The Warrior Spirit

[Guest guest]

Devanath posted a remarkable saying by Sri Ramakrishna a while back

which didn't elicit any response so I am inclined to say a few words.

He quotes the great master as saying essentially, "If I say I am free,

free I shall be; if I say I am bound, bound I shall remain. Freedom or

bondage is of the mind alone."

 

What is remarkable about this saying is that it puts one's

liberation and bondage squarely in one's own hands. God doesn't have

to give me liberation because God never took it away in the first

place. For reasons known only to myself, I decided to put my hands

over my eyes and cry that it is dark, even though the Divine Sun has

been shining all along.

 

For some reason, Devanath's quote reminded me of the days of the

warrior cast in India.

 

Drona was the marshal arts instructor to the sons of the royal

family. He had completed their training in archery, and wanted to

test their skill, so he placed the image of a bird high in a tree some

distance away. He then asked each one to take aim and describe what

he saw. The first boy said, "I see that stand of woods over there,

and at the top of one of the trees I see a bird". Drona said,

"Release your bow and please sit down there on the bench". The next

boy, and several others after him, all agreed, "We see a tree, and at

the top of the tree, we see a bird." Soon they were all sitting on

the bench. The next boy said, "I see a bird". Drona said, "Good, now

please sit down on the bench". Finally, Arjuna's turn came; Drona

said, "What do you see?" Arjuna said, "I see only the eye of the

bird." Drona cried out, "shoot!". And before the sound of his voice

had died away, the arrow had pierced the eye of the bird.

 

That was the last generation of the warrior tradition in India. In

fact Krishna had already arranged the great war in which it would self

destruct. To perform the warrior feats which were common in those

days, and which boardered on the magical, required more than skill, it

required intense tapas. And, having discovered that spiritual

element, Krishna deemed it was time to take away the fighting and bows

and arrows, and let them go forward with tapas, austerity, and sadhana.

 

But, even though the ghosts of the old kshatria soldiers are fading

away, the spirit that they engendered should not be allowed to fade

because it is needed for effective sadhana. Anyone who aspires to do

hours of sadhana each day needs that warrior spirit and courage.

Anyone who stands neck-deep in an icy river chanting the scriptures

all day, while his toes are turning blue, has plenty of it, even

though it may no longer manifest as violence.

 

Sri Ramakrishna had that spirit as well, but when he transmitted his

power to Vivekananda and sent him out as a world teacher, he left no

doubt about it. Not long after, the american newspapers were

referring to Swami Vivekananda as the "Warrior monk".

 

The Master also gave another saying, a most remarkable saying, of

which I have not seen the like anywhere else. He said unequivocally

and with no qualifiers, "Let me tell you that the realization of Self

is possible for all." He doesn't bring up the doctrine of

adhikarivada, i.e. special qualifications; he doesn't say one must

wait for five more lifetimes, become a shining sannyasin and thus

realize the Self. He does allude to the fact that the desire to enjoy

sense objects does tend to obscure one's view of the Self.

 

Hence sadhana. We don't do sadhana to somehow convince God to stop

deluding us. God never intended us to be deluded, to suffer. We do

sadhana in order to develop the purity and self will (the warrior

spirit) to decide to remove our own hands from before our eyes and see

that God has always been standing there, right in front of us, all

along.

 

 

Thank you Deva, and love to all,

 

Tanmaya