our weaknesses
teamed up with an eternal fear of an uncertain and unpredictable future puts us into
a strange predicament. A state where we forget that the answer to lifes miseries
comes from within. We fail to realize the enormous potential within us. We seek
miracles; we resort to seek help from those who claim to broker deals with Gods. We
fall prey to soothsayers and clairvoyants with promises galore, in lieu for favours,
money and patronage. Mistaking them to be mentors like Swami Vivekananda,
Ramana Maharshi and Adi Shankaracharya, we believe that we are being spiritually
awakened. Instead, we end up more entangled in a murky web of materialism and
sheer exploitation. Baffled by the stark realities of life and disheartened by the
inability to achieve a socially acceptable level of success, our escapist tendencies
lure us even into fanatical ideas like jihad; creating a caliphate, fooling ourselves
into believing that our quest for peace would end there. Shouldnt peace come from
within?
How do we see through the futility of such an existence? How can we introspect and
seek the answers to the miseries of our life? How do we know what is worthwhile
and what is evanescent? How do we find a true mentor, who could guide us to know
ourselves? These are questions easier asked and forgotten than answered. A
dispassionate outlook towards life, yet a compassionate approach towards our
fellow beings, could take us a little closer to the true purpose of our lives. Selfless
love and benevolence is a universal language. Selfless love gives, forgives and
forgets. Nothing but the age old Mahopanishad concept of Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam or the world is but one family could have stated this better. When
we consider our fellow beings as our family and perform all the worldly duties
without attachment to material possessions, we give a meaning to our existence.
Meditation on understanding oneself shall awaken our inner self and help us find
this true purpose of life. Seeking the real leads to eternal bliss and its here that we
thirst for peace. A world where every soul leads a truly enlightened existence is
where our quest ends.