What are you stealing and from where?

 Original source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/183918/

Dear J,

This happened a few minutes back. I was reading in the Tanjore Central Library as usual.

A well-dressed old man wearing a watch with white straps entered the library. I focused my attention towards him as I have once already seen him stealing books from the library. As I went outside to alert the security regarding this, I saw him sleeping sound. I didn't feel like waking him up. I didn't try to mention about this to anyone else as well. And that old man left the library with the stolen books.

This event kept pricking me for several days. My fears and incapability was mocking me right in my face.

Today, he came again. He stole the library books. I could stand it no more. When he was leaving, I stopped him.

"Why are you hiding the books under your shirt", I asked. "For reading", he said with a smirk. I told him to return the books that he took. He took out a single book. I couldn't subject myself to more suffering. I didn't ask him to return the other books and he left.

I couldn't understand only one thing. Why should someone steal the books in library? The library is always there and can be utilized whenever needed. If you become a member, you can even borrow the books and read them at home. I think its just 10 rupees for subscription. How can others read if someone steals the books? He must be above 55 years of age. How can he not know this?

Manimaaran
Pondicherry



Dear Manimaaran,

I once saw a monkey tearing a polythene cover to pieces for half an hour. I was thinking, "What is its vacuum and how is it filling that?". Likewise, Elephant too picks up pebbles and arranges them. Dogs can keep playing with some trash can for the whole day.

What's the vacuum here? This body and soul have been created for activity. This vacuum is the one created by inactivity. More the intelligence of a living being, higher is this vacuum. Among birds, crows have this issue. I haven't seen this being done by peacocks or sparrows.

Existence is the problem. Merely existing without any activity is not possible. You need some weight. There is a need to implant oneself against the expanse of time and a need to pass the days, hours and minutes by doing something. What in the world can be done with this brain that feels the time and the existence?

I have seen this in mountains where humans cannot remain in tranquility.  They keep speaking or search for something. They remain restless. What is this restlessness? The depths of a calm pond intimidates us. Therefore, people throw stone on it and create ripples, creating a curtain out of its surface.

One cannot wait for five minutes. I have seen people saying, "Train is at 5'O clock, we can start by 4:30 and can reach by 4:55". What's the harm in waiting for half an hour at the station? The ride to station can be peaceful and during the ride, one can do sightseeing. But they would immediately reply, "What's to be done after going there?". "As soon as I reached the station, the train started. Good God!! I latched on to the train with my bag in tow", they would beam jubilantly. And they view this as an adventure.

What lowly creatures!! How small the life is!! If some view even this small life as a gigantic vacuum, then how lowly can these people be!! To fill that vacuum and to cheer oneself up, what all are being done!! How many cinemas, serials, you-tube videos, sports, social media gossips, gambling, politics....

Its still not enough. One of my acquaintance lost several lakhs of rupees in stock markets. Not out of desire for earning. He had money. "I went into it when I was bored. I am not able to come out of it now... Its quite boring after waking up in the morning. If you deal in stock market, it gives you a thrill". Most of the gambling is for this 'thrill'. Most of the cinemas are also for this 'thrill'. If a cinema builds up a story slowly for 5 minutes, then people quickly pick up their phone and watch WhatsApp messages in that time. "Lagging by 10 minutes; Could've been edited", is our overall common cinema review comment.

This is that old man's problem. He doesn't need the books. There is no way that he can be a book-reader. Stealing from library is a low-risk felony. He is enjoying its thrill. I know someone who steals menu-cards from hotels. After traversing some distance from the hotel, he will throw them away.

Any activity without even a slightest hint of learning are done only for the 'thrill', like these thefts. Watching a thriller movie is akin to these thefts - just an entertainment.

A person with at least a minimum association with intelligentsia and one who knows about arts will not feel the necessity of this 'thrill'. The favorite saying of Ki. Rajanarayanan is, "One who cannot be idle cannot be a writer". Knowing how to be merely with oneself is the first lesson in attaining knowledge. Not fearing one's mind, focused observing of it , making it a huge entertainment. Arts and literature are attempts to that end.

If you cannot mentally settle at a place, cannot even walk, instead if you feel the necessity to keep running, then you are spiritually in a big trouble. You are suffering from desolation and fatigue of the mind. You are hiding from yourself and not observing those issues. You are stealing something somewhere and are in the lowly existence of enjoying that 'thrill'.

-J