My Middle Path

 The Middle Path

It gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nirvana. And what is that Middle Path realized by the Tathagata? It is the Noble Eightfold path, and nothing else, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

In a world divided by extremes, I have chosen the middle path. After much reflection on the various arguments on various subjects, I have realized that the middle path is the sanest, safest and the one which can allow for progress towards a better world without annihilating the one we currently occupy.

The mindset which says, ‘my way or the highway’ doesn’t leave much scope and quickly divides into ‘for’ or ‘against’. Two warring factions that shall never meet. In my youth, I too started out as an extremist, judging things, people, opportunities as good or bad, right or wrong through my own set of filters. But now with the streaks of grey, understanding is creeping in  that a third option is not just possible but perhaps also desirable.

So, I have ventured out on an ‘eight-fold’ middle path of my own:

• The middle path of work – work hard but go home in time and once there switch off from work. It enables me to get back to work refreshed and energized
• The middle path of homelife – I love my home and those who live in it…but slightly dirty kids and home will have to wait if I am engrossed in a book or movie
• The middle path on environment – the buzz word these days seem to be BAN. Ban plastic for example is big and I see friends overnight shifting from brightly coloured plastic jars to glass ones. I find this to be highly wasteful and defeating the very purpose. Its better to use a product optimally and then dispose of responsibly.
•  The middle path on health – a fad here, a fad there and loads of unachievable goals. Best to be active, take preventive measures, laugh a lot and eat well. Leave the rest to God no point being paranoid 
• The middle path on indulgence – one half of the world seems to be indulging in the best things in life and the other half has nothing. For me the moment after indulgence has been that of guilt. But no more. I will choose my indulgences carefully and enjoy them thoroughly however I will ensure that I don’t become addicted to them 
•  The middle path on religion – for the longest time I have shirked organized religion and yet have had a strong spiritual connect. I have finally arrived at the realization that God indeed is within me and She perfectly understands me – so I don’t need to follow any rituals or visit any place to be with Her. Having said that a visit to a temple/mosque/church/gurdwara if it pleases my soul is welcome as well 
• The middle path on politics – sadly none of our leaders are great at best they can only be deemed the lesser evil. Hence there is no point losing friends over politics however there is no point in holding on to one who is filled with venom either 
•  The middle path on friendships -  from everyone being a friend to none there. I have swayed wildly and have finally come to the conclusion that a handful of genuine ones is better than a roomful of ‘timepass’ friends.