Truth to Higher Truth

Once upon a time there was a man who desired to understand the beauty of moon and softness of its rays and the causes of these things. So he went forth and gazed in to the sky. Between him and the moon there was a lovely tree with delicate branch and tender leaves. Forgetting the moon, he began to examine the delicate branch and tender leaves and was lost in the thought of such delicacy and when he looked up again the moon had set.

The understanding of life is more essential than the mere superficial knowledge of the machinery of life, though one must be acquainted with this also.

To draw a parallel to this story by J Krishnamurthy, my thoughts permit me to analyze our own lives and value systems. Though the above concept is a subtle one, I am tempted to pour out my thoughts in a bit gross form.

We come to this world alone, naked and we leave this world alone (naked – but to observe the societal decency a cloth is wrapped). And whatever activities we undertake in the interval of these two events defines and is being summed up in last few days of our stay on earth.
We feel the urge to love – but we end up limiting this purest emotion to our own self, our spouse, and children and at most to some friends. We feel the urge to share – but we end up sharing with our little family – I, my spouse, my child. We feel the urge to expand our life, our intellect – but we end up contracting the same with undue reasoning and so called critical analysis.

End of all, we need and we dream of something divine and end up with something human. We aim for higher goals of life (love, care, share, expansion, realization) and dear Lord provides us with mechanisms (family, friends, kith and kin) but in the process we entangle ourselves so much with the mechanism that we tend to forget the real goal (The journey from truth to the higher truth). And unfortunately we realize this just few moments before the end of sojourn of this life and in retrospect we feel least useful, half fulfilled nay unfulfilled.

On the holy occasion of Vinayak Chaturthi, I pray for the grace of the lordto bestow on us the sensitivity of a poet, the ruthless intellect of a scientist and the soft heart of the beloved s.

 

Reflections from A Chinese garden of Serenity

• Human affairs are like chess-game: only those who do not take it seriously can be called good players.
• Life is like an earthen pot: only when it is shattered, does it manifest its emptiness.
• A pigeon, when annoyed by the bells on its neck, will fly higher and higher, but it doesn’t know that to fold its wings will stop tinkling of the bells. A man, irked by his shadow; may run faster and faster, but he doesn’t understand that to stay in a shady place will eliminate his shadow. So the foolish people who run fast and fly high find a smooth ground to be a sea of suffering, where as people of insight who stay in the shade and fold their wings discover a craggy slope to be a level road.
• A conventional man delights in his prosperity, but the superior man’s happiness comes from his adversity. A conventional man grieves at his dissatisfaction, but the superior man’s sorrow arises from his satisfaction. This is so because the sorrow and happiness of a conventional man are induced by passion and those of the superior man by intellect.
• If a man could clear meanness from his face, his looks would show no ugliness. And if he could empty the worldliness from his heart, his language would bear high meanings.
• Human feelings are frail; the ways of the world are ragged. When a man cannot go forward, he should know how to take a step backward; but when he can go on, he ought to have the grace of yielding a little.

 

Why should we spiritually transform ourselves?

Is it because

– We must transform.

- The world needs our transformation.

- The world is going to be damned if we don’t transform.

As a caterpillar evolves, it grows in to a beautiful butterfly, which hops from flower to flower, colorful, giving joy to everyone around.

Have we asked ourselves – why a caterpillar gives up its existence as a caterpillar and become a butterfly? Because – It is destined to be a butterfly. It is manifesting its own inherent nature, when it transforms to butterfly.

We are essentially divine, on a worldly sojourn, not the other way around.

 

An act of Divine Love!

http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_07/01MAR09/12-unknown-hero.htm

 

Your Gift

What can one possibly give back to the sun as a token of gratitude for all the lights that He brings to our dark homes even as He burns Himself out?

Perhaps! Nothing at all. However the least we could do is to keep our doors wide open and not let His efforts go in vain.

What you are is God’s gift to you and what you become is your gift to God.

 

On marriage

So, is marriage important in life?

I contemplated on this question for quite sometime now and I do have many answers in my mind. I tried consciously to learn a thing or two from the friends and colleagues who are recently married. I understand – it’s difficult for folks to open up the personal life and hence, received some guarded thoughts and opinions on the marriage as an institution.

A Chinese friend also confirmed me out of his world experience that – in this part of the world (India), marriage is possibly the only way to be with a different sex in your own apartment without having curious looks and later may be snubs from the folks around.

My search for the question led me to the following. I am not pretty sure, who wrote this, but it’s beautiful and very aptly describes why one should marry and remain married.

We need a witness to our lives.

There are a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day.

You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.

Though it’s very simple and easily understandable but probably one of the toughest things to deliver and remain committed to.

 

Evening Thoughts

Life is challenging. But we make it difficult and time comes when we feel, as if we are the poorest creature in this whole world. We plan something and life offers a counter plan to us. We (I) try to achieve something and lose hope in the run up. And end of the entire struggle, we stand at a cross road, where we (I) feel – Life could have been better.

But in the process we forget that, all the happenings and non-happenings in our lives are being controlled by the Divine will. How do we come to this realization? I would advice to visit one government hospital. I did the same, this evening and I have two set of feelings coming up in my heart.

Lord, it’s too difficult to feel the misery of the poor people. They have nothing – no money power, no muscle power, and no high level connections and yet they make it. They struggle it and they hardly complain. What they do – they don’t lose hope, don’t lose hope on doctor, on Lord’s grace, on life.

You spend some more time in the hospital ambiance and at the same time you feel so blessed that God hasn’t given you this much pain in life.

Why don’t You dear Lord make me one of them – resilient with minimum complains? You have given me loving family, good education, good job and very little struggle. You have always stood by me during worst of my times, yet this evening I feel I am not as grateful to You as I should be, for all the appropriate things, you have set for me in perfect harmony.

My sincere prayers at Your lotus feet,  please bless me with this boon – Let my association with You, make me look at life with love and no complaints whatsoever.

 

What is Life?

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly…

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.

It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

Some few lines from my old diary. As I remember writing it down some odd eight years ago at my insti library one evening, the only thought that came to me at that time, how simple the quotation was.

And it’s so easy to follow the same.

Now, as I am growing up, rather grown up and rewriting this here, I understand, end of the day it’s not that simple. This kind of thought process demands whole Hearted dedication to internalize and practice spirituality in day to day life.

 

Good Company

Satsang or Good Company has a transforming influence as seen in the life of Valmiki and Angulimala.

A scorpion wished to cross a river and sought to piggy back a tortoise whose alliance it cultivated. The tortoise was initially reluctant as it was afraid of the scorpion sting in the mid stream. The scorpion assured him that he would never resort to such practices as it would lead to both of them drowning in the river.

The tortoise began to swim across the river and indeed, the scorpion stung the tortoise half way through the journey.

“What is the logic of the Mr. Scorpion?” asked the tortoise. “Now both of us will sink”.

“It is not a question of logic”, replied the scorpion, “It is a question of my nature”.

So, the take way from here, “Have minimum connection”. Love all, but let’s remember that God alone is our true friend and our eternal companion.

Related post:  Bhaja Govindam

 

What did you do?