In principle, is a life equivalent
to connecting the dots? If yes, must it be a pattern that necessarily concludes
and is comprehensible only when one dies? If not, can we understand a design in
formation – a forward extrapolation of events or for that matter, can one
appreciate occurrence of events in life since birth till the present moment? Had
that been the case, planet Earth would not have witnessed lamenting of billions
of human-beings because everyone would have an answer of why events are unfolding
the way they are. Had forward extrapolation been possible at an individual
scale, I assume there would definitely be a way of understanding the event patterns
of various cities, states, countries, continents and mankind as a whole. And
what kind of consequences that would lead to, I dare not write. Thus, forward
extrapolation is definitely not happening.
And by the virtue of absence of
forward extrapolation of dots and unknown of the future destiny, you cannot extrapolate
backwards and reason out the events that happened. And if death marks a
satisfactory end to a process of connecting the dots, then for whom are the
dots being connected if the person himself is not available to appreciate the pattern.
And not everyone has the luxury to ponder upon one’s life before the arrival of
death – bomb blasts, accidents and natural disasters are among prominent
examples that kill people in a blink of an eye.
Events happen. They have their
respective probabilities. Some are calculable, many are not. Why is it
mandatory for an event to accompany itself with a purpose? How does one come up
with a plausible explanation for events such as diseases, rapes, murders,
economic losses and wars! Are the protagonists comfortable with the idea of
pitiful ending of numerous lives and accept those as the best patterns those
individuals could have carved out in their life? Similar reasoning can be
extended to positive outcomes. Let me put it this way. Assume that we have a chart
of significant events (debatable in
itself, but let’s not go deep into it at present) v/s time, of a random
individual’s life. Now, just tweak a segment at your own will. Will it not be a
complete different story and a total different mapping? To cite an example, my
siblings left Kabootar Khana, Mumbai five
minutes before the blasts. They are alive today.
If the concept of connecting the
dots asserts that the end result is the same and given distortion will readjust
itself along the new path, then this is too ambitious an assertion to make, as
there is no way to verify the claim. Next, if all paths of an individual led to
the same conclusion then what is in particular unique about the life that the
person lived, compared to innumerable alternate lives that he could have lived?
Nothing except for the journey! But what kind of journey is the journey that
has its fate pre-decided and why was that journey specifically chosen. And the
worst consequence of a convergent ending for divergent paths is the
nullification of the concept of a free-will. It ends up being a delusion which
constantly motivates an individual and develops an impression in his mind that
he can alter the end that is looming.
All great men are great because
of their efforts and other qualities that require commitment from them. And if
one toils in the heat and endures the hardships that come along, naturally, the
probability of a favorable event occurring in one’s life climbs significantly. One
can control the input and try to maximize the probability of a favorable output,
but can hardly ensure it. Bhagvad Gita 2.47 rightly says, “You have the right
to action but no entitlement to its fruits. They may or may not come. And, this
must not lead you to detachment from action.” Why waste time connecting the
dots! Let’s do some worthwhile work.
