Look Ahead

ಲೋಚನದ ಸಂಚಾರ ಮುಖದ ಮುಂದಕಪಾರ |
ಗೋಚರಿಪುದೇನದಕೆ ತಲೆಯ ಹಿಂದಣದು? ||
ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಹೊರತು ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ನೀಂ, ಸಾಂತವದು |
ಚಾಚು ಮುಂದಕೆ ಮನವ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ||

The eyes are well positioned to the front, does it ever wander to peek into the back? free from the past, spread your mind to the front oh dull headed dumb fellow!

I dont think anyone can translate this as is to any other language than Kannada without losing its beauty and weight! Anyway. This idea is nothing new, but the way it is written is amazingly fresh.

Eyes can scan upto 180 degrees, I suppose, but it is front (or future) facing. There is a reason that it faces the front, DVG hints, so not to look behind. Optimism is about looking forward, pessimism is about looking behind. Past should only helps us learn from it and move on, past should not slow us down.

The other beauty of creation is that it can only see a certain distance. Imagine if you could see 100s of KMs, your life would be miserable because you would be diverted beyond your control. So, is the way life should be lived. Never look back, look ahead but do not look too much ahead, look as much as is needed for you to move on. In essence, live in the present; neither in the past nor in the future. This also does not warrant one to ignore the future. Another crude example is like driving from Bangalore to Chennai (or anywhere), one needs a map (a plan) but one needs to drive towards it with focus only on shorter distances.

May you be free of your history! One cannot escape history, but here history refers to the "limitations of the past" or the "repents" and the "regrets" that can slow you down.

Wonderful verse.

Sri KrishnarpaNam.