Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands

8th August 2016

You did or did not

“Accost”

Why you did or why you did not ‘do’ is the normal approach in any relationship, be it between husbands and wives, siblings or friends. The words ‘why you did or why you did not’ refer to anything that is said or done or is not said or not done. 

The words why you did or why you did not ‘do’ is a fundamental occurrence in any form of relationship. The words form the basis of an argument which may or may not follow.

The words why you did or why you did not ‘do’ appeals to logic and reason as being valid and is believed to be necessary in any relationship. No party in the relationship is accosted for using the words.

Love is nevertheless unconditional. So, if and when the words why you did or why you did not ‘do’ are used, it does not imply unconditional love. So what could the understanding be that would make the words why you did or why you did not ‘do’ never to be used, is the question one needs to ponder?

How the present moment happens cannot be known; also what happens in the present moment is known with certainty only after it happens. If man were the one who makes anything happen in the moment with certainty, he would certainly know what will happen in the moment before anything happens in the present moment.

Similarly, what could happen the next moment cannot be known either.

If what could happen the next moment cannot be known, it implies that what could happen in any moment in the future moment will only be known after it happens.

This implies that it is not man who says what is said or does what gets done. So the words why did you do is neither valid nor is it possible by a man or by a woman.  What is said or done gets said and done by life. 

Similarly, for the same reason, the words why did you not ‘do’ also is neither valid nor possible by a man or by a woman. 

The enlightened have rightly proclaimed that man is not the doer. When understanding happens to man that life manifests what is said or done, and it is albeit illusory, the words why you did or why you did not ‘do’ will not be manifested by life. Unconditional love and harmony begins to prevail in the family or among friends.

Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2008 

Editor’s Note:
Man’s life is action-packed. Scarcely a moment goes by when an ‘action’ does not take place. To some of these actions we ascribe the term ‘it happened’, where there is no supposed author nor any controller to be held responsible. There may be some emotional response or reaction to what has ‘happened’, but no indictment. However, there certainly is indictment of a living being for actions that did not happen, but should have, or did happen, but should not have. An emotional response or reaction usually accompanies such an indictment. The realisation gifted by the wise in this article, however, that man is not the doer is transformative and gratitude overflows.
Julian Capper, UK.

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