Children, spirituality is the science of life. Through spiritual knowledge, we will be able to face each situation in life with the right attitude, and gain the strength to overcome challenges, crises and weaknesses. It is not enough to learn many spiritual principles, give talks, and advise others.
Those principles must become part of our life. They must express themselves in our actions. The way we look at others, the way we walk, the way we sit, and the way we behave—all these should reflect spiritual knowledge.
Students generally sit for examinations scheduled to take place at a certain date and time. But the true test of a student’s caliber is in how he performs on a pop quiz.
Amma remembers a story. A cohort of students in a Gurukula had completed their education. In order to obtain the certificate, they had to pass one more examination conducted by the Guru. As the students were hurrying to the Guru’s hermitage to take the final exam, they passeda narrow lane strewn with thorns.
Some of the students cursed their fate and stepped over the thorns. Others kept to the side of the lane, taking care not to step on the thorns. But one humble student told the others, “These thorns might prick the feet of people passing this way. It is still bright now but dusk will soon set in. Once it is dark, it will be difficult to find the thorns. If all of us work together, we can clear away the thorns in no time.”
But no one was willing to help. “The exam is going to start soon. If we’re late, the Guru will be displeased. We need to reach his hermitage soon.” Saying so, the students hurried away.
The lone disciple started picking up and throwing away the thorns. He did not stop even when the thorns pricked his hands. As soon as he had cleared the last thorn, he felt someone raising him up by his shoulders. It was the Guru.
He hugged the disciple warmly and said, “It was I who scattered the thorns on this road to test all of you. You are the only student who passed the test!”
What is the essence of this story? The other students were more concerned with the kind of questions that the Guru might ask and with the answers to those questions. Their learning had not illumined their lives. But this disciple had transformed his life with the knowledge he acquired.
The core of spirituality lies in putting others before oneself instead of being concerned with ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ and thus gaining a more expansive heart. One begins to see the problems of others and to feel their pain as one’s own.
In truth, by removing the thorns from another’s path, one is really spreading flowers on one’s own path. One need not pave one’s own path with flowers; nature herself will do so. It is not through words that a good disciple answers the Guru’s questions, but through living. Hence, negative tendencies and selfishness will fall away.
It is only when the outer shell of the ego breaks open that we can find the true ‘I’ within. Once we find the true ‘I,’ we will see the Self in everything. Our life will thus become fulfilled.