A long time back, almost 4 years ago, after seeing Farhan Akhtar’s Lakshya, I’d written about meaning, and purpose, and its relevance in an individual’s life. I guess, as I moved on in life, and feared that time is running out for something, the search for this purpose became more frantic, until I tried to see it in everything that happened to me, and around me. I tried to look at what others were doing, trying to find some parameter of reference. But even if it did exist, it doesn’t seem to be easy to find, and that’s a despairing thought.
And then, sometime back, this wonderful person shared these lines with me
“For years, copying other people,
I tried to know myself.
From within, I couldn’t decide what to do.
Unable to see, I heard my name being called.
Then I walked outside.”
…… Rumi
And then, I found some more food for thought in Hermann Hesse’ “Siddhartha”. A conversation about searching and finding and the difference between the two approaches. Yes, these seem to be two different approaches, and I thought one was the result of the other. 🙂
Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.
When a person searches for something, even something that he defines as a purpose, he focuses on that so much that he is usually oblivious of everything else. It becomes an obsession.
That really does not mean neglecting every responsibility. But it does mean that I do not automatically categorise experiences as good/bad, useful/not useful etc and be done with it. A mindset change from searching to finding will allow me to look at an experience as just that, and to treat it with more calmness. As one of my favourite tees says, “Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling”
I guess we all know it, we just need reminders ever so often, because we set goals which we think will ensure happiness… movie this weekend, vacation next month, party tonight…but are we really conscious about the transient nature of that goal? I’m not going to stop any of it (except for the partying, I never did that anyway:) ), but I will be conscious of its relevance.. and irrelevance 🙂
until next time, destination nowhere
and on the blog today “keep walking” https://manuscrypts.com/test/?p=1540 🙂
Richard Branson says he got where he did by saying ‘yes’ but in the Indian context the reverse is a skill to be learnt. Saying ‘no’. To irrelevance, to clashes with your values, to distractions (if that is how one works). But not to serendipities, to growth and to understanding.
best 🙂
“Wer sucht, findet nicht. Wer nicht sucht, wird gefunden” -Franz Kafka. (Roughly: If you search, you’ll never find [it]. When you don’t search, you will be found).
Nice one. Had read Siddhartha almost a decade ago. Maybe I should read it again…
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“Sometimes to find what you are desperately searching for, you just need to stop looking for it” – John Locke(Lost)
Siddhartha is my all time favorite book 🙂 Reading your post made me want to read it again…
Ps: Nice title btw 🙂
“Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal. ”
That was so powerful ! Keep walking goes beyond Johnie Walker. Thank God for small mercies !
Alternatively (and since the relative clause in German is different from that in English and Kafka’s works in translation are often open to interpretation):
“Wer sucht, findet nicht, aber wer nicht sucht, wird gefunden.” would mean “(He), who searches, does not find. (He), who does not search shall be found.”
I believe the meaning in this case is to be read in the same way as in Amazing Grace “I once was lost, but now (I) am found” 🙂
Damn i read it a tad too late.. 🙂
or maybe its never too late …
shefaly: agree on the first point… ah similar ones, nice.. i guess everyone grapples with the same set 🙂
austere: thanks 🙂
gauri: sometime later, i shall too, i think 🙂
haas: thanks.. and for dropping in 🙂
kavi: it does.. and there’s a lot of walking the book too 🙂
I just picked up Herman Hesse for a few other reasons, and your post drove my point home. Well written and echoed my sentiments.
Thank you 🙂