Children, many people say, “I’m not able to laugh wholeheartedly. I’m unable to open up my heart when I speak, no matter whom I speak to. I’m always sad.” When we look around us, we will see that all creatures in nature, except man, live joyfully. Trees and plants sway blissfully in the breeze. Birds chirp without a care in the world. Rivers gurgle as they flow. There is bliss all around us. Why is man alone miserable, though surrounded by so much joy?
Nature is not burdened with the weight of ego. It does not have the ‘I’ sense. Only human beings have egos. If we continue clinging to it, we will remain unhappy. If we abandon it, we will also be able to lead carefree and joyous lives. As long as we retain the egoistic ‘I’ sense, we will not be able to find true strength within. If the curtains are closed, we will not be able to see the sky outside. But if we open them, the sky will be visible. Similarly, we will behold our true self only if we get rid of the ego.
There was a sculptor who was mortally frightened of death. He tried to think of ways to escape death. Finally, he thought of a way. He sculpted 12 life-sized and life-like statues of himself. When death drew near, he stood among the statues.
When the god of death came to take the sculptor’s life away, he saw 13 identical figures. Unable to find the sculptor, the god of death stood thinking for a while. He then said to himself, “These statues are outstanding, but there is a flaw in each one.”
Hearing this, the sculptor jumped and shouted, “My statues? Flawed? What flaw?”
The god of death said, “This is the flaw,” and immediately seized the sculptor’s life.
When we think “I am the doer”, misery arises. That very thought is bondage. Whether we are doing puja or cleaning the drain, the thought, “I am doing it”, will defile the mind, and it will be difficult to cleanse such a mind.
All human beings have a strong tendency and desire to own and establish authority over anything they perceive as beautiful. This begins from childhood. Even as we get older and more mature, there is no real change in this behaviour. Whenever we see something beautiful, we immediately think, “I want to make that mine and only mine. I want to enjoy it all by myself.”
These childish thoughts are always in our mind. Like this, a misconception is born within that only by having control and authority over people and objects will we get love and happiness. In reality, it is not in controlling people and having authority over external objects, but in controlling ourselves and establishing authority over our own mind that we attain everlasting happiness, joy and freedom.
We must try to do everything as an offering to god. Only then will our mind become pure. Once we have boarded the bus, there is no need to continue carrying our baggage. We can put it down. Similarly, once we take refuge in god, we can offer the baggage of our ego to him, and thus become free of sorrow.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian
It is not in controlling people and having authority over external objects, but in controlling ourselves and establishing authority over our own mind that we attain everlasting joy and freedom.