I hadn’t heard the word Tsunami until it struck Chennai on the fateful day - 26th Dec 2004, a day when the sea chose to ragingly raise above its serene self and left an indelible scar in many lives. A calm sea which was so refreshing all these years turned out to be a monster for a few minutes and devoured many lives, leaving pain and agony to the ones who survived its wrath.
Somehow I am unable to resist but compare the mighty sea with its serenity, beauty, charm, symphony, power, wrath, mercilessness, rage, domineering self to human emotions. Human emotions also have all the qualities of the sea. It can be as melodiously soothing as the serenity of the sea and as rude and harsh as a Tsunami. The waves when meeting the shores go up and down and in poetic justice it seems so similar to the waves of human emotions that most of us undergo due to different experiences of life. Human emotions have the power to make or break a person and the relationship that he shares with his fellow human beings. It can conquer a very intelligent person and make him a nobody or it can add value to the intelligence with its intensity and passion. In a way, emotions add value and life to the otherwise mundane nature of living.
Emotions enable man to experience the expressions of life. It enables man to relish and enjoy life and also lets man express his agony and pain. The beauty about emotions is the fact that it enlivens human life, without emotions human beings will be no different than the multi-core processors that we have been creating and using in our lives – intelligent but robotic. Emotions intensify human expressions, it gratifies human desires when met, it gives life to human creativity, it makes man experience the nuances of love, care, bonding, sharing, growing and living life holistically, in fact human emotions is the most easy means of experiencing the creator through the doors of love. But the flip side of it is, though might last only for a few minutes has a telling effect on the person who experiences it and on the ones at the receiving end. Some of history’s great conquerors, mighty warriors, learned and renowned have lost their way in life due to the sway of emotions and its disastrous outcomes.
The question here is, does man let emotions lead him or does he drive his emotions. When man stays in control of himself he leads his emotions. When he lets others in control of his life, how others behave to him, how they respond to him, how they relate with him and how they treat him will determine his state of emotions. When that is not favorable he falls victim to the vageries of his emotions until others change their means of relating to him to suit his needs. On the contrary if he is in charge of his life he lets his emotions be in control and experience its bounties. He remains calm, composed and stays above most situations in life.
How does man get in charge of his life and thereby his emotions? Here it is imperative to note that life has certain laws which cannot be changed, like the Law of Gravity. Man cannot change it, he needs to accept and live in accordance with gravity which we all do. Likewise one other law is the Law of Impermanence. This law states - all that was, is and will be are not eternal but transforms into another state of being sooner or later, thereby its existence today is temporary. When man realizes that everything in this lifetime of his is not permanent and he himself is not a permanent fixture to this planet then it dawns on him that any loss during his lifetime is after all a reflection of this law.
When man lives in accordance to this law, there will be no scope for him to experience the vagaries of his emotions and he stays in charge of himself. The fear losing anything – wealth, name, fame, affection, adulation, acknowledgement, gratitude, love or life, nothing will affect him to the extent his emotions get turbulent. Being aligned to this law of impermanence is the key to be in-charge of life. In fact it is in the realization of this law lies the key of living life in serenity and bliss and in that lies the freedom from bondage and control of one’s emotions. Let the Law of Impermanence be the walls of steel to keep the Tsunamic effects of our emotions outside of our lives.