Thursday, May 23, 2013

Train to be what you truly are




 


Sri P.C. Lahiri


I read the following article by Sant Rajinder Singh (Santji) appearing in the May 14th, 2013 issue of the Bengaluru edition of the Times of India.  Only the story part is presented below along with a few observations by Santji.

“There was once a seeker who would meditate in a room for several hours each day. He wished to solve the mystery of life. He would not speak to anyone but would stay in the room, meditating almost all day. One day a dark cloud passed above the building, darkening the room. Once the cloud passed, the room became light again. Suddenly the seeker came out of the room, went into the street and began dancing and singing with joy. Seeing this, the Master asked, “What has made you so happy and full of laughter today.” The seeker said, “I have just figured out the secret of life. All life is maya or illusion. One day the sky is clear. Then a cloud comes and darkens the sky. Then the cloud passes and the sky is clear again. Such are the events of our life. All the ups and downs in life will pass away also.”

The simple realization brings forth a calm approach to life, revealing the fact that our true Self is the soul. The soul, a mere traveler in the physical world, wears a physical body and is given a physical mind even as we experience maya and the transitory nature of existence.

…. We will have happy events and sad events. The key is to realize that each of them is like the clouds that too will pass.” Quote ends.

That too shall pass --- this thought is quite reassuring and helps us tide over the ups and downs of life, provided we are able to hold on to this lesson at all times through the vicissitudes of life.  The real difficulty arises when we face the downs.   At such times, holding on to the lesson turns into an uphill task.  For trying times, Santji suggests, “We can avoid the ups and downs of life by realizing they will pass.  We should instead keep our attention on God and spend time daily in meditation.”  So, ‘focusing our attention on God and meditating daily’ is what Santji recommends.

Conventional religion (and the systems based on it), align well with what Santji suggests.  They smoothly fit in with standard religious practices, as also with the mental training of the common people in India.  It is easy for us to accept that which is widely prevalent.  So many different schools of meditation, yoga, worship, prayers etc. have come up.  There is nothing wrong with that, and this article certainly doesn’t criticize any particular religion or the practices associated with it.

As per the Master’s (i.e. Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur’s) teaching of ‘all acceptance and all embrace’, nothing is reject-able in this universe and beyond.  In the spiritual and the self-development field, there are innumerable ideas and paths amongst which to choose from.  We select one out of them as per our knack, company, capability, preparation/education, aims/goals, desires etc.  So it is “his-his, whose-whose” and “live and let live”.  Master, being identified with Pure Consciousness, realized that the entire world drama is the sameside game of Self-Consciousness/Self I-Reality.  So, how can anything be rejected when the Self-I (i.e. our True Nature) Itself is playing from both sides – i.e. acceptable/right on one side, and the reject-able/wrong on the other side?  How can I reject my own Real Entity.

Now I come to the ground-reality aspect.  Those of us who are not able to totally follow the science of ‘all-acceptance and all-embrace’, look for some other support or line of self-development.  This is where all other systems, processes and thoughts appear.  Taking the help of the thought of “this too shall pass” and spending more time on the serious practice of meditation with attention on God, shall train the mind to be calm and steady over a period of time.  The time period shall depend on the preparedness and eagerness of the seeker. To keep attention on God and meditate properly, specific training from a fully trained Master is needed; otherwise the desired result shall not be achieved, leading to frustration.  After a certain level of proficiency is acquired, the Guru takes the seeker through higher levels of meditation courses to ultimately reach the state of supreme Self-Realization.  This entire process of mental training is very elaborate, has many stages, and requires constant guidance at every stage till the Real Self reveals.  The bottom line is, how devoted and dedicated are we to get mentally trained to reach the state of no-mind?

If the whole issue revolves around mental training, then why shouldn’t I train the mind to accept all as verily my own Being?  By the devoted and dedicated following of this single-line mental training, I shall reach the same ultimate goal of Self-Realization, abandoning all the intervening processes and stages.  A very important thing to be noticed and understood clearly is that in this process, the means and end are but one and the same.  How?

I start off by constant reminders to my mind that I am the Absolute, Paramatma, Parameshwara, Brahman/Atman Self I-Reality; at the end of my training I get established in this very Supreme Truth.  This is how the means and end are but one.

With any other process, I start with the assumption that I am at present, finite (and must faithfully adhere to all the steps of the process to achieve the Infinite); that I’m not yet the Absolute Self I-Reality, and must acquire it through some process.  There are many processes available all over the world. We follow them as per our choice, capability etc., but all are indirect paths to Self Realization.  The most direct and easiest process however is to ‘accept my True Self-identity which is eternally with me, whether I realize it or not, and proceed in life with its constant awareness.’  Once this paravidya (Supreme Knowledge) is unfolded by a perfectly realized Master, the ultimate secret is revealed.

We call ourselves rational beings, using our rationality/intellect at every step to discriminate and choose only that which is acceptable. We are so accustomed to this behavior and style of living that it is difficult for us to accept the august proclamations of the Master revealing the ‘Science of Oneness’.  How can I be ‘pure, enlightened, liberated, not subject to decay, immortal, sinless, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute’?  Master says that you do not need any training or sadhana/tapasya because you are verily that which you are trying to achieve through training or sadhana/tapasya.  The same intellect with whose help I am inclined to disbelieve my own True Nature is also the one that strongly leads me to believe that the Master is Parmatma, Parameshwara, the Absolute personified.  If that be so, then why can’t I believe the latter half of my intellect and follow the directions of the Master to simply accept my own Self I-Reality as the Absolute.

If I have at all to resort to any mental training for Self/God Realization, shouldn't it be direct and supreme?  Do I really need any temporary relief through the various other courses available all around?



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