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WHY ONE IS BORN ? In India, it is not an usual custoin to cclcbrate the birthday; therefore, even in the case of huinan beings of the average sort, the date of entry into this world of sorrow and suffering is seldom recorded or remembered. There can be no question of such historical accuracy in the case of a plebcian cat like inyself.
It will be interesting to reflect a little on the question why the Indians don't celebrate the birthday. Why are they so indifferent to the greatest, the basic, at any rate, event of life ? Undoubtedly, birth is the fundamental event of life. One cannot live without being born. Life presupposes birth. Is it not strange that a whole nation should be so indifferent to such a vital moment of existence ? The indifference results fro:n the Hindu doctrine, traditionally preached, but never rcally believed, that life is this world is an illusion or a bondage. Who cares to take an illusion seriously? It matters very little when it begins and when it ends. One visits the fairyland or the underworld of monsters in a dream. The unreality of the pleasure or pain associated with the experience is realised as soon as wakefulness returns. The memory lingers, but one does not bother to remember the exact moment when the illusory experience began. Life, accord
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