After much thought and consideration as to what direction this blog should take I've decided to use my recent encounter with a Jehovah's Witness as a beginning of ramblings on philosophy and yoga or whatever else that comes to mind. The end of human civilization might not be the most exciting or thought provoking issue to examine for the resurrection of the Earth and Now blog but at least its a new beginning nonetheless and an expression of my current ideas.
My moment with the J.W was similar with every other encounter I've had with them from before, random and unusual, not everyday does a total stranger walks up to me beaming with a beautiful smile and hands over a booklet simply stating why the world is nearing human extinction. This quick interaction intrigued me, how am I to react by this person's efforts as a peace giver when they use the fear of total annihilation as a means of authority? I was delighted to know that I have yet another heads up for the end of times and a reminder of my own mortality but why should these issues be of concern for me? The booklet had a total of four pages, three pages dedicated to human misery, earthquakes, war, and famine, the last page being a beacon of hope illustrated by a happy family doing farm work. I came to the conclusion that this person wanted me to be afraid of something that I had no control over and if I wanted to survive the end of the world then I must change my way of thinking or prepare for the worst.
It's very apparent that we live in a world where life is quickly or slowly swept away by the forces of nature or devoured by the brutality of man, these are difficult facts of life and our death should not be something of great fear but something to honor. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali addresses an affliction of the mind known as abhinivesha, which is the most subtle of the five afflictions and is experienced as a clinging to life or fear of death, even the most wise have to strive tirelessly in order to overcome this obstacle on the road to enlightenment. The difficulty of overcoming this affliction is humbling yet a good reminder to stand up strong and fearless in a world that can be seen with many uncertainties and unjustified passings. The pursuit of weakening abhinivesha is by no means easy and involves many moments of self appraisal, doubt, and sadness, though one may feel alone in this strange and mysterious world what else is there left to fear when there is no fear of death. The threat of an apocalypse cannot interfere with the purity of daily life and time is better spent experiencing the greatness of a simple moment than fantasizing what is yet to come. The simplicity of peace must become the greater pursuit and the feelings of fear must be given up. There is a choice to be had and greater freedom seems to be the path we all innately want to take.
