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Abstract Contemplation
Man, as a rational being, has made tremendous progress in the field of science which has made our life comfortable with all possible amenities. The distance between countries has been shortened. Kipling's East is East and West is West does not hold good. The secrets of nature are being unravelled every day, be it the field of medicine, chemical engineering, mountaineering, ascent to the moon, satellites and the like. There are not only air-conditioned rooms but also railway compartments. It is the age of computers. Fax messages reach the addressee in no time. This remarkable progress is physical and is at the cost of the human spirit which is more than ever thirsty for the elixir of life in the form of spiritual recipes to give us, if not peace of mind, at least sleep without taking recourse to 'compose' and the like. People feel apprehensive, since their life has become so very insecure because of treachery, ill-will, animosity, envy and such other degrading passions. All inventions and discoveries are physical. Man's gaze is fixed outside. His life is so fast that he has no time to stand and stare. The poor and the rich both are a discontented lot, though for different reasons. Science is both a boon and cursu at the same time. If you make use of science against your conscience, it will make for still more horrendous destruction of life and property.
To turn the gaze inwards is reflection, contemplation or whatever you like to call it. Your mental disposition or emotion is merely a mental wave. When an emotion stays long, it takes the form of contemplation which stays for sometime and makes you curious to know what for you have come to this world. Is it merely for eating and drinking which other bipeds and quadrupeds also do ? It is man alone who has been gifted with discrimination which makes him differentiate between good and bad, beneficial and hurtful, tranquilising and disturbing, in a word between being cheerful and miserable.
Kundkunda says that howsoever hard a man works, he cannot be emancipated without long and deep contemplation. Bhadrabāhu says that no ship can sail without the support of wind. So also you can cross the ocean of life but not without the succour of contemplation. Siddhasena Divakara says that contemplation is a key to unlock the door of piety. It may be taken as an elixir to cure the malady of life and make you eligible for higher regions.
In the Ayurvedic system of medicine dry powders are saturated in prescribed liquids. The more they are saturated, the more becomes their efficacy. So also the more an emotion is retained in the mind, the more
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