Life: Mystery Beyond Perfection

For perfectionists, life is a puzzle to be solved. But for the wise, life is a mystery to be lived with a sense of wonder…

The wise tell us that the world is perfect as is. You cannot ask for more. But some people are never satisfied. They want to improve things. They are so obsessed with their idea of perfection that they would improve upon God’s creation too. Their obsession drives others crazy. Not only are perfectionists mad themselves, but they also make others mad!

Here’s an interesting anecdote. A king, passing through a small town, saw what he took to be indications of amazing marksmanship. On trees, barns and fences there were many bull’s-eyes, each with a bullet hole in the exact center. He could not believe his eyes. It was almost a miracle of achievement. He himself was a good marksman and had known many great marksmen life, but never seen anything like this. He wanted to meet the expert shot. It turned out to be a madman. “This is sensational! How in the world do you do it?” he asked the madman. “I am a good shot too, but cannot compare to your skill. Please tell me!”

“Easy as pie!” said the madman, laughing uproariously. “I shoot first and draw the circles in later!”

One should not be perfectionists. “Perfectionism is the root cause of all neurosis. Unless humanity gets rid of the very idea of perfection, it will never ever be sane. The very idea of perfection has driven the whole of mankind to a state of utter madness. To think in terms of perfection means that you are thinking in terms of ideology, goals, values, shoulds, should-not… you have a certain pattern to fulfill, else you feel immensely guilty. And the pattern is bound to be such that you cannot achieve it. If you do achieve it, then it will not be of much value to your ego!”

Perfectionism is a neurotic idea. An intelligent person will understand that life is an adventure, a constant exploration. That is its very joy! Perfection means a full stop. Perfection means ultimate death. There is no way to go beyond it. Perfectionists take life as a puzzle and look for solutions. But for the wise, life is a mystery to be lived with a sense of wonder.

“You should be perfectly and acutely aware of the difference between a mystery and a problem. A problem is something created by the mind but a mystery is something which is already there. A problem has some ugliness in it, like a disease. A mystery, on the other hand, is beautiful. With a problem, fights arise. Something is wrong and you have to put it right; something is missing and you must supply the missing link. With a mystery, there is no question of a fight. The moon arises in the night—that is not a problem, it is a mystery. You live with it. You dance with it. You sing with it. Or you can be silent with it. Mystery surrounds you.”