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Why Not?

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by rgsrinivasan, Feb 20, 2014.

  1. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    It was one of those odd nights. I had a dream then. Not that I had a dreamless sleep always. I don't remember them 99 out of 100 times. Thats it. But this happened to be in that 1% where I could see someone who was strikingly familiar, yet sounded and looked out of this century to start with. I was a bit shaky [as always] and tried my best to focus upon him. He still looked to be in a smoke screen and offered no further help.

    "Want to see something?", he asked. "You can place me later on! Now I want you to see this!", he said. And showed me a vast inverted banyan tree to which I could not spot where the trunk was going, as it was progressively darker below. Again, I could not see the top parts too, as they were so bright and I closed my eyes. "Always the same! Aren't you? Looking everywhere else except where you have to!", he chuckled. I remembered my wife saying the same about me when I get frustrated in not finding things that she asked me to look in specific places.

    Then my focus shifted to what was visible there. I saw some more faces which are nothing but the shoots of the tree and they all looked familiar yet I could not place them. Then I saw him and instantly recognized that as my paternal grandfather who passed away so many years before I was born. He looked the same like how he was in the old photos that are in my house. Then came my maternal grandparents who too passed away so early and I could really see how kind my mom was when she said that I looked a bit like my maternal grandfather. He looked so good and gracious in fact. And then my focus turned to my paternal grandmother who was here till I was 11 or so. She looked the same and her love seemed to pour from her eyes just like the way I remembered her.

    Then I saw my parents and my siblings including the ones that I lost. They were forever young and all smiles when I looked at them. I felt a lump in my throat could not speak any further. Moments later, I saw many young shoots could see my son and my siblings' children and their pairs and all that, but the vision was so obscured that I could not see them clearly. It was so brighter and brighter and I could place them only because of their known mannerisms and their outline. I felt a calmness inside that soon filled everywhere. "Like what you see, child?", he asked. I just nodded, not being able to say anything more.

    "But I could not see myself there!", I said with an alarm. "Where am I? And why am I not able to see below or above?", I questioned him. He smiled and said, "For the second question, you know the answer already. And that is the answer for the first one too!". I blinked. He patted me and said, "I was not able to see either, till my time, child!".
     
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  2. superwoman09

    superwoman09 Gold IL'ite

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    A reply to this thread. Why not? I read this post sometime in the morning and could not write down anything for lack of time. But am wondering with so many views why you still have got no reply. I guess you might be wondering the same.

    Hmm..Grave topic you have chosen to write about. Did you actually have this dream? It sounds more like what people say when they have a NDE, the brightness, sense of calm, and seeing departed family members .
     
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  3. shyamala1234

    shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear rgs,
    I gave up! Much much above my level of understanding. I would be content in reading others' fbs.
    Syamala
     
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  4. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    RGS,

    I have to put in my two cents. I was with the flow till the end - the only place I am still baffled is your last line! Perhaps I am missing something?
     
  5. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear RGS
    This is more like a Sufi parable. You look at it from different angles and you will get different perspectives. All the perspectives must lead us progressively further.
    We all belong to a mighty Family Tree. The tree owes its eternal existence to the most distinguished members of the family who have given it roots. The question arises whether our presence is going to add to the lustre of the tree or are we going to be just the autumn leaf that will fall off when it is time for it to go.

    I often ruminate on this aspect on my own Family Tree. Where will I be when my Time comes? Will others be able to see me? How will they if I do not see myself as part of the Tree as yet? Should I not carve out a distinguished way of life for me that will be in keeping with the character of the Tree? If I don't, I'll just be lamenting all my life that I do not see myself there while even my children shine like golden fruits in the Tree!
    Sri
     
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  6. shyamala1234

    shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Sir,
    I think I am getting the point.
    In the family tree...if we make a place for ourselves, fine. But even if not, I am sure atleast a few from our family tree would remember us in a nice and positive manner. I am sure.
    Yesterday I have been to the last rites of a senior relative. Everyone from his family was saying nice things about him and were sad over the loss. Of course I also know a quote "If people visit funeral homes they would think that world is made up of only angels and fairies" (forgot who said it). But I want to take it in a positive way as I remember my departed near and dear ones.
    I do not know what all I am expressing is relevant to "Why not?". If not just ignore.
    Syamala
     
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  7. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear syamala
    You have got on to my point and I really do not know what RGS was aiming to convey. In my fraternity, we are told to endeavour to 'live respected and die regretted'. We say that it is more important that our conduct through life should grant us an aura of respectability that should last even long after we are gone. This has nothing to do with the material legacy that we may leave behind. Nobody remembers us by it. That is why some members of our ancestry occupy a prime place in the Family Tree and we continue to identify ourselves with their names.
    Sri
     
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  8. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear RGS,

    It took sometime for me to digest what you were communicating through this post as I know you are a very deep thinker covered with a lot of humility. I can't guarantee I understood exactly what you were trying to convey. But conceptually, I understand that inverted banyan tree is a very high philosophy taught in Bhagavad Gita and also by many learned saints including Aurobindo. The ancient Hindu scriptures speak of the Universe as an inverted Banyan/Ashwattha tree with its roots in the Higher Worlds of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) and its branches in the many lower worlds that have been created. Our aim is to beat the gravity and reach the height of Sat-Chit-Ananda, the bright light at the top of the tree which is the root from which we all came. It is our thoughts and actions that keeps us at the gravity level and make us struggle to beat the gravity of our Karma (Papa/Punya account).

    Your vision let you see all your forefathers at a visible level above the gravity. You see your children and nephews also at the shoots of the tree. That only shows their level of transformation in the tree of realization irrespective of whether they are in physical form or not. Our growth can never be measured in one life as we grow over many lives.

    In order for us to see ourselves in that tree, we need to lose our earthly consciousness and reach our divine consciousness. That happens only when we leave the body and begin our wait for the next journey. Unfortunately, when we are in this body, we are not able to see the account of our papa/punya and hence don't see ourselves in the tree of realization. If other family members get such dreams, they might see us in the tree of realization depending on whatever progress we have made so far. Perhaps, that is what the learned soul is trying to convey. That does not make any of us a less mortal and it only simply denotes the forgetfulness state (Maya) we are all in. After all, waking state is a dream and a dream state is a dream within a dream.

    I felt like I attended a Satsang through this post. Please forgive me if I have taken this in a completely different direction than where you wanted to take this post.

    Viswa
     
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  9. navs23

    navs23 Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Rgs Sir,

    A very interesting dream. You must be really blessed to have such a grand vision(entire family tree).

    Why were you missing in the picture? this is how I interpreted your dream(just my humble opinion):
    All the ancestors, have lived a full, good life, fulfilled all their duties and free from emotional desires.Their tribe had also grown well(grand children, great grand children). Hence, they showed up as happy, content and peaceful.
    In your subconsious mind, you want your parents, siblings, children, loved ones, to have a full, good life, fulfill their duties, be happy and peaceful. You want only the best for them and hence see them that way.
    As for you, you are doing the best you can, but, whether you have fulfilled all your duties, lived a good life, are content, have any unfulfilled desires, are things that you cannot step aside from yourself and judge. The first question, 'where am I', is more of a 'will I ever be there where the others are' ?

    The happy, peaceful state of everyone in the tree, also shows the enormous love and respect that you have for your ancestors and family members, for in your subconsious mind, you think that all of them young and the old, are so good and have only accumulated punya in their lifetime(you did not see even one unhappy soul).
     
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  10. rgsrinivasan

    rgsrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks so much Superwoman09, for being the first to respond to my rather abstract snippet. This is more than a dream, and I may say that its an inward journey that I tried to take, but ended up terribly short. About NDE, I should admit that I have experienced it once, many years before, but at that time, I didn't know what it was and was more confused and felt relieved to be thankfully alive. Only later, I realized that importance and I wish to write a snippet sometime, collecting all the pieces. This is more about what I longed for, what I hoped I would get, and how it all ended up with my realization. Thanks again, for your feedback. -rgs
     

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