Introduction
The human condition is defined by two principal characteristics. The first is our fall from grace, from a life of paradise we lived in sublime innocence. The second is our less than perfect actions to recover from the fall, sometimes leading us to even greater blight.
What is needed is a third and independent course of action that may overcome the double jeopardy of our recovery and at the same time avoid the dreams of innocence. Such a path would lead us to the definition and discovery of the human condition in us.
The endeavor is made more complicated by the values and norms that we have come to accept as abiding principles in society. We fear being the social outcast.
In traditional societies, steeped in historical significance, the social practices culminate in a culture that is an instrument for cohesion. Breaking a cultural norm is unethical but is not against the law. In modern societies, success substitutes for culture and the imperative to conform in order to survive is strong. Such influences accompany the individual from the cradle and quite often will go a long way.
A thinking individual has but one alternative; to reach for that difficult and often illusive sense of the self that defines his/her personality and thereby to commit to a lifetime of self learning and discovery. The effort is considerable and the individual will need to organize their life and career in order to achieve it. Quite often, it may be possible to tune in to one's growing life and discover that such is also the plan of the soul ( jiva ).
From the teen years, one gathers enough understanding of the promises of life through the workings of the body mind. From there, the individual is guided through to their conscious understanding of the possibilities. Thereafter, the individual will is recruited in the endeavor to make the hard decisions.
On average, every teen impulse takes a fall. However, teen energies are strong and such minor setbacks are often dismissed without a second glance. But when a scratch is joined later by a blister, we start to take notice. This would be called a start to the great adventure of self discovery.
To a smart fellow, he/she will come to realize very quickly that there are no ready answers and that our lives are lived between a rock and a hard place. This in turn means we have to apply ourselves with equanimity to solve the issues and to undertake the inquiry in peace. Any hastiness will rock the boat but it'll not get you to Avalon.
The old methods of practicing renunciation in a cave may not be the gripe water in today's times. In fact, they merely serve to isolate the individual from society. The individual today is a forthright, self-righteous person who has come to realize that the ' olde smooth-over ' no longer works with others or with himself and needs to find something that is tangible in terms of substance.
He needs to relate to the opposite gender, be a father to the kids, be good at the job and retain the social circle of which he is a part. At some point a break-away may be necessary but it may be possible to take that in stride with the job change or a sabbatical away from the family.
In the final analysis, he wants to do the right thing, say the right words and give a little back to the society that nurtured him. To strive to understand the world is a wondrous impulse and drive in all of us. It began with the way the world courted us as a young person, the way it showed a world brimming with enthusiasm. We rode that wave and it becomes incumbent upon us to finish it well by bringing to the individual experience, his relation to that world.
A soldier, after a period of service in the army becomes totally helpless in civilian life. A man, suddenly living apart from the family is incapable of tending to his needs. A career individual, cut loose from his job, is in despair. All these could do with a dose of understanding their individuality. In smaller or bigger ways, it comes to visit upon us.
The Hindus refer to the life force as ' Amara Thibum ' or ' loving life forward '. It seeks only to grow as it has done for billions of years. It seeks to fulfill itself and will do so with you as its partner or co-creator. We need to understand that about ourselves and who we are.
So we form a triangular partnership with it – the innocent, the reformer and the living human. In that we have created the possibilities for discovering ourselves as the human individual.
