The Macro View
Going upward when the sun is about to set, in the Kerala green hills is always an enjoyable experience.
This is a great privilege for me to enjoy this exuberant experience quite often, as I am staying in Elappara, one of the beautiful high ranges of Idukki district in Kerala. Here the roads don’t have enough width and always look very dangerous having lots of curves and very deep horrendous steeps. Very often I witness minor accidents also. But it is not accidents or the curves which attract me during my bus journey but the greenish steeps and valleys, the spreading white cool mist over them, the appearance of new tall peaks in different directions, the evanescent bright painting that no human artist can do made by the sunset in the sky, the beautiful round yellowish red appearance of the sun between two tall peaks and above all the magnificent firmament where the sky and the peaks kiss each other attract me most. Since my childhood I have been always wondering at and envious of the elegantly gliding kites because of their ability to fly over the sky to have a macro view of the world while enjoying all the elements of nature and
universe. One of the reasons, why I like this green hill journey is to have a macro view like those kites over the world.
People may have different attitudes towards human life. Mainly we can divide it into two: while one set of people try to view the life from a macro view point, the other set have the micro view point over life. The macro view point is seeing the universe as a whole and trying to associate oneself with that and the living force behind that. Mean- while the macro view point is looking from oneself the immediate surroundings and trying to reach the whole. The goal of the first one is from the universe trying to know oneself, while the goal of the second one is from oneself trying to understand the universe. In my opinion both attitudes of life are successful and correct if the goal is achieved. But I am of the first one.
Whenever I am in the peaks of mountains, I am just completely preoccupied with the superiority and elegance of the never ending skies, very huge mountains, icy clouds and the magnificent universe. For a short period I just forget about all the petty problems in the world. When I am near to the pleasant light blue skies even the enormous problems of the world like Kashmiri terrorism and American war on Iraq seem negligible.
The kite only knows the oneness of human beings and the oneness of nature and universe. A person who has the macro view point of a kite cannot know and understand the boundaries between countries, the class discrimination and the colour discrimination. To him there is no Indian, no Pakistani and American but only human being. Perhaps not even there is separation between humans, animals, nature and sky but all the universe and the force behind that is inseparable. That is each and everything is the integral part of the one which has no beginning and no end.
If we understand this truth that we are the integral parts of the universe then we will never fight with other parts. For the parts of a body cannot fight each other. Because if one fights it will affect all the other parts. Then man will never destroy nature for greediness. Then people will never accumulate more and more money and properties for themselves. Then they will never hate others because that means they hate themselves.
The people who have this macro view point see themselves in other people whether they are poor or rich, black or white, beautiful or ugly. They don’t know the people by their entity, colour or physical stature, they know them only as human beings: the part of the universe that means the part of the creator.
No place, no plays or clays, no more
Can separate these souls who meet
For they are one, from one, none else
And know each others’ pulse.