Chaotic World

29/08/2020

Whether viewing reality or mythology, the existence of chaos is apparent. It was said that formless chaos once encompassed the whole expanse of everything—and out of chaos, Gaia, the first Primordial goddess, and mother earth was born. Hitherto, chaos seems to envelop the cosmos, not in the essence of what it was in mythology, but as an intrinsic constituent of nature. We often delineate this world we live in as chaotic. A world wherein not only natural phenomena cause casualties and threats to human lives, but also a world wherein evils and its inevitable roots burgeon on every island of this sphere. Chaotic indeed; as this coexisting chaos is inevitable and imperishable, we keep on finding ways to bear this burden. We gradually seek peace in every way possible, in this chaotic world.

Ancient people believed that Chaos engendered the primordial deities, and from them, everything existed. Therefore for ancient people, Chaos was a goddess of emptiness and confusion who gave birth to the universe. In our contemporary society, our definition of chaos is very much diverse, and in a way related. We define it as the opposite of order, commotion, or confusion. It is what causes us to be in a state of disturbance, our souls in turmoil, and minds at ease. It is like an invisible matter that encompasses our world. Due to this, not only can we not properly compel to our daily tasks, our duties, and responsibilities as individuals, but also, it can cause us to live in a state of long-term chaos.

Living in a long term of inevitable and inescapable chaos means being awake in the middle of the night, haunted by the embarrassments you've made, bothered by the lack of orderliness of the society you live in, and frightened by every flaw that your life possesses. A state of endless turmoil, in short, endless suffering. This state, though might seem inescapable, has also a root cause, and somehow, upon determining its root, life might be bearable and more manageable to live.

The teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, have been very influential and eminent to people who seek peace of mind. Also known as Buddha, "the enlightened one", he lived between 6th and 4th C. BC, was the son of a wealthy king in Nepal, who wanted him to be the emperor of India. He was replete with all the luxuries of life—gold, jewelry, servants, lotus ponds, and everything that describes the richness of their time. After many years of living his life inside the palace, he went on an excursion where he witnessed the true form of life in the outside world. He met a decrepit old man, a diseased person, a corpse being cremated, and a holy man. From these four sights, he realized that there is more To life than bliss— sickness, misfortunes, poverty, diseases, and a lot more. On his 29th birthday, he left in clandestine and later on, became the Buddha.

According to Gautama, the root cause of our suffering is the frustration from our sensual desires and earthly ambitions. As we try to satisfy these infinite desires, we arrive at a short-term gratification, but it doesn't lead to genuine happiness and peace of mind. Which then causes our frustrations—making our minds at ease, and ourselves in chaos within our own minds and our society. Gautama's core teaching on his Four Noble Truths is that suffering is universal; desire is the root cause of suffering. In other words, we can infer that terminating our earthly unattainable desires, could mean freedom from suffering, and by following the Eightfold Path (right action, right intention, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, right speech, right understanding, and right mindfulness), we can eliminate desires.

Our world is chaotic—as the cosmos is enveloped by a dark matter that humanity can't comprehend, the world is also encompassed with chaos—mythologically or realistically speaking. Our world is chaotic and we bring forth chaos. Suffering is indeed the nemesis of blissful existence, yet somehow, throughout centuries, there are teachings, philosophies, and ways of life that we have yet to unravel, in order to bear the suffering and many misfortunes that our existence inflicts.

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without." -Siddhartha Gautama