The 'Nothing-to-do' man

Thursday, June 7, 2007
The ‘Nothing-to-do’ man.
[Many years ago, my friend in a foreign country had to leave his job. On that occasion, he had written an open letter to all his colleagues and friends. I revisited his letter after many years and have his permission to share it with the bloggers at NDTV. I may add that it has been over a decade since he left his job and he has very much kept his word. He has not been doing much since, not because he retired with a pile of money, but because he has become free from the trap of doing.]

After a 13½ years long association with . . ., I will be leaving on . . . Working with . . . has been a unique experience. The friendly, informal and down-to-earth interactions with various people have been a source of joy for me throughout my association with the company. It is a culture that I shall cherish wherever I go.

You might be perhaps curious to know as to what I shall do henceforth. Frankly speaking, I will be on a pursuit to drop all pursuits. I have always been asking myself: Why am I doing what I am doing? What is it that I really want? And what is that which is going to eliminate all wants and urges and bring in a state of full contentment and completeness?. This has brought in a process of unwinding in my life and now I remain fully convinced that for fullness - the final home-coming - I have absolutely nothing to do, nothing to know and nothing to seek, as all pursuits are controlled by mental connections, caused by delusion. As Tao says: Sitting silently, the grass grows by itself, the sun shines by itself, the rain falls by itself and the river flows by itself. The entire realm of knowledge is summed up with a simple comment: Do not push the river.

This understanding has emboldened me to live my future life without any ambitions, without any plans, without any schemes and without any fixations - moment to moment in a state of let-go. Thus, being a “mainstream drop-out”, my life is going to be a journey along a different path, or a pathless path.

My address in India will be . . .

If you happen to visit India any time, you are welcome to come and spend a few days with me and have exposure to a different lifestyle. Although I may not be able to offer you the comforts that are available here, I can give you one guarantee – what I have you too will have.
11:58:39 AM
Posted By Venu Gopal Comments (0) Uncategorized