Wisdom and serenity are as intertwined as life and breath. And wisdom is timeless, irrespective of its era or context, unaffected by whether it applies to the age of spirituality or the times of modern technology. Our country's cultural ethos contains many gems of ancient wisdom that still make sense and apply to the minutest corner of our lives. Karma and Dharma are two such ancient concepts that hold relevance as much when it comes to a life lived well as to a ride accomplished skillfully. Summarised, Karma is your action while Dharma is indicative of what is truly needed to be done. Do read on about the connection I see between the two.

The Mystic within the Motorcyclist


Bridging mysticism and motorcycling, with the latter so firmly rooted in modernity and dominated by technology, seems a tad too far-fetched. Almost futile. What can be common between the two? It is the rider. The motorcycle is an inert lifeless object till the rider brings it to life and thereon he is the spirit, the life-blood and the mystic who defines, and guides it. Riding a motorcycle is nothing short of skirting the twilight zone between life and death. The errors that can drop you into the dark abyss of fatality are a mere misjudged twist of the throttle, a misplaced turn of the handlebars and a momentary mis-timed pressure on the brakes. And yet we ride not because of a morbid fascination for death but to celebrate life and freedom. And the wisdom to stay away from the endless abyss is as ancient as man himself. The mysticism of a sword-fighter, a martial artist, a dancer or a meditating mendicant is no different from that of a motorcyclist. He lives not on divine blessings but on the choices he makes. His Karma.


According to the Bhagavad Gita, the true mystic is the one who is totally unattached to the fruits of his actions. This is because the fruits of one's actions are contained within a certain time frame. Whatever action we perform, it subsequently brings about its result. This result or 'fruit' is a manifestation of the action that was, the past. And while looking at the past, we loose touch with the ever-important present. The true mystic shows no attachment to the 'fruits' because he is aware that they are a part of 'what was'. Only by responding to 'what is', can he fulfill his Dharma i.e. do what is right and needed now. And true Karma is this Dharmic action that comes from reacting to the needs of the present.


The one who manages his present well, ensures, for himself, a blemish free past and a secure future. Imagine a fruit sorter, in a fruit product factory, standing next to a continuously moving conveyer belt that transports apples from the feeder to the processor. The fruit sorter's job is to pick out the bad and rotten apples as they pass in front of him, so that they do not get into further processing. While working, maybe out of curiosity, he looks up in the direction the apples are coming from, to see how many bad ones are expected. With his attention on what might come, he misses a bad one that passes off to the processor. He looks down the conveyer now, a little guilty and feeling bad about the apple he missed taking out. By the time he gets his attention back to the job at hand, he has missed a couple more of the bad apples. Now he is really feeling bad and a little unsure about his ability as an efficient sorter. He could have avoided this by remaining calm and focused on the apples that reached him and taking out the bad ones as and when they reached him. No matter how many bad ones came, he would have managed to sort them out. Substitute these apples with moments or events in our lives. By focusing on the here and now, we remain ever capable of handling whatever the future hands out to us and also ensure a blemish free, guiltless past for ourselves by not missing out on putting forth our best efforts.


The mystic just believes in sorting out the apples as and when they come, feeling no need to congratulate himself on a job well done by looking down the conveyer or feeling apprehensive about how many more might come by looking up it. Neither does he show any attachment to the result of his efforts nor is he influenced by it. All he shows is total commitment to the action. His Karma.


A practiced motorcyclist, riding fast on a twisty mountain road is no less of a detached mystic. While riding, he focuses on and reacts to whatever the road and surroundings offer. Throttle, brakes, lean-in, lean-out, weight shifts are all inputs put out on demand, matching need for need and quantum for quantum. How well or bad he braked a moment ago is of no relevance to the next turn coming up. The demands and the responses needed are totally new each moment. All his acquired skills are purposeless if he cannot sense when and where to apply them. Only his honest and single-minded commitment towards his Karma as a rider reveals to him his Dharma as one. His concentration becomes the origin, the evolution and the finale of his skilled responses. In his gloved hands, he holds the possibilities of life and death. And in his helmeted head, he carries the eyes and the mind of a true mystic. He is the eternal Kramayogi.