by Sri P.C. Lahiri
What in Bengali was revealed to the Master (Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur) as ‘mene maniye cholo’, has been presented as ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ by Him in English. ‘Accept all and embrace all as verily your own Self’ is the direction to follow. The word ‘all’ is to be treated as all-inclusive in the real sense of the term. Pairs of opposites which normally govern our thoughts and actions - like good-bad, right-wrong, true-false, accept-reject― in one word ‘this and that’― have all to be accepted as the same One Self-I that I verily am in reality. The almost universally followed habit of accepting the suitable and rejecting the unsuitable has to be replaced with the habit of equal acceptance of both the suitable and the unsuitable. Accepting the unsuitable does not necessarily mean that one has to follow or imbibe the unsuitable in life. However it certainly implies that one must not degrade or reject that which is found unsuitable. For example, one may not at all be in agreement with the viewpoints, behavior or habits of another person; this though should not lead to outright degradation or rejection of that person or even cause agitation within one’s own self. The bottom line is― when faced with the unsuitable, one should not have any feelings of disturbance or contradiction within. This happens only through constant, conscious practice of ‘all acceptance, all-embrace’ in day-to-day life. In the beginning, a lot of effort may be needed to go on with this new practice given the tendency of the mind is to first reject any suggested change from routine. A lot of apparently logical arguments are brought forward by the mind against the acceptance of a new suggestion, howsoever practical and useful it may be. A person as highly qualified as Arjuna put forward seemingly logical arguments before Lord Krishna in the Kurukshetra war as to why he should not take up arms against his own kith and kin. In answer what was revealed by the Lord Sadguru not only took care of Arjuna’s mental block and ignorance, it also became the Bible of millions of spiritual seekers to this day.
With the overcoming of mental and other insinuations, the practice of ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ gets crystallized into a habit over a period of time. Once the habit gets firmly established within us through continuous practice with awareness, it becomes a part and parcel of our very being. “Acceptance under all circumstances” then becomes the very nature of the practitioner. It happens spontaneously without any effort in each and every situation, irrespective of its negative or positive impact. In other words, pairs of opposites which were the guiding principle of life, become meaningless. The practice itself gets unified and identified with the practitioner. This is when ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ becomes truly established within and without.
To begin our journey towards the realm of acceptance, a beginner’s example may help. Brushing our teeth every morning and night has become a habit for most of us. We feel very uneasy if we don’t do it. But was that the case when we were toddlers? Perhaps not! Mother (the mahaguru) urges her child to brush every morning. Reluctantly the child starts, at times even stealthily trying to avoid brushing, but the mother keeps a close watch and constantly inspires the child using various methods to go on with the practice – until it becomes acceptable to the child and ingrained as a habit. Once the child starts enjoying the fragrant and fresh clean feeling in his mouth following brushing, he continues with it on his own. This is a base-level example of the application of the science of acceptance of newer and better things in life. Par-excellence of this is the ‘Science of all-acceptance and all-embrace’ as It is the ‘Science of all other sciences’ leading to the Ultimate Realization of the Supreme Truth within and without. Sadguru, the only qualified Soul to reveal this Ultimate Science, constantly narrates the all-pervasiveness and immortality of our True Nature from all possible angles, thereby making us more aware of the Supreme I-Reality within and without. Simultaneously, He reveals the most appropriate and easiest path to regain the lost paradise. The appropriateness and easiness of the path recommended is always with respect to the times and age in which He appears. This is why He is original and does not present or follow the beaten track. The originality and uniqueness is only in the presentation, which is tailor-made for that particular age and time. The Absolute Truth itself was, is and shall ever remain the same original and unique Supreme Self I-Reality. Ironically, this is the very reason why we finding it difficult to follow Him. Any original or new presentation is rejected by the mind since it does not fall within the mind’s limited yardstick. We have discussed this point here in before.
Master says that the past is dead and that you need not worship or follow it. If you live in the present, you need not anticipate or dream about the future as well, since it shall take care of itself just as you are taking care of the present. Living in the present means and includes ‘the acceptance of the revelation from a Perfect Master who has appeared in flesh and blood in the present, for the present’. Still a question might arise in a doubt-laden mind― why should I do this? I am quite alright as it is. Master reveals ― that is because the Absolute Truth or the Supreme I-Reality that we all verily are, in essence (not in appearance) is all-pervasive and equally omnipresent in all beings and becoming. Therefore the ultimate peace and bliss for each one of us lies in getting unified and identified with that very True Nature of ours which is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. Peace and bliss achieved through any other means or in any other state where duality exists shall be temporary, illusory and reactionary. All of us, I am sure, have felt the temporariness of the high gained after some mundane achievement. The fact that it is illusory and reactionary shall also become clear if we carefully observe in the light of Sadguru’s teachings, the path that life as a whole takes after a worldly achievement.
The adoration and adulation last for a certain period. As they starts fading away, the mind-intellect-ego feels a void and hankers for something similar, again. It is the ignorance of the mind that leads us to the desire of re-experiencing only the favorable. It is unable to appreciate that the favorable and unfavorable are both temporary, and are two sides of the same coin. When we strive for the favorable, we create a cause to receive the unfavorable at some time. Now, depending on one’s mental build-up, capacity, knack, education and training (except that which is received from a Sadguru), this desire to regain prominence takes shape. The weakest of the lot resort to anything that they can lay their hands on, including all kinds of unethical and illegal means; whereas the best of the lot get inspired, work on increasing efficiency and strive for higher and bigger mundane achievement. The weakest of the lot weaken the very structure of the discipline/subject which they are pursuing, and in some cases, even the cohesive fabric of the society. To relive the euphoric illusion of an earlier achievement, without upgrading their own efficiency, they themselves suffer reactionary results as well as spread the same vibrations in the society.
Now what happens to the best of the lot? They set higher goals and pursue it with renewed vigor. Their role models and masters/coaches spur them on to be always one-up over the rest of the field. The sense of competition and distinction which is inherent in this approach gets embedded and becomes part and parcel of their life. The more the use of ego to establish a separate identity distinctly better than the rest, the less is the peace and ease one finds in life. People with high skill levels, capacity and capability to do hard work generally get name, fame and wealth in the material world. At what cost though? At the exorbitant cost of other niceties, subtleties and higher things of life which given their qualifications, they ought to be capable of experiencing. This creates a high degree of imbalance in life which is not recognized until it is too late. The superficial sparkle dazzles even the best of the lot. With the passing of time or due to any other variation of nature when that limelight is lost, they find it quite difficult to cope with it all because they are not trained to equally accept the highs and the lows. The training of being equally at peace with the ups and downs in life is invaluable and perhaps the most important of all training. Unfortunately, most of us do not recognize and accept it. This is why such training is missing from schools, colleges or any other higher curriculum. In the religious world, every one is so busy trying to establish their separate entity that they do not have any inclination to work for the all-round welfare of mankind.
The picture may not be rosy at the moment, but all is not lost. Master appeared in these times and laid the foundation for the resurgence of mankind in general, with no distinction whatsoever. We are only dreaming of “one world”, but have no clue of how to achieve it. The Science of ‘all-acceptance, all embrace’ is not based on imagination, nor is it the product of a great intellect. It is the revelation of the eternal Truth which pervades each and everything in the universe and beyond. Therefore, this Science cannot be consumed by time; infact, It is the very cause of time. Effect cannot overcome the cause. Today, mankind may not be able to appreciate it fully, but a time will come when it will be the order of the day for one and all. Even the path breaking discoveries of material scientists have taken time before garnering general acceptance. We have to be patient and absolutely firm in our faith and belief. If that is there, then devotion and dedication towards following this Science in life shall automatically come. It will not only make our lives joyous, but also those of the people around us. Let us start in our own humble but sincere way, the rest will follow. Let us try to be worthy followers of the Absolute personified Sadguru.
How is ‘all-acceptance, all-embrace’ demonstrated in the life of a perfect Soul? The best source of inspiration is a live demonstration from that enlightened One in whom has revealed this Supreme Science. I shall try to present certain events witnessed in the life of the Master which speak for themselves in the next article. I shall also share my own joyous experiences in this regard.
Salutations to the Master.
No comments:
Post a Comment