Watch and Shed
Alert living is the essence of true religiosity. We watch our reactions to various events and, then and there, learn about the forces at work in our psyche. Unnecessary inhibitions, baseless fears and false presumptions come to light as we observe our own behavior in its entirety. No book can answer the question, “What am I?” better than our direct, on-the-spot self-inspection. There is in books the peril of concepts such as ‘what I ought to be’ or ‘like whom I should be’. Concepts take us away from reality. When our mind is stuck with ideas borrowed from some book, we lack the awareness required to notice our errors in daily interactions. Somebody was absorbed in a book on non-violence. When a mosquito troubled her repeatedly, she got very annoyed and tried to hit the insect with that very book. Our scholarship is often seen to shield many an actual vulgarity in us. Lack of peace is the price that the scholar pays for keeping contradictions unresolved in his bosom. More books could be of little help.
Let us put the holy book aside, and see with heightened sensitivity what we are actually doing. How do we treat people in our daily relationships? Are we avoiding certain persons or certain topics? Do we talk with our spouse or child with a certain amount of superficiality, not willing to scratch the surface and let actuality show up?
Watching brings about startling discoveries. We see our cruelty, miserliness and manipulation in their nakedness. We shed them. A great relief follows, making life lighter. There is new energy.
Knowledge from books has more merit than any blind practice. Meditation is subtler than any scholarship. Abandoning the concern for selfish gain is much greater than meditation. Shedding brings instant peace. . (Bhagavad Geeta 12:12)
We do humble pranams to Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji – the one who showed to us great possibilities – on the occasion of his tenth anniversary of maha-samadhi, this Sunday, the 3rd of August.
Swami Chidananda