We are influenced greatly by the pleasures and pains of
daily life. By knowing this truth, can we make an effort to pause our lives and
analyze what’s going on? We do not pay attention to these ultimate realities of
life because we are afraid to face the truth. We see some people in our
communities who worked all of their lives. How is this possible to work like this,
doing the same job for 20 to 30 years? This was felt as a responsibility of the
household taking care of the family. We do not have time to think and we never
question for a moment why we are doing this? This was little easier with the
past generations but now we became more restless and impatient. Even if we have
a good job and better financial situation, still we are not happy and we
continue to struggle. We feel inadequate no matter how much we have. Some of us
worry about the kids, their education, or worry about getting better things in
life. We worry about relationships also. We stopped understanding the real meaning
of life and our responsibility as a human being. We do not see what is real and
what is not real.
In Bhagavadgita, the Lord says,
Naasato vidyate bhavo naa bhavo vidyate satah!
Ubhayorapi drusto antah anayoh tatvadarsibhih!!
The unreal has no existence; and the real never ceases to
be; the reality of both has thus been seen by the knowers of the truth.
This verse seems so simple but it has the real meaning of
life. This has the essence of whole Vedanta. The real goal of Vedanta is
understanding the meaning of this verse, applying this in daily life and experiencing
this in every aspect of life.
The society that we live in will certainly influence all of
us either partly or completely. We learned to live our lives either to satisfy
others or to be praised by someone. We think we will be happy if we attain
certain education, better financial situation or good position in the society.
When we are young education is very important. The education used to make us “learned
men” but now a days the entire goal of education has changed. We became totally restless and unhappy as consumers
of this great gift of life. Our education system is not teaching our next
generation to understand the realities of life.
Are we getting education only to earn a living?
Is this education teaching our kids to be selfish and
disrespecting elders and community around us?
Is there real wisdom in our education pattern?
This lack of wisdom reflects in our daily life. We need
better life as a whole not just a good job or being rich.
As there is lack of wisdom in our education, we also miss
the reality in our thinking. We are unable to visualize the truth in our life.
In a flowing river the water is constantly changing at a given time. But the
riverbed is constant. There is no change in the riverbed. In a similar way,
there is a reality in our daily actions that we are unable to see. This truth
will never change. If we can understand and grasp this truth behind each and every
action, we will not be influenced by the odds of life.
Marriage is the next step that lot of human beings face and
struggle with. Do we really understand the real meaning behind this sacred bond?
This part of life is so significant for three quarters of our lives. How much
emphasis is being given to this most important part of human life in our
education system? Are we preparing our kids for this phase of life? How can
they be happy if they do not understand the real meaning of marriage?
There is an inherent truth in each and every action of our
daily activities. It has been difficult to see this side of life. We are so
immersed in watching the moving images on a static screen, and we cannot
visualize the existence of a white screen behind. When the material world is
projecting images on the screen of Atman, we are not able to experience that
universal energy. But we can realize
that these images are not real and in a similar way, the objects in this world
are also not permanent. This kind of thinking can be applied in our daily life. If
we carefully analyze and study each and every aspect our life, we can visualize
the truth behind each one of them.This can be taught by a learned person. That
learned person who has experienced this truth can be called as a Guru. When we experience
this so called truth, we become that truth. Then nothing will sway us and the
difficulties in life will be challenges.
That’s why Lord Krishna says,
Avinaasi tu tadviddi yena sarvamidam tatam!
Vinaasamavyayaasya na kaschit kartumarhati!!
Know that to be indestructible by which all this is
pervaded. None can cause the destruction of that- the imperishable.
The Atman is everywhere. It pervades the whole universe and
beyond. What we see in this world is like images on the screen. There is
electricity behind a light, fan, refrigerator or a heater. Same electricity is responsible for different
functions. We have to understand the real energy behind the light, fan etc. which
is the electricity. In a similar way
there is a truth behind all the duties that we perform every day. We have to
learn visualizing the truth behind these actions.
We need to understand the real meaning behind the art of education.
We have to understand the truth behind our relationships.
We have to understand the meaning of wealth in our life.
If we learn to see this inner wisdom, we will be happy and prosperous
in our lives. We will not be influenced by the odds of life.
OM SRI SAI RAM!
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