Prose

Quite
often we find most people asking a question – what to do with this
life? Some spend the whole or major part of their life in finding out an
appropriate and suitable answer. Some find an answer a little earlier
and then keep on finding out how to get what they want. Still others
depend and leave everything on destiny and wait for some wholesome
change or miracle to occur in their life. On the contrary, very few
people determine by themselves what to do, how to do and when to do things that they want to achieve. They obviously dream of something, but without being entangled in a dream world, they switch to inventive thinking
so as to turn their dreams into reality and having thought it clearly
they move on to realize and enact their thoughts and plans.



Those who are not capable of carrying out all these organized plans and
actions, or those who don’t intend to do the same (if they are at all
capable), simply ask another question – what’s the use of doing all this
stuff? Let it all go on around you. Actually such people always keep on
asking questions but have no answers, and can never withstand the
prosperity/betterment of others, although they claim to be the best of
humans.
Still then another aspect remains unanswered – even if we now what, how and when
to do, what would be the limit, how far one can or should go? In fact
there is no limit for achievements, whether materialistic or spiritual
or any other. When one reaches a goal, it becomes the starting point for
another and so on. It’s an endless quest, a hunger inside which drives
you forward. In order that one attains endless number of goals one must
have enough backup and skills to carry on his quest. No one inherits
qualities and skills, these need to be acquired from the society as one
grows up, but definitely the ability to acquire and master the same is
certainly inborn.

But mere acquisition or attainment is not enough, one must maintain
what one achieves and for that one needs, to quote Mathew Arnold – ‘to
be growing and becoming, not just having and resting.’ Thus one must
expand one’s self, one’s wisdom, one’s inner beauty and one’s limit
endlessly. One must be finer and sharper. In a word one must make
him-/herself better suited, be more and more perfect.
The adjective should always be in the comparative degree, because the
superlative form ‘MOST’ is a word used by ignorant people or fools. In
fact, there exists nothing called BEST or MOST, whenever one achieves a
certain height either s/he or someone else would achieve higher in
future. There is always scope for betterment and a sensible person
should never sit back and sigh and say, ‘it’s enough now,’ for that’s
the end of it. History has numerous instances showing that whenever one
starts to think & believe that s/he is unparalled and has achieved
enough and has nothing more to do, one ceases to progress and starts
diminishing. Most of us, including me, think that if I don’t practice
something for a while, don’t work so hard for sometime, nothing will be
lost, it won’t matter much. It is not possible for a human to work
continuously without rest or amusement or recreation. However if one
keeps on neglecting that one is not utilizing time properly, if evading
tasks grows into a habit, then on a fine morning one can feel the
difference, how much one has diminished. We can’t feel the difference in
a while, but when it accumulates, we see all of a sudden that we have
lost much, and most often it becomes next to impossible to regain
everything back. So one has to tame and control one’s mind and emotions1. So perfection requires practice, maintenance and regularity.

Scholars and theorists and philosophers have proposed various models to
explain and exemplify the quest of an individual towards perfection.
Some visualize a mountain peak, its top being the final limit, the
ground/foothill being the lowest and the slope as the range/distance
which is to be covered. A staircase with a floor and roof is another
similar model. Some others talk of a river flowing on and on to meet the
ocean. It starts as a narrow stream and then grows in stature. In all
these models one thing is common – only the true essence reaches the
destination. A person climbing a mountain or escalating a staircase
needs to shed off undue burden just as a river leaves behind all the
debris on its way and only the water reaches the ocean. In life these
burdens (if considered as burdens) may be relations, emotional bonds,
socio-economic or politico-religious pressures, etc. Bonds must be
broken, burdens must be got rid of to set oneself free. Certain bonds
are attached right from birth, others are formed in due course of life. A
perfectionist should ideally try and link up as least as possible. Most
people cannot do that and hence lag behind even if they have every
potential to rise above all. When there are bigger issues to solve in
life, the petty ones pass into oblivion. Whether good or bad, moral or
immoral, a perfectionist should ideally move on like a river that
touches both the banks but anchors to none, even if big blockades come
in its way it meanders around them. A man must make the best use of his
resources and the environment but should never be used by it2a. A person can never be perfect if s/he indulges in frivolities and petty matters, if s/he gets bounded2b. This very attitude and outlook makes him/her different from the masses3
and the latter entitle him/her as selfish, heartless, unloving,
uncaring etc. It’s a paradox in the life of a perfectionist, because on
one hand s/he knows that “the strongest is he who stands alone” but on
the other hand, after a certain time his/her own qualities, indomitable
zest for betterment, quest towards perfection leaves him/her alone and
sullen. Ones this preoccupies a person s/he would stop advancing
automatically.

Perfection lies in the methods applied, in the approach, and not in the
target. Whatever be the goal – materialistic gain or spiritual
salvation – neither is to be judged with respect to another. People
commonly claim that materialistic gain is perishable, while spiritual
gain is not. But true pursuers of either follow similar methodologies,
neither of them gets involved in temporary pleasures but sacrifice all
amusements to reach their goal.

Practically speaking, there is no looking back for a perfectionist. It
is an endless endeavor to prepare and maintain oneself at a position
higher than others. Few are lucky to have a guide or mentor or someone
who would give some peace, solace, mental comfort. Once a person lives
with perfection s/he finds no cozy touch in the palm even if s/he
stretches out a hand to hold someone dear. Those who have limited and
petty targets keep on playing at the lower levels and the perfectionist
looks at them and feels the difference4. S/he has become a perfectionist by making the best use of the talent given to him/her by God.
In
this regard, in reference to the various aspects discussed above and
marked with superscripted numerals, I would like to quote some doctrines
of Lord Buddha from his Buddhavachana, which is of course very similar
to the teachings of other prophets and gurus of other religions.
1. “susuddasaṃ sunipuṇaṃ yathakāmanipātinaṃ
cittaṃ rakkhetha medhāvi, cittaṃ guttaṃ sukhāvahaṃ” – CITTAVAGGA
Lit. translation –– a wise man protects his complex, apt, wayward mind, and a protected mind bears happiness.
2a.”yathā pi bhamaro pupphaṃ vaṇṇagandhaṃ aheṭhayaṃ
paleti rasam ādāya, evaṃ gāme muni car” – PUPPHAVAGGA
Lit. translation ––
just as a black-bee sucks the nectar of a flower without destroying the
color or fragrance of the flower and goes away, so does a bhikkhu
(mendicant) travel in a locality.
2b. “na paresaṃ vilomāni, na paresaṃ katâkataṃ
attano va avekkheyya katāni akataāni ca” – PUPPHAVAGGA
Lit. translation –– do not notice other’s faults, nor what is/is not done by them, instead notice your own duties done or to be done.
3. “appamatto pamattesu, suttesu bahujāgaro
abal’assaṃ va sīgh’asso hitvā yāti sumedhas” – APPAMĀDOVAGGA
Lit. translation –– a
wise man proceeds remaining diligent among the lazy, awakened among the
asleep, just like a swift horse which overtakes a weak horse.
4. “pamādaṃ appamādena yadā nudati paṇḍito,
paññāpāaādam-āruyha asoko sokiniṃ pajaṃ
pabbataṭṭho va bhummaṭṭhe dhīro bāle avekkhati.” – APPAMĀDOVAGGA
Lit. translation ––when a
wise man eradicates laziness by diligence, then without having any
grief he ascends the palace of wisdom and observes the sorrowful
ignorant folk, just like a resolute man on the mountain sees people on
the ground.
All these can be found in the various vaggas in
the Pāli Dhammapada. These and many other such doctrines reveal that
diligence, honesty, perseverance, self-seclusion and many other virtues
are needed for a person to attain and maintain Perfection.