A man rolls a boulder uphill; watches it roll back and does it again. There is something comical about this, unless you happen to be the one pushing it. And yet, this simple imagery seems to have captured the human condition so well that both West (Greek mythology) and East (Kerala folklore) have their own versions of it. Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to this eternal exercise, while Narayanathu Bhranthan, in my folklore, reportedly laughed and clapped as his boulder rolled down, only to push it up again.
Camus, in modern times, picked up the Greek myth to explain what he famously called the absurd. He argued, we have this irresistible urge to find meaning, purpose, and order in our lives, but we do not really realize that the universe has no such obligation to oblige. Despite this, we construct our own purposes and build, achieve, accumulate and then, in the end, leave everything behind. And so, Sisyphus, was the perfect metaphor for this futility. But Camus refused to let him surrender; he concluded, despite being conscious of his fate, perhaps Sisyphus did revolt against it and reclaimed his self-worth and freedom. And hence, he concluded, one must imagine Sisyphus happy. But the more I think of it, I find this, a rather vintage Western response: confront the problem, refuse defeat, and assert yourself.
So, I ask, why must we interpret the boulder as a problem to be overcome? What if Sisyphus was enlightened, like a Zen sensei.
There is a famous Zen saying: “before enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water; after enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water.” The activity might seem unchanged, but what changes is the way we experience it. We cannot step into the same flowing river twice they say as the water is never the same; and yet, it takes a certain level of sensitivity to recognize it. So, each time Sisyphus pushes the boulder uphill or walks down to retrieve it, the light, the wind, the landscape and even, his own experience is different. But if his mind is occupied only with the futility of his task, he may forget the miracle that he really is and the world unfolding around him.
For, we are all miracles. LUCA (last universal common ancestor) was born and branched into bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes 3.5 billion years ago. It all started with a single DNA sequence – ATGC combos – and then the continuum extending to a human. Here again, they say all 40 million sperm cells/ejaculate are different, and they compete for an egg to make your ‘birth’ a truly unique, rare event. And so is every one of your experiences – utterly subjective and the only reality for you.
So, what if the boulder will roll down again. We are all dealt a set of cards, some better than others, and we play with what we have. Why should the value of playing depend on winning, or on how our game compares with somebody else’s? Every lived experience is subjective, and no external judgement can fully capture what it means to the person experiencing it. Our sensitivity, partly inherited and partly nurtured through living, reading, loving, suffering, and observing, shapes the world we experience. This is not another scorecard to improve, nor an obligation to enjoy every moment. It is simply about being alive to the life we already have.
Here I find a resonance with Krishnamurti, who questioned our conditioned habit of interpreting and judging everything, and the Gita, which asks us to perform our dharma without attachment to the fruits of action. Perhaps the Eastern wisdom I am drawn to is not about defeating the absurd but questioning why we should make it the central problem in the first place.
Finally, Sisyphus is a hero to Camus because he defies his ‘fate’, but I would prefer to imagine him, simpler. A Zen Sensei. He sure had a boulder to push but who knows, perhaps on the way up, he noticed a flower growing between those rocks. And simply smiled!
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