See Thy Lament

How we like to lament! It gives an instant spike in our feel good curve when we lament about something, anything, be it the food, traffic or heat. Heat, aah yes! I've heard people bitching the Chennai heat at least a thousand times in the last two months! And none of them are not construction laborers who actually stay out in the sun all day!

Why do we do this? It mostly grabs the attention of the listener and that gives us a kick. There is a part of us that thrives on the attention others give us. It works in many dimensions and lamenting is probably one of the gross dimensions. We are now used to doing it so often and so much that we hardly notice the kick. We many times lament even when we are alone. It is well and truly an addiction. This disease, if one may call it so, is a beautiful demonstration of what a 'samskara' is.

Enough of cursing the summer!

Samskara is a habit that we acquire that has become so extremely habitual that the habit can be considered to be self perpetuating. Lamenting is a beautiful example of the same. It starts out because others have it and it gives us a poor kick every time we indulge in it due to the attention it garners. But, soon, our consciousness is shaped by this and we start lamenting all the time. A perfect demonstration of how we build up samskaras.

Lamenting is an important case in study because, for most people, it is a fairly shallow samskara. In other words, it can be easily transcended by the mere act of being extremely conscious and aware every time we have the urge to lament. If all of lamenting is too big to bite, lets just take the heat. Once you decide, truly, that you wanna be aware of the rising of the urge to lament every time it happens, things start to change. You might stop mid lament a few times and within a short duration you will be able to be totally in control as the urge arises. At this stage, the urge may simply be discarded without a second thought. At this stage, one may be considered to have transcended ones need to lament about the heat.

This sets a very powerful precedent. The simple truth is that all samskaras are like that. They get formed due to some indulgences, get deeper due to our unconscious continuation of it and becomes second nature before we know it. Again, by the simple act of watching them, most samskaras may be transcended.

Lets all vow right now that we will watch our lament about the summer heat!