Truths out of a Tea Cup

"Vigneshwaraa.."  ! I heard the loving familiar voice of the man who brought me into this world , as he came gently gliding into my room where I was arrested for a period of 14 days . It was during the quarantine period ,  where all contact with the outside world was cut off and I was left to the mercy of my laptops, mobile phones, some books and most fortunately the balcony . But for the balcony, I might have lost it, as there was an air of gloomy caution about the world level drama that took all of us by surprise. The unpredictable nature of the universe is not easy to fathom, as we are dragged by the strings of changing fortunes of life. My roving mind suddenly fell into a nonchalant reverie as father brought in the cup of tea. What surprises me often is how day to day menial tasks make my mind meander into some of the finer truths of life, which ideally happens when you have taken an excess of the M drug. Anyway, without further digression, let me take you through the riveting trail of thoughts , my mind took,  as I gratefully took the cup from the floor to have a steaming sip of fine home made ginger tea. 

Take for example this very cup of Tea - if you paused for a second the amount of life force it has touched , before it ended up in my hands, you will be bowled over by how deeply connected all our lives are, how much thankful we should be to the people around us with an imperative need to practice the humility of a blade of grass every second of our existence. Breaking it down, it's not just the cup of tea with its saucepan . There is the tumbler, the saucepan. The tumbler and saucepan is made out of a metal which once was being mined out from earth. To identify this metal, someone studied to gain knowledge of geography, some one before him taught the geography to him, some one used their knowledge of mining, the number of hands that went into excavating and melting the metal into liquid, which again is some one's knowledge of chemistry to know how much heat to give , how to preserve it. To house this molten metal someone had a space where it can be kept, someone who rented out a space for this purpose. Some one who did business out of all this, some one who purchased the end product. Some one who had the smartness to create crafty vessels and cups. Some one who transferred these articles from the go-down of their manufacturing to the shops . Some one , who sold these cups. Fast forwarding, to my parents who worked hard to earn money to buy these vessels. I am genuinely sure, there are more people involved in this, but I deftly choose to not be superfluous on this further. 

Moving on , to the actual tea. The milk, which was once inside the udders of a cow. The farmer who fed the cow, the farmer who grew the fodder for the cow , the person who had the knowledge to feed fodder for the cow. The person who knew the first dash of milk should be given to the calf and then milked for hungry homo sapiens. The milk that was collected had to be pasteurized. The guy who had knowledge of this, apart from the founder, Louis Pasteur. The guy who had the milk manufacturing unit, to make sure the milk is not spoiled , the guy who created plastic packets, the mechanical guy who built those machines, the teachers who taught him all this, the guy whose coding skills drove the automated process of filling milk into plastic packets, the guy who understood concept of brand marketing through his Business studies , the teachers who taught him, the guy who found paint, to print labels on these packets, the guy who collected these packaged milk packets and sold them to consumers through shops and again Fast forwarding, to my parents who worked hard to earn money to buy these vessels. I am genuinely sure, there are more people involved in this, but I again, deftly choose to not be superfluous on this further. 

The sugar cane farmer, the sugar manufacturer , the ginger farmer, the people who understood sugar business and so on and on. If you were already sulking out of the message I am driving here, do you even realize how grateful you should be , for everything there is, in front of you ? When did we forget to say thanks to our blessings. Do we need a Thanksgiving like the Westerners to gather as a family to profess our thanks ? Where do we even start , with all the human beings that were involved in this so called successful life of ours ? All this wealth and prosperity with us, at this juncture, can we even claim ownership of any of this ? Are we even owners ? Is not every person involved in this big chain of events an owner by themselves ? The amount of efforts that is spread all over this life around is the result of some human breathing air in and out somewhere . All we did was just , concentrate on living our own life, without reflecting for a moment, how deeply & hopelessly intertwined our lives are with one another. We are one big Super Family . Every one of us needs Every one of us.

Except the creator of all things , none of us can ever claim any kind of control over anything . Hinduism confers this wisdom through the Sanskrit saying : "Sahasra-Shiirssaa Purussah Sahasra-Akssah Sahasra-Paat , Sa Bhuumim Vishvato Vrtva-Atya ,Tisstthad-Dasha-Angulam" , Meaning: The Purusha (Universal Being) has Thousand Heads, Thousand Eyes and Thousand Feet (Thousand signifies innumerable which points to the omnipresence of the Universal Being), He envelops the World from all sides (i.e. He pervades each part of the Creation), and extends beyond in the Ten Directions ( represented by Ten Fingers ),The Bible says "The Lord your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers. He is great and mighty, and he is to be obeyed." . The Quoran refers to Allah as "The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds" . In this temporary passing clouds existence of our lives as Human beings, whether or not, you have belief in concept of rebirth , life after death etc, one thing is evident. As long as you take a human form , you are as much just "a human", as much you are "the human". Science has pompously ,with great conviction for ages established the hegemony of human beings over all creatures, in our capacity to use our faculties of mind and body to live a life,and not just "be" . We have powers, powered by the source of power , but we are not just the only power. Have a look around yourself. Do you now feel , you can claim any leadership over anything ? If one practices this small piece of wisdom that, we need each other, no one is higher or lower , no matter what is their current state of life, this very perspicacious Gyan will make you abdicate all sense of "Ego" , or the "I" , "Me" in you and mix with life, with as much humility as you can generate out of your life force.

Let's not waste this Blessing called Life, Let's just pursue our duties with undivided attention with the firm belief that you , by living your life is just another act in this universe , just like every other thing around you , living/non-living thing that has come into existence and any sense of animosity you bear against anyone or anything is of no significance and may this thought help you in clearing all the unnecessary clutter that has muddled your wisdom eye.

May Good thoughts reach you from all corners, May you assiduously pursue Love, Kindness and Respect towards your fellow beings , creatures every second, May you with all humility be thankful for all the things you have & don't have,  May you attain the very purpose of your existence !