We are told as children that we have 100 years to live! Unbelievable, I thought. 100 years? What the hell am I going to do with 100 years? My father, mother, teachers, and the bus driver – everyone looked old. I thought they may have another 30 or 40 years to go; and I am going to live 100 very long years. All others looked old, ready to die; appeared to have not achieved anything in their long life! A dog, donkey, monkey…any animal we may take…they have but a short time to live, say around 20 years! What I did not understand was that 100 years is but a short time to live the LIFE. If I were to express the so called 100 years…it van be expressed in the following manner:
I can say ‘I have 100 long years to live’ or
I can say ‘I have only 1200 months to live’ or
I can say ‘I have just 5200 weeks to live’ or
I can say ‘I have ridiculous 36,400 days to live’ or
I can say ‘I have 8,73,600 hours to live!’ or
I can say ‘I have 5,24,16,000 minutes to live’ or
I can say ‘I have 314,49,60,000 seconds to live’ or
I can say ‘I will see 1200 new moons in my life’
Progressively the reader will get restless reading the above statements. But it is very rare for these calculations to become true. These calculations are just wishful thinking done in a mathematical way. They are meaningless calculations. It is a fact that at any time anything can happen. I may not be in a position to see 1000 new moons in my life. Thus, from the above it can be understood that nothing is certain or guaranteed in life. Uncertainty is certain.
Anyone who seeks guarantee in life is deceiving himself. Yet the nature of every human being is to seek certainty in this highly uncertain life. Human beings find it to be satisfying to hope against the hope! These people want certainty in this uncertain life! In a way, this madness of seeking certainty in uncertainty has gone a step ahead. Now these people want certainty even after life! Heaven, God, Hell, Soul are few examples which can be cited towards seeking certainty after life! Albert Einstein was right when he said” “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
The way darkness is the death of light, acceptance of death is the end of uncertainty. Another misconception exists in the saying “Your name will live forever”. Is it true? How many people remember Muthiam Reddy? Nothing remains… not even the name! Uncertainty is certain.
Before sleeping every night, I invariably think: ‘Will I open my eyes next morning to see the beautiful sunrise?’ I go to bed every day thinking I won’t open my eyes. I look every night for the last time at the sky, stars, the moon, trees and literally at everything and I take leave from each. I can confidently say “We all have much less time than we think”. 100 years is too less and is evaporated in a second! I do not bother about all the others, including my family. I am at peace with myself. I request you to be at peace with yourself.