{"id":3505,"date":"2012-11-08T17:39:12","date_gmt":"2012-11-08T12:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=3505"},"modified":"2012-11-08T17:39:12","modified_gmt":"2012-11-08T12:09:12","slug":"to-be-at-peace-you-have-to-be-blind-to-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2012\/philosophy\/to-be-at-peace-you-have-to-be-blind-to-suffering.html\/","title":{"rendered":"To Be at Peace, You Have to Be Blind to Suffering"},"content":{"rendered":"

We sometimes like to view humanity as one monolithic whole. As if we’re “all in this together”. It’s a wonderful concept and a useful one too. If only we could keep thinking like that many of our world’s problems would have a better chance of working themselves out. Nations won’t fight each other so much, charity will pick up and we’ll get a real sense of global community instead of the fractured nation, state, and religious identity that we subscribe to today.<\/p>\n

\"We're
We’re Fundamentally Alone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately this bonhomie and concern for others can end up screwing your peace of mind. It’s the ultimate question – do we conduct ourselves as if were were alone or as if we’re part of a community? No matter how close knit we are, the fact of the matter is that we’re going to die alone and our lives have no absolute meaning despite it’s great value to us<\/em>. The fundamental paradox. Countries like China and India are very “society” based. Which has it’s problems. Countries like the US and EU are “individual” based – “society” be damned. But this isn’t a post for me to explain why I feel the latter is superior to the former.<\/p>\n

But we all care about others nonetheless. It’s a basic human trait. Even those we don’t know. The world is full of suffering. At the best of times, there are thousands and thousands of people dying of hunger, undergoing horrible torture, murder, rape, and neglect. And not just humans. There are those animals who are victims of our activities<\/a>. If we have even the tiniest care for fellow living creatures, how can we ever<\/em> be at peace knowing that stuff like this happens? If we sit and dwell upon it, we can never feel good. The only way one can feel ok is by blocking stuff out like this for most of the time.\u00a0This doesn’t mean we should live in ignorance of course. We can have knowledge and not have it “sink in”.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to the fundamental point – we’re all alone. Each of us is responsible for ourselves. For a time other people can worry about us and take care of us, but they have their own lives to lead. Each body has it’s own caretaker whose job it is to look out for it. Sounds depressing I know, but that’s the way it is. “Community living” or living with “society” is an illusion that hides the essential loneliness of each of us. Even family can only come with us up to a point. Sooner or later we stop caring about someone else’s problems and come back to taking care of our own. It’s natural.<\/p>\n

Everyone cares only up to a point. You might give money to a beggar in need, but you won’t give them your house and all your wealth. Because you have your own life to lead. Your own interests to look out for. And this is right and proper. After a certain point, being blind to the sufferings of others is inevitable.<\/p>\n

There’s hope in this gloomy outlook. It means that being at peace is within the reach of us all. In the final analysis we don’t have to overly care about other people – only to the extent that the broader world impacts us. If it weren’t this way we would never be happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the end we’re only responsible for ourselves and no one else. This is actually a good thing since otherwise we could never be at peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal","category-philosophy"],"yoast_head":"\nTo Be at Peace, You Have to Be Blind to Suffering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the end we're only responsible for ourselves and no one else. 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