Guest guest Posted May 13, 2001 Report Share Posted May 13, 2001 Dear Jay, I'd like to share this with the group: an excerpt from Swami Ashokananda's class on the Isa Upanishad, verse 3. One of his longtime students passed it on to me, so I don't know what in year he gave this class. " You see, life has a purpose, whether we know it or not. And if you say, 'Well, if I find that I cannot accomplish any more, what's the use of living?' the very fact that you are bearing your sufferings with fortitude is itself a great achievement. You probably would be surprised to learn that our greatest lessons are not learned through accomplishment, but rather by bearing futility with great endurance. There you really gain the most. When outside there is nothing, when the body is weak, when even the mind is not contributing anything, except that it has this tremendous power of stability - then you really achieve something. Ordinarily, people think that when we are full of health and vigor and do this and that, we have accomplished; afterwards, life has no meaning. Spiritually is it just the opposite. When we think we are accomplishing, we are really dissipating ourselves. So they say that if old age comes, disease comes, difficulties, external and internal, arise, if we have the power of endurance to remain calm and bear our burden without being bowed down by it, then we have achieved the highest in our life. That is the greatest achievement. " Best regards, Mkewbird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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