Real festivities

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Amrit Sadhana [1]

These days it is not uncommon to drop in at someone’s house or to be invited to dinner and to find that the hosts make you sit through their favourite TV show because the story is at a critical turn and they can’t miss it.

Or there is an important panel discussion on the hot topic of the day, and they have to watch it. People don’t know what is happening in the lives of their close relatives but they know about every nuance of the relationships of famous filmstars. The virtual life has completely overpowered the real life.
Now imagine, by some magic wand, the entire entertainment media vanishes out of our lives, how are we going to fill the void? What would we do with the long hours spent watching TV, reading books or listening to radio?
This constant need for entertainment is a sign of derangement. The question that we have to ask ourselves is: “How much do we need to be entertained and why?” It does keep people occupied but does it make them satisfied and fulfilled? Fulfilment is only possible when one lives the real life, grows every moment, faces the challenges and evolves through them.
The major catastrophe of excessive entertainment is that celebration has disappeared from our lives. We watch the professional artistes sing and dance, we play recorded songs while praying or performing rituals. Our heart doesn’t sing or dance. Entertainment feeds the mind, celebration makes the heart bloom like the lotus.
Osho has warned us about the grave consequences of this kind of lifestyle: “Entertainment and celebration are never the same. In celebration you are a participant; in entertainment you are only a spectator. In entertainment you watch others playing for you. But there is a world of difference between dancing and watching a dance performed by a group of professionals. We are so busy we don’t have time for love. Love is a celebration, but for busy people it has become a superfluous thing. It does not yield any profits; it does not add to their bank balances. Love is an end unto itself; it cannot be turned into a business. We have been deprived of the excitement and thrill that comes with celebration, that is why nobody is happy, nobody is cheerful, nobody is blossoming.”
The festive season is round the corner. Could it be that this time you withdraw yourself from the virtual world and participate in the real festivities? You may not be professional but at least it will have a flavour of your love, your creativity, you joy. It may not have a five-star finish but the stars in your eyes and the glow in your heart will illumine your being. And that is real celebration.

Amrit Sadhana is in the management team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune