On the
ferry back from work, I overheard some people saying “it’s going to smash into
the dock!” and so I had a quick glance to where the ferry was going. Usually
the ferry goes a little far away from the parallel dock, and then with a
hovering like motion, moves closer to the docking station. This time, it seemed
for whatever reason the captain went for a close docking without needing the
hovering to get closer. As a consequence, there was more of a risk it could
smash head on with the docking station, which obviously caught the passengers’
attention. Once these people announced that the ferry could smash into the dock,
people became rapt in attention on the path of the ferry. At the same time, I
saw a hawk hovering above the surface of the water eyeing its prey. It made two
or three rounds, with an attempted dive talons first also. Two simultaneous
realities. For the hawk, it had the least concern about the ferry docking, and
for the ferry docking, the passengers had the least concern about the hawk.
Last
week, Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of mainland China were hit by Typhoon Hato,
the highest level typhoon in the last 10 years to hit Hong Kong. In the midst
of this typhoon, more attention was turned to this, by more of the population,
be it man, bird or animal. It had a more all-pervasive affect. Taking
precedence over all of the physical realities, all docking stopped – ferries were
all firmly at their docking stations, not being allowed to move either by rules
or the sheer physical impossibility of a ferry functioning in the water. I didn’t
see many birds hovering in the water during the peaks of the typhoon.
This
weekend is the big fight between Conor McGregor, one of the best mixed martial
artists in the world, against Floyd Mayweather, who has dominated boxing for
the last decade with an undefeated record after fighting a host of powerful
opponents. For McGregor, his reality has been to deal with a plethora of
attacks. In his last interview, he emphasised that there are many ways to
attack the human body, and how in mixed martial arts we respect all of these
styles. For Floyd Mayweather, attack using the fists, with a certain rule set
not allowing clinches or use of other limbs has been his reality for decades. Joe
Rogan, the famous martial arts commentator and standup comedian once made an
interesting comparison, saying that martial arts trumps all sports. This is
because if during a basketball match if things heat up or there’s a dispute,
people come to blows; which acknowledges the reality that physical defeat is
more of a reality than playing a sport.
In this
way we see that in so many fields there are so many realities that consume the
minds of those involved in them. False ego in one sense means to believe that our reality and what we do and how we are is the absolute reality and that the lives of others are less significant or important. The reality is that there are all of these
realities co-existing, and more than we can ever imagine. Some may be more
pervasive than others at different stages of our lives. The Srimad Bhagawatam,
the ancient Indian teachings say that “In the relative world the knower is
different from the known, but in the Absolute Truth both the knower and the
known are one and the same thing.” This view is extremely broad and views the
oneness or commonness in all. If we can keep even this point in mind, then our
sense of perspective will always be better, whether in the workplace or at
home. When we aim to encompass in our understanding all of these truths, we
will have a more comprehensive and less ego and self-centred perspective of
reality.
Life’s desires should never be directed
toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or
self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute
Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one’s works. Srimad
Bhagwatam 1.2.10
The conception of God and the conception of
Absolute Truth are not on the same level. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam hits on the
target of the Absolute Truth. The conception of God indicates the controller,
whereas the conception of the Absolute Truth indicates the summum bonum or the
ultimate source of all energies. Opening words of Srimad
Bhagwatam Introduction, AC Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada
