They say that Time heals all things! In this case, Time dries out all things!! I am pleased to say that with time, I have received some dried- out- clarity into this situation.
The lessons tie into the teachings of my most beloved Guru, Sri Sri Swami Vishwananda, who told me when I took the vows of Brahmacharia (monkhood) that I should give up my worldly possessions as these would one day be taken from me, even if it would be by death itself.
He went on to say that the longer i held onto the material possessions, the more difficult it would be one day to give them up. He concluded with a cheerful smile and said that of course nobody would ever be able to take these worldly goods with them to the next world, so rather give them up whilst it remained a matter of personal choice.
The flood that tore through our home has resulted in us having to give up our some “prized” material possessions. And when meditating on this, now after a little time has passed, I am experiencing the lesson that Guruji had taught me.
Since that conversation with Guruji, I have left the order of Brahmacharia and returned to live in the outside world. As a result I have changed my perception of that beautiful insightful offered to me some 4 years ago.
As people who part take in the outside world, (including you and me) it may not be as easy to simply give up our material possessions as we may need them in order to satisfy the ego part of our personality and also to survive in the outside world.
Instead of simply giving up the worldly possessions, we should closely look at our relationship with them. By way of detachment we my still obtain freedom from these worldly possessions whilst simultaneously remaining their “custodians”. Nothing ever truly belongs to us.
For me Detachment is about being able to to live peacefully with or without the things which surround me. The ultimate test in detachment is this: If my house, my car or even my jobs gets taken away from me in a split second, will I be okay?
Detachment is about standing back and watching life go by, as a river flows past a person standing on its banks. We may still have the worldly goods in our lives, but we should remaining ever conscious that they are not who we are and that they do not define us. We are so much more!
I know these words to be true. I am grateful to God and Guru as I have a deep sense that many of my worldly possessions were washed away, and yet I lost nothing.
Amen
Dear Friend,
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to know that you are weathering the storm with grace and spiritual advancement. It is difficult for all to detach from the material world. Then, when one does that, one begins to contemplate that one must also detach from one's own physical form and all people while still loving them unconditionally.
Perhaps this is what Jesus was speaking about when he taught: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Our beloved Guru, Swami Vishwananda, has taught me that when one detaches from the material world, where Queen Maha Maya rules the illusionary world, by creating unity with the Atma, anything is possible. But to get there is a difficult road as Maya will lure one into doing whatever others are doing around one each day, and so covertly.
Swami wrote me recently: "just be now,love always. all is vanity here. maya make all dance in her tunes. so be now as now is the moment that one can change and move and be free."
God Bless. Jai Gurudev -Utpalavati