Anyashrayanam tyago ananyata – letting go of all supports. Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita: ananyaas chinteyeh janha paripaas – I am there for the one who is one-pointed and does not look for other supports. “I become the feet for those who do not look for crutches, I become the eyes for those who do not look for glasses.”
Loka vedeshu tadanukul aacharanam tadvirodheshu udasinta – In the world, as well as in spiritual matters, act towards that which nourishes this love, accept that which moves you in the direction of this love and be indifferent to that which is not supporting this love, because life is full of opposites. In life both things, events will happen – those that will support your hatred and destroy love, and those that will destroy hatred and support love, because the field of activity and life is full of opposite values. The same occurs in the scriptures, too – one scripture will authenticate this and another will authenticate that and if you go into all this, you may get really confused. Even in the name of dharma – righteousness, people can make a lot of mistakes. If Jesus was crucified, he was crucified since it was thought that he had been blasphemous – that he had committed a blasphemy against god.
Loka vedeshu tadanukul acharanam tadvirodheshu udasinta – if the activities in the world become an obstruction for your growth, then act skilfully. Often people prepare for pujas or ceremonies, but the preparations eat up all their time. So when they actually sit for meditation, their minds are caught up in insignificant little things.
All the preparations have been in vain. Your aim is to sit and meditate, but you are upset because someone next to you is snoring. So the whole exercise has become futile. You then sit in an angry mood and cannot meditate. So when opposites come your way, take it with ease. Be indifferent. If you are sitting for meditation and someone is irritating you, take it lightly. Otherwise, there is no point in sitting with your eyes closed, getting irritated. Just be indifferent to anything that seems to be opposing it.
If you can be in love, be in love. If you cannot be in love, at least be indifferent. Don’t swing to the opposite of love, that is hatred. You cannot force your self to love something that you don’t like, but you can definitely be indifferent to it. Don’t force yourself to love things which you cannot. Just be indifferent and wait. It is a great secret – indifference. But you know, indifference will irritate people more than hatred! If you hate somebody, they are at ease, but if you are indifferent, they will feel uncomfortable. To anything that appears to be a conflict, indifference is the solution. Conflict has never brought joy. Even in the time of the Ramayana, Rama fought the war and there was no joy later, only misery. Same with Mahabharata– after the war there was no joy.
Conflicts cannot bring peace.
Whether solved or resolved - there is no question of peace.
With indifference, there is hope.
Loka vedeshu tadanukul acharanam – behave in such a manner that it is supporting to love and be indifferent to anything that appears to be opposing love. Again, love is not just an emotion, it is not being mushy-mushy. Love is the innermost strength, love is the force that you are. We depend so much on the expression of love. This is not ananya bhakti. If you are dependent on an expression or a gesture from someone, to feel love for them, I tell you that you are mistaken and you have not grown. If you can see love beyond expressions, beyond the physical gestures, if you can peep into the Being, you can see that there is no other – there is no difference, there is only absolute oneness. That is ananyata. Like when the child is sometimes cranky, rebellious, the mother sees beyond the expression. That ‘connectedness’ of you with the divinity, with the whole world, with the creation makes you perfect, makes you stable, makes you intoxicated, makes you fulfilled. Otherwise you go with a lack consciousness, with a craving - “I want, I want.”
Excerpts from the book An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar www.artofliving.org