Friday, August 14, 2009

The Journey Within

The moment a man attains maturity and seeks an answer to the meaning of life, his search engine for the “self” starts. The myth harbored during the youth that one can achieve all that one aspires through hard work and persistent pursuits is shattered when the realization comes that man can only fulfill some of its wishes and desires, while others are beyond his reach. He ponders why he cannot attain for what he truly works for. His inner self speaks to him that there is a Power much greater than him to whom he has no recourse. He is at HIS absolute mercy. Then his inner journey for finding that Power and knowing more about HIM begins. This is a turning point in the life of an individual.

He may become a seeker, thinker, philosopher, religious or spiritual person. He is then keen to be aware of his origin and destination-- about the genesis of creation and decreation. From where we come, why we do what we do here and where we go to, bothers him. Why the world is split between you and me? The duality in the world of mind and Maya is experienced. Mystery of life startles him. Concept of Justice appears to be elusive, while he feels that demagogy and deception thrives. Such a predicament leads to self introspection. This is a step forward in the journey of the Self.

For resolving this riddle he tries to read and understand more. The more he knows, he is gripped by the feeling that less he knows. The more he has, the feeling he gets that he has less and a little. The “more” appears to be “less” and for the “less” he is anxious to have “more”. Predicament of opposites cause confusion. He realizes that so called opposites in life and Nature are harmonized phenomenon as days and nights. Day comes out from the womb of night and night out of the deepness of the day. A day does not represent “more” and a night does not mean “less”. The one and many is a projection of illusion. The principle of ONENESS permeates in his consciousness. This is the beginning of the primary level of understanding.

For appreciating this school of thought of opposites in life and the conundrum of creation, he embarks on an exploratory inner journey in his mind and soul. He tries to walk a few steps on this path and realizes that he has reached nowhere. He knows no direction, does not have any cruising speed, or awareness of intermediate coordinates or milestones and unaware of destination. It is just like trying to fly in air without an experienced pilot. Without the pilot, the plane cannot take off. A journey to Infinite needs the services of the pilot who knows the Infinite. Necessity of a perfect spiritual Master who can take control of his physical, mental and spiritual inquisition is felt. This is the most important inner transformation of the person who is a sincere seeker of the Truth.

He, now, takes shelter under the guidance of a Guru so that He might understand the self and the Self. Sometimes he gets the benefit of company of Gurus or Teachers who have attained relatively higher level of consciousness who lead him to state of that plane of Knowledge where that Guru belongs. But what next? He realizes that with the knowledge at his command he still cannot attain the Infinite state to which his self belongs to. He might feel relief by peace of mind, see a lot of miracles, yet he knows that the real miracle is the rarest happening of “Self Realization”. Nevertheless it is a significant progress in the journey inward and forward.

With the stroke of good luck and Divine Grace he is brought at the door steps of a SAINT SATGURU, who accepts him for his sincerity for the Divinity. He is told that till such time karmic load is unloaded in perpetuity, progression on the spiritual road is not feasible. This load pertains to all the karmic collections of past lives plus this life. Understanding that karmic wall and veil separates him from the reality makes him conscious of human fragility and feebleness. Awareness that only a perfect Saint alone can get rid of the Karmic Baggage makes him dependent upon the grace of the Perfect Master. The master encourages him to be in regular attendance of daily meditation and makes him wait for the moment of HIS GRACE. The moment of grace remains a great mystery. The disciple may have some flashes of being on the right road but doubts remain. He is swayed by self contradictions in spiritual endeavor. Such a seeker is then torn between the two worlds--this world in which he suffers to attain HIM and the other is the World of REALITY to which he cherishes. Emotional upheavals in the form of tears of love, hope and despair criss cross his inner self. (Even the gods yearn for such precious tears.) The concepts of karmic determination and extermination, duality, division, illusion, opposites and monotheism v/s polytheism start getting resolved as his consciousness traverses higher planes of Divinity. These are all positive indications of progress on the spiritual stratosphere. The journey is being traversed but it is not felt. This is the grace of the perfect Master.

But the lights and shades are part of any road. There is all type of traffic on highways. There are bridges and tunnels. Sometimes the speed is slow or fast. Twist and turns can be dramatic. One might lose the way, but then the milestones and blessings of the Master lead to the right road. All roads lead to somewhere and yet they never end. The end of a road is always a start of a “new road” and the Master Guru is always there to guide. The advice of all perfect Saints, Masters or Gurus for the seekers is to keep traveling on the path as the journey is interminable and infinite, for when you travel—you may not see the destination---but surely the destination is fast approaching and that is the “net result”—without being “result oriented”. So long as one remains in this mortal profile, end never comes. End is not in man’s hand—he can just be on the path. Just keep walking (within) by holding the finger of your Master, the diversions and distractions not withstanding. This is called a Journey within, but many name it as a Spiritual Journey.

2 comments:

  1. The journey within is so live. Thanks for sharing. One gets motivated by reading the facts which one is experiencing at some point or the other. And it also encourages the seeker to be on this path of spirituality.

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    1. Thanks for reminding me about the nature of life.....reading it after 12 years is yet a new experience for me too.

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