The soul is ever immortal, as detailed in all Upanishads and Puranas. However, mere belief is of little utility. One has to fully comprehend and tread on the specific path to achieve immortality. Comprehension is challenging and difficult; and is almost impossible. Gautam Buddha gave up his worldly domestic life and endeavored to understand divine wisdom to realize and comprehend his true identity by performing strict penance for six long years. Did all of that penance went in vain? Or did some of it come in handy?
Both facts are correct. Everything got wasted, and Everything contributed. Try to understand by increasing your focus-concentration. You will be able to realize only by shaking your consciousness a little bit.
The answer is not that – Nothing worked. It’s also not that – Everything worked.
First things first. The severe penance which he did for six years, didn’t yield anything. Because achievement has nothing to do with hard work.
There is nothing external. You may run for six months or six long years – Success will take time. Assimilate this basic fact within you – Success will take time. You will achieve after you stop running.
You ran for six years, someone ran for twelve years, and someone else might have run for sixty years – it simply doesn’t matter. When the runner stopped after six years, he achieved it. The twelve-year runner achieved, when he stopped. And similarly, the sixty-year runner also achieved only when he stopped. Thus, definite excellence is achieved only after unshackling the worldly ties-bonds and similar conditions.
The destination is not so far that you need to walk towards it. The destination lies within your own self, so you will not achieve anything by running towards it. Therefore, I state that Everything went in vain. And I also want to say that Everything contributed. This is so, because nobody can stop unless he has been running. Only the one who has run intensively, will pause and stop. Otherwise, the itch-urge to run continues to dominate. Pause after the run. Stopping is not easy. You may want to walk, and yet we pause to stop. You affirmed to stop.
Buddha took a pause after six years. You may want to pause immediately. However, you will not achieve success by pausing immediately. There is a basic difference between the break-pauses of yourself and Buddha.
Buddha stopped because he realized the running will not yield anything. You did not achieve this realization, and you took a pause cleverly, thinking that he also didn’t achieve anything by running. Let us also sit nearby. Let us also seek out a Bodhi tree. Fig trees are everywhere. Let us also sit under a Bodhi tree. We will also realize the true knowledge in similar fashion.
You will open your eyes at dawn to notice the twinkling of the last star. Where is the rising of the inner star?
Nothing will rise up. Hunger will overwhelm your senses if you continue to sit for some more time. The day got wasted. Didn’t realize even a single iota of Buddhatva consciousness. And I feel so hungry. Couldn’t even sleep last night. And who cares about Buddhatva meditation.
Realize this fact. There is no possibility of meditation under the Bodhitva tree. It is fully occupied by mosquitoes. They won’t let you catch a single wink in the night. Why did we end up in all this mess. I should have at least brought a mosquito net. At least I could sleep peacefully in my home. And the fear of wild beasts will continuously hassle your mind. Or the fear of a thief or robber. And you will continue to open your eyes throughout the night to seek out the Bodhitva. Your intellect will continue to seek it out, but in vain.
Your intellect will cloud your mind with doubts and mistrusts. Are you mad? Is it the best way to realize Bodhitva? Everyone would have realized it, if it were so easy. Get up, go home, and start working. Do not waste time like this.
Thoughts will fill your mind. It would have been better to use this time to watch a movie. Or even listening to a music recital. Even TV would have been a much better option. This night was a complete waste. You will definitely regret a lot. Let me also explain about the second fact, about the result of running for six years. The mind and body want to take a rest after six years of constant running. Therefore, let me explain both together. Buddha would not have learned how to stop, if he hadn’t run for six years. Only a runner can understand how to stop. The failure to run leads to halts and pauses. And do not think that six years is a magical number. Even if we run for six years, it depends on how focused and strong our running was. Buddha focused for six years, you may not be able to even in sixty years.
Generally, a worldly person continues to run slowly in many such activities throughout his life, limping from one step to another, watching the clock to wait for six years to complete. Check the time. Let us tread some more steps. Lunge or crawl some more. Crawling for six years like this will not yield anything. You will not be able to realize Bodhitva even after six births. We continue to take births and waste countless lives like this.
On the other hand, Buddha staked everything on this. He bet up his wealth, position, and prestige. He staked everything on this single quest. He offered his full body and mind to seek it out. He didn’t spare or save any single bit. His run was not half-hearted or full of mistrusts. Water turns into steam at 100 Degree Centigrade. Only the one who continues to offer his entire body-mind-consciousness to achieve realization or accomplish Sadhanas, can achieve perfect success.
Thus the penance performed by Buddha for six years destroyed the Performer. The absence of I, i.e. the performer created opportune conditions for the revolution to occur, leading the realization of Bodhitva. If we also want to initiate the realization within our life, then we should also perform Sadhana penances to destroy the sense of the Do-er. Reading about Sadhanas in books and literature initiates a basic sense of Sadhana accomplishment, but this is a mere fleeting emotion, and we turn back again into the prior state. We feel sad due to an external unhappy situation, and similarly we feel glad due to external happy conditions. The causes of our happy and unhappy emotions are external. The real joy comes from within us.
This debate continuously goes on within our mind constantly. We may seem lonely, but in reality, we are never truly alone. The life should be led like an ascetic. The ascetic doesn’t wish for anything, and does not make any prior plans. He is thankful for whatever he gets or does not get. He leaves everything to the Almighty God. He flows onto whatever direction, the Providence takes him towards. Such asceticism surrender in life definitely leads to Perfection.
With divine blessings,
Kailash Shrimali
