I realize this life, this world is a dream.
I realize I am not the doer but God is the doer.
I realize knowledge of duality is no knowledge.
But, at the same time, I seem to be so constituted that I seem to derive happiness and joy in contemplating life and its myriad aspects, problems and solutions through the intellect.
And, it seems to be the case that unless one follows one’s svadharma one cannot be happy in life.
As Abraham Maslow pointed out, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.”
Some may say one’s svadharma is to realize the self.
Broadly speaking, that is true.
But, unless one gives one’s due to this world, there seems to be no release from this illusion.
As Edgar Allan Poe wrote, the life we live is “a dream within a dream.”
Life is a mystery.
We are mere cogs in this life machine, assigned to play our roles for its smooth functioning.
Every nut and bolt has its function in this well-oiled machine.
And there is no greater nut than me.
So, if you accuse me of being nuts, I will agree with you.
Know Thyself 