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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Change, intrinsic to worldly life

 

CHENNAI, APRIL 19. The common mistake we make is to be complacent

that in life everything will be smooth sailing and hence when

changes come we are often caught unawares. It is similar to a

person cruising on a river going along with the gentle current

enjoying himself and suddenly confronted by a waterfall. The

panic that results can be imagined. But as with all laws of

nature, the waterfall started the day the river originated and it

is only the ignorance of its presence which is responsible for

the sailor's predicament. So also, change is a law of nature.

 

We witness the natural phenomenon of an infant after birth going

through the natural changes of childhood, youth, adulthood, old

age and ultimately death as natural. Likewise, the thoughts that

arise in our minds also undergo changes. Just as the sun when it

rises appears delicate, grows intense as the hour progresses till

it scorches at midday and finally loses its intensity at sunset,

thoughts also are fragile when they rise and then they become

strong and fade away. A person who is unable to accept the

changes that the body undergoes naturally gets attached to it

which results in misery. Thoughts also by themselves are harmless

but when they become deep-rooted result in desires. Attachment

and desires result in bondage.

 

In his discourse on the Ashtavakra Samhita, Swami Suddhananda

said that it was apparent then that change was intrinsic to life

at the physical and mental levels but there was a constant

awareness underlying these phenomena. Learning to become aware of

one's Self is to realise that changes pertain only to the body-

mind-intellect and that the Self is changeless. So, the wise man

who is poised in the Self remains unperturbed by the changes.

 

How does a man-of-realisation live in the world? The world we are

familiar with in our day-to-day life is one of intense activity.

One must stop and think what a person achieves by engaging in

activity in this world. The analogy of an ocean helps to

illustrate how an individual can remain poised in the Self while

engaging in activity in the world. The ocean neither dries up

when the rivers become dry in summer and no water flows into the

ocean, nor overflows during monsoon when the swollen rivers empty

their waters into it. Just as the ocean retains the same level

and fullness irrespective of the volume of water discharged into

it, the man- of-realisation retains Self-awareness and remains

poised amidst all the activities he engages in the world. While

his body, mind and intellect function in their respective realms

he remains unaffected poised in the Self.

 

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