Is life a dream to be shattered sooner or later or is it a reality?
An English poet ‘Longfellow’ writes in his poem, “Psalm of Life”

Tell me not in mournful numbers
Life is but an empty dream
For soul is dead that slumbers
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real, life is earnest
And the grave is not its goal
Dust thou art, dust thou returnest
Was not spoken of soul.

Yet Life is a mystery. Someone described life in the clock of Life.

The clock of Life.
The clock of life is wound
But once.

And no one has the power
To tell just when the hands
Will stop

At late or early hour
Now is the only time you own

Live, love, toil with a will
Place no faith into a morrow for
The Clock may then be still.

Life is a sea of suffering. Life is Dukkha. It is mentioned in, “Memorable Events” of Swami Vivekananda’s Life. One day at the home of Balram Basu, Swamiji was talking enthusiastically about the Vedas before his disciples Sharat Chander, Chakravarty, Girish Chander Ghosh, Sh. Ramakrishna householder disciple was also present, He said to Swami Ji; Naren, let me ask you a question. How do Vedanta philosophy and Vedas suggest a way out of the poverty, scarcity of food and all the other great problems plaguing the country? A housewife was killed the other day by rowdies and a helpless widow has been dispossessed of her property by her relatives, who used to prepare meals for fifty people every day has been without food for the past three days. Can your Vedas give them justice? Can your holy scriptures redress their sufferings?

Girish went on depicting the dismal picture of society and cited many examples Swamiji sat speechless. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he hurriedly left the room. Then Girish said to Sarat Chander: Did you notice what a great heart your guru has? You saw yourself, how bitterly he wept, when he heard about the miseries of his countrymen! It is neither the Vedas nor the Vedanta but love and compassion for humanity that govern Vivekanand.

अपने दुःख में रोने वाले, मुस्कुराना सीख ले
दूसरों के दर्द में, आँसू बहाना सीख ले

Gurudev Shri Swami Vishvas Ji recites in His holy voice; learn to smile in your own suffering and learn to shed tears in miseries of others.

If we could learn to do that, we would see that life is not dukha as is claimed by Upanishads. “Life is good, life is blessing, if you could be a WITNESS a SAKSHI, A NEUTRAL ENERGY”. There is One without a Second in all beings as the ocean is one behind all the different waves. Ocean can exist without waves. We go on counting waves and don’t see the hidden ocean. If there is no ocean, there will be no waves. So waves are just the surface and waves are accidental and they have come through the action of winds.

All the miseries and anxieties arise that we cling to the waves and forget about the ocean which is Brahmn, the Reality, the Witness, Sakshi and the Neutral Energy. Man is a wave, tree is a wave and the rock is also a wave. And behind the rock, the tree and man is the same ocean hidden and that is Brahmn. Looking at a man, don’t cling to surface, and see Brahmn hidden there under your boisterous mind. See in all beings the Brahmn who is one in many. Many belong to surface, deep down is One. On the surface is suffering and misery and in deep down is celebration. Life, in essence, is celebration Brahmn permeates the universe, as butter permeates milk, but friction makes it manifest in one place. As churning brings out the butter so meditation leads to the realisation of Brahmn in the soul.

Meditation would bring the light to you that you are just a wave, your ego is just a wave – behind that ego, the nameless; the one is hidden. See in all beings the Brahmn who is unborn. He is unborn because only waves are born, the ocean remains the same. That one is still, immutable, infinite and continuous life is a blessing and to allow the waves is a game, a beautiful game worth playing to play it, play it to its full. Don’t escape from life. Remain a Witness and go on acting. There is no need to escape from actions. Even to think in terms of escape show that you are afraid and fear cannot lead you anywhere, only love can.

ज़िन्दगी क्या है, किताबों को हटा कर देखो
आनंद मस्ती क्या है, मैडिटेशन में आकर देखो

Do away with books in order to unfold the mystery of life and to have the celebration of life, Meditate and more Meditate.

Meditation is the nectar of all scriptures. It is not at all concentration because concentration is of mind and meditation is to go beyond mind. When thought current is interrupted, it is concentration. When flow of watchfulness, wakefulness and witnessing is uninterrupted, it is meditation. It is not at all contemplation or thinking. It is only witnessing whatever is happening within, caravan of thoughts coming from somewhere or nowhere. Through regular and consistent mediation of witnessing, thoughts will diminish and disappear eventually and thick darkness will evaporate and you will say:

दिल के आईने में है तस्वीर-ए-यार
जब ज़रा गर्दन झुकाई देख ली

His vision is clear in the inmost shrine and mystery of life is unfolded.