WHY THIS CONTRADICTION?

WHY THIS CONTRADICTION? Desire Versus Fulfillment Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a renowned English poet. In one of his poems, To a Skylark, he writes: Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. I T is a matter of common observation that most people seem to be fascinated with tragic stories and poetry more than happy ones. The most popular novels are tragedies, not comedies. Those songwriters and singers receive greater recognition who write and sing soulful, sentimental melodies. What is the reason for this peculiarity? Why are sentimental melodies and tragic stories more successful in stirring the human heart to profound emotions? It is because every individual practically lives with a sense of loss and deprivation. Tragic stories and songs strike a chord in the heart. One can relate personally with them. This psychology then becomes second nature. A person with such a psychology doubts the occurrence of a happy event. In comparison, news of misery appears closer to the truth. Analyzing this matter deeply, man appears to be a pleasure-seeking being. Man is an exceptional creature within an incredibly vast universe. Man is the only creature who has a sense of pleasure. It is a unique characteristic of a human being that he feels and enjoys a variety of pleasures. There are countless creatures in the vast universe, but the privilege of enjoying pleasure is found only in humans. Man gains pleasure from the acts of thinking, watching, listening, touching, speaking, eating and drinking. The simple act of walking bare feet on a lush green lawn gives one an incomparable joy. But there is a strange contradiction here. Human beings possess the sense of pleasure at the highest level, but it is not possible for them to enjoy this fully in this world. In Kashmir, there is a mountain river in Pahalgam formed by springs released by melting snow of the mountains. It contains pure water. When I first arrived in Pahalgam and saw the clear water of the river there, I could not hold myself from drinking it. I filled a glass of water from the flowing river. It was more Humans have been given an infinite sense of pleasure, but the culmination of their delight is placed only in the next world, after death.