Stopped In Our Tracks
Stories of U.G. In India from the Notebooks of K. ChandrasekharTranslated and Edited by J.S.R.L. Narayana Moorty 2d/3d Series
Divine Despair—an Involvement
The change is only tomorrow. You can't do anything about that. When tomorrow arrives you push to day after tomorrow, next life. That is where this Existentialism comes into the picture. It creates a despair in you. If you are really interested in bringing about change, you will find that you cannot really do anything.
The absurdity of wanting to change dawns on you. On that foundation, they have built this tremendous structure of thought called despair.
There are two schools of thought—religious and atheistic. J.P. Sartre, the French writer, belongs to the latter one. They also talked of divine despair. It is always related to hope. One cannot exist without the other—hope of things changing for the better, hope of finding some guru who can enlighten you...
Q: Is it possible to do anything without any involvement?
U.G.: It is possible. That means there is no relationship at all. All relationships are based on involvement. There are only temporary relationships, as with your landlord. They are purely temporary.
Q: We get involved, unfortunately, with everything we do. If I marry, I get involved. If I don't marry, I get involved.
U.G.: To practice non-involvement is meaningless. You are just not involved, that's all. There is no emotional content in the involvement. I have neither rights nor duties.
The absurdity of wanting to change dawns on you. On that foundation, they have built this tremendous structure of thought called despair.
There are two schools of thought—religious and atheistic. J.P. Sartre, the French writer, belongs to the latter one. They also talked of divine despair. It is always related to hope. One cannot exist without the other—hope of things changing for the better, hope of finding some guru who can enlighten you...
Q: Is it possible to do anything without any involvement?
U.G.: It is possible. That means there is no relationship at all. All relationships are based on involvement. There are only temporary relationships, as with your landlord. They are purely temporary.
Q: We get involved, unfortunately, with everything we do. If I marry, I get involved. If I don't marry, I get involved.
U.G.: To practice non-involvement is meaningless. You are just not involved, that's all. There is no emotional content in the involvement. I have neither rights nor duties.
