From Bondage to Freedom

The moment you make a decision you are drifting; you are changing track. The decisions that you make depends on the options that you have. The options are in your mind in the form of thoughts. You pick up a thought and act or not act on it. The thoughts that you have today depends on your birth and your birth in not in your control. You cannot choose your parents or the family or the environment in which you will be born. This is decided by existence or God or Nature, whatever you may call it. Today If I am an engineer, the Idea of being an engineer must have come from my parents or from the education that was provided to me by my parents. The thought must have come to me from somewhere outside, which depends on the environment in which I was born and my birth was not decided by me. So whatever I do, it is the decision of creation or existence or God. So we see that we remain confined to our small world. This is the case with everyone of us. We are bound by our world in which we were born. And we keep circling within our small worlds. We are limited within our small worlds. Our actions are limited by our thoughts and our thoughts are limited by our births. We are constantly drifting, but drifting within our worlds. Whatever we do, we are confined to our world. In the modern times, our small world is the whole world because we all are connected. We know what someone else is doing, who may be half the world away. We can get ideas and thoughts from someone else who is half way around the world. Whatever we do, we are as if chained to our own worlds. This is the case with all the people in this world. Each one of us is acting according to the thoughts they have. All of us being born in the same connected planet have similar thoughts and we act according to our thoughts. Millions of people have similar thoughts and when so many people are acting on similar thoughts using their will power (only when your will is acted on a thought there is action), they are bound to clash with each other and there is bound to be conflict. There is bound to be suffering. Someone will win and someone will lose. No one can always win. There has to be loss and one cannot win all the time. This is the wheel of the world and it is dangerous. Because of this the world is made of opposites – Happiness and sorrow, of victory and defeat, of good and bad. This is why our lives are full of both. One cannot say that one will always be a winner and one will always be happy. This is the case with everyone. To an ordinary man, he is born into bondage. Being in bondage he suffers. He cannot get out of this bondage.

If you look closely, every day we make decisions are all decisions are for ourselves. We all want to earn money, we all want to have a good position in society, we want power, we want to be famous, we want to do great business, we want a better job, we want a good house, and we want a peaceful family, a good husband, a good wife, good children and a lot more. In every action of us there is an “I” or “ME” included. There cannot be action without this “I”. Everything that we do is for ourselves. The decisions we make every day is because of this “I”.  There are millions of people in the planet, working for their “I”. This “I” makes us act. This “I” makes us move forward in life. And all these “I”s are bound to clash with each other. There is suffering, there is conflict, and there is killing and violence. The world moves because of all the “I”s otherwise there would be no movement. The wheel of the world moves because all the “I”s and this wheel is dangerous. It creates enormous suffering for all the people.

There are two ways to freedom from this bondage.

• One, if you decide NOT to drift at all. You decide not make a decision at all. You decide once and for all not to act on your thoughts, whatever your  thoughts may be, whatever may be the source of your thoughts, and you will  not act. You leave the world, and become a recluse. You do not care about this world – you do not care about your parents, wife, children or husband. You do not care about anything at all. You do not care about what will  happen to them if you leave them forever. You say “I don’t want anything” and leave. In this path, only the “I” remains and everything else is renounced. If you are the “I” and the world is “you” – the “You” or everything other than “I” vanishes, leaving only the pure “I”. If you see closely using your intellect, then you will know that the “I” exist because of the “You”. Without the “You” there is no “I”. So, when the “You”  is completely removed by slowly renouncing the “You”, when the “You” is no  more, the “I” also vanishes – leaving you enlightened – leaving you completely Free. You become a Buddha.
• Two, if  you decide to drift as and when required as if the drift is being done by      Creation or existence. You will provide no resistance to drift. This is  just the opposite of the first method. You decide to be in this world, drift and change course. You care about everything, do everything; you use your will to act on your thoughts. But if you act on all your thoughts then there s bound to be conflict. There is bound to be suffering. What to do then? The problem is not because of your action, but on the results of the actions. The results cause suffering – the results make you win or lose, the results make your victorious or make you a failure. The results will make us drift in life. In this method, you have to leave the results in the hands of God. In this method, you will just drift and not bother about drifting.

If we are being driven by god, then all we have is free time. The journey is his responsibility, ours. We do not know where we will drift, where we will change course. He will drive us to our goals; we need not bother to reach. If you look back, we have been drifting along all our lives and the point where we are today is because of all the drifts that had taken place in the past. So, we have lots and lots of time. Time does not matter. One need not be in a hurry at all. Even if you are late, it does not matter. Even if you miss something it does not matter. For example, in a 10 hour journey, what do you do? You may read; you may listen to music; you may chat with other co passengers or with anyone travelling with you. You are free to do whatever you want. You may look out of the window and enjoy the scenery. You may go to sleep. Whatever you do, it is not going to affect the journey. Because whatever you do, you are journeying in the right direction. No time is going to be wasted.  You need not worry about what will happen if you do not do what you are doing during the journey. You may do something or not do something – it does not matter.

Similarly in life, whatever you do, no time is going to be wasted because you are driven by God. If you cry, you are not wasting time, if you read or if you celebrate and enjoy your journey, you are not wasting any time.

If the results are in his control, then we are free from the results, then the responsibility is on His shoulders or on existence. He will take you wherever He has to take you and He is will definitely take you.

If you are crying – you are passing time by crying

If you are angry – you are just passing time by being angry

If you are doing business – you are passing time by doing business

If you are driving – you are still passing time by driving

If you are working – you are still passing time by working

If you are sad – you are passing time by being sad

If you are depressed – you are passing time by being depressed

If you are celebrating and rejoicing – then you are passing time by celebrating

If you are serious about something or someone – you are just passing time by being serious

If you are fighting with someone – then you are passing time by fighting with that person

If you do not do anything – even then you are passing time by doing nothing

When you are passing time, you are just passing time, there is no responsibility on you – you can take work as a play, whatever you do – and when you are passing time, without any responsibility of results – you can celebrate.

All you do is just pass time – you have nothing else to do – there is no hurry – your arrival will be decided by him – and in the mean time you have to pass your time. And while in a journey we always enjoy. At least the journey is enjoyed – we do not know what will happen when we arrive – but relax and enjoy the journey because we are not driving the bus or train, we do not have to bother about the route, we do not have to bother about whether we are in the right direction or not. We know that we will arrive and this makes us relax. Remember that this journey is an unending journey so there is rejoicing and celebrating all our lives. There is freedom all our lives – no matter where we are and what we do.

In the process of being drifted, understand that God is drifting you, this drifting is your journey and during the process – celebrate and enjoy – whatever you are doing, wherever you are – just enjoy – know that what you are doing does not matter and wherever you are does not matter.

Do whatever you are doing, but change a little in the way you think. You have to keep in mind one line “NOT ME, BUT THOU ART”.

You do whatever you do, but know that it is not for you that you are doing this but for the other.

• If you are getting married – You marry for not your happiness, but for the happiness for your spouse.
• If you are earning money – you are not earning money for yourself or for your happiness but for your family and others
• If you buying a house – you are buying it for the happiness for your family for the safety and security of your family
• If you are working – you are working for the betterment of your family – to give them a good life
• While taking decisions, while acting on your thoughts – know that all your actions will be for the other and not for yourself
• If you are struggling – know that you are struggling for others and not yourself

It will be as if, you are slowly removing yourself from the picture, leaving behind the conflict. It is as if you are making the wheel of the world move freely by not being a block and getting crushed in between. It is as if you are making the life of others easier by not being a block on their way. It is nothing but just a change in the thought process. In this case, you put yourself last and others ahead of you. This will help to slowly do away with the “I”. The “I” will slowly vanish and you will be left with only “you”. And when the “I” vanishes, the “you” also vanishes leaving you enlightened – you become a Buddha.

Conflict Is Inevitable

(The Picture above shows Lord Krishna Blowing the Conch as a gesture accepting conflict which is inevitable. It was when the their opponent blew the conch indicating the start of the battle, the Lord also blew his conch showing that he also accepts the challenge of the war)

We all are waiting for the day when all our problems will vanish forever and we will live happily ever after. We all are waiting for the day when we will relax and enjoy our life. We all are waiting for this day. All our work, our tensions and our hurry are because this day is not coming soon enough. We keep questioning why this day does not come. We tend to put an end to our problems as soon as possible and relax and enjoy. We are not happy till all our problems are over. We want to earn money quickly, we want have a car, buy a house, get married, have children and reach the day when there will be no problems.

Objective of an ignorant man is to be secure so that he can relax, enjoy and have fun. The goal of an ignorant man is happiness. The Goal of an ignorant man is to have a life without problems and conflict.

The man of knowledge knows that conflict is inevitable. Conflict gives rise to problems and tensions. A man of knowledge knows that life without problems and conflict is asking for the impossible. The day when all our problems will vanish will never come. It is for sure.

Your presence if this world is a conflict for all other people in this world. Not only for the people but for entire existence you are a conflict.

• The moment you were born your parents were happy but for you they struggle. Their entire struggle is for you. Just think about it. Your mother and father will worry about you even when you have grown up. You are making them worry, you are making them struggle.
• When you go to school your teacher has to struggle to teach you. Had you not been there at all, she would have been correcting one number less answer sheets. You have increased their work.
• Because you are in school, there is more competition among students. You have increased the competition.
• If you stand first in class, then you have already taken the place of the guy who was standing first in class. You made him struggle.
• When in any competition, you being a participant increase the competition. Make all other competitors struggle more. You stand on their way, knowingly or unknowingly.
• When in college, you take up the seat of another guy and make him struggle.
• While appearing for a job interview, you take away someone else’s job. You make the other person struggle.
• You eat so you kill animals or plants for your food. You make them struggle.
• You breathe and reduce the oxygen in the atmosphere
• You walk on the road, you kill so many insects
• You drive, create pollution and so many people fall sick and get killed.
• You have to maintain your body, you are creating s struggle for yourself as well.
• When you get married, you are creating a struggle for your spouse; he or she has to care for you and be a wife or a husband and carry out the responsibility. You create struggle for your spouse as well. Both of you are blocking the flow of life for each other.

There is conflict even if you do not want it to be there. There is conflict and struggle from the time you were born. You were born into conflict. It cannot be avoided. In one way or the other, you want or you don’t, you are standing on the way of someone else. As long as you are on this earth, you are standing as a block on someone else’s way.  And when you stand on the path of someone or something, it is bound to create conflict. They are bound to revolt and create problems for you. At every moment they will attempt to throw you out of their path. They feel that if they throw you out, their life will be smooth, but they do not know that it is not possible because they being a part of this universe are also standing on the way of someone or something and are creating problems and conflicts for them. They are also bound to create conflict. Each and every person, no matter whoever he is – is creating conflict with existence. This is the truth. This needs to be accepted.

Now since you are standing on their way, they are creating problems for you. They want to throw you out. Not only other humans but entire existence wants you to vanish forever. You are a block in the flow of life. You are like a wall standing on the way of life. This is bound to happen. The whole existence will be creating problems for you as long as you are a part of this universe because you are creating problems and blocks for existence.

But we try to find peace in this world. We try to find happiness. We want to relax. We want enjoyment. We all are waiting for the day when all our problems will vanish forever and we can do whatever we want. We are so much mistaken. The entire struggle for happiness is not possible as long as you form a part of existence. We all are misdirected. We can only find complete peace when we are not in this universe. We can find peace the day we are enlightened. Not before that. So the entire struggle for happiness and relaxation is futile. One can never find happiness till the time he is enlightened, because conflict is an inevitable part of existence. Everyone and everything are struggling for peace. Yes – struggle has to be there, but it has to be in the right direction. The struggle has to be for the achievement of Nirvana and not happiness and pleasure. Happiness and pleasure is not possible.

There are two ways out of this conflict. The two ways are diametrically opposite but they lead to the same goal.

• You become a “nobody”. You stand on the way of none. You facilitate the work of others and not form a block on their way. You do not form a block in the flow of existence. You leave everything and become a recluse. You form a burden on no one. By the time you are reading this, you are already entangled in this world. You are as if tied by many ropes with people and things and now it will require huge effort and a Gigantic Will power to break all the ropes and leave the world and be a recluse. In the process of breaking the connections, you will create various conflicts with all the people who are connected with you. You have a family; you have a wife, children, and parents. There is loads of responsibility on your shoulders. Being a recluse and to reach a state where there is no conflict will create loads of conflict and struggle. So we see that conflict cannot be ruled out. Even in the process of being a recluse, conflict is bound to be there. There is no escape. Even in this method, there will be conflict till the time you reach nirvana or complete enlightenment. Also remember that enlightenment is bound to happen. Today or tomorrow it will happen.

 

• The second method is ACCPETING THE CONFLICT.  Since you know that conflict is inevitable even if you want to be a recluse and leave the world, the only way is to be a part of the conflict. Accept the conflict, accept the trouble and struggle, accept that there is misery, and accept that there is no happiness or relaxation. Accept that there is no enjoyment and fun. Accept that there is no end to problems till the time you attain enlightenment. Understand that even if you die, you will again be born and be a part of this ever existing conflict. Accept that there is no escape.

The trouble is there because we do not accept the fact that conflict is inevitable. It is bound to be there, whether you are a recluse or whether you take part in the activities of the world.

This is the message of the Bhagawad Gita. This is want Lord Krishna says. Arjuna was afraid of the Battle. He was looking for peace and did not want to kill is relatives. He wanted to escape and become a recluse. But the Lord told him, that even if you escape, the conflict is bound to be there, so is better that you accept this fact and take part in this conflict. You take part is this world. Be a part of this world and take part in the battle.

If you see the picture above you will see that the Lord is blowing the conch. This blowing of the conch is a gesture of acceptance. The other side blew the conch first and in reply, the lord also blew the conch accepting the challenge. The lord convinced Arjuna that conflict is inevitable – and so he should take part in the war and do his duty.

So you accept the challenge and take active part in the activities of this world. The following points are some points for understanding that will help you walk the path accepting the conflict which is inevitable.

• Understand that relaxation will never happen. You will not be able to relax as long as you are a block to others which you invariably are. Never think to one day relax. Think of being on your toes all the time.
• You think that you would relax when all your problems are gone forever. Your problems will never go forever till the time you are a conflict and a block on the way of others. Never think that your problems will go and never try to put all your problems to an end at once so that you can relax and be happy. This is asking for the impossible.
• Live your life as if there is no relaxation and happiness – just work and then relaxation happens on its own. But if you are not hankering for relaxation and are always working, you will slowly notice a subtle relaxation slowly growing from within. Even amidst tremendous activity, you will be able to find subtle relaxation from within. This relaxation is should be the goal and this will happen.
• Understand that relaxation cannot happen easily. Most of us cannot relax. To work is easy for us than relaxation. You must have noticed that we cannot even sit quietly for a little time. We are always in motion. Working is easier, so we should start with work, which is easy and end in relaxation. We should start with what is easy.
• Understand that we want happiness, we want relaxation and in the pursuit of happiness, enjoyment and relaxation, we get nothing but only tension. This is because happiness and enjoyment are not possible as long as we are a part of the conflict and we are invariably a part of the never ending conflict.
• Have you noticed that we working so hard? What for?  – Because we want to relax and be happy one day. We all are waiting for the day when all our problems will be gone forever. We are in a hurry because we want that day to come fast enough. And that day never comes; this gives us a lot of tension.
• So Live as if there is no happiness, enjoyment and relaxation. One day amidst tremendous activity, tension and frustration, relaxation and joy will grow from within. This will be our real achievement.
• We all have one goal that is to be happy one day. To have enough money one day and no problems. This is the greatest folly. Our only goal should be to accept the struggle and conflict. We wait for the day, when there will be no problems and worries. This waiting is the cause of all our misfortune. This is not the truth. Happiness is not our goal. It will never happen. This waiting strains us. All our hurry and work is to reach the day as quickly as possible. But his is not possible.
• Can you force yourself to sleep? NO. Similarly you cannot force yourself to be happy or relax forever. Happiness and relaxation can only happen from within when you immerse yourself in tremendous activity accepting the challenge and facing the conflict.
• Understand that no relaxation and no happiness is the normal state. When you are unhappy or you are not able to relax, know that this is the right thing. Know that you are in the right path.
• The day we wait for, the day of happiness and relaxation and enjoyment comes and goes away in no time. It is again the same thing. It is again the same rush. All days of happiness, if it is not from within will pass away even before you know. So do not wait for them.
• From Monday onwards, we wait for the weekend so that we can relax, but the weekend passes in a blink of an eye, and even before we know it has arrived, it is already passed. So do not wait for the day of happiness, it will pass.
• We all are waiting for results of our actions. We wait because we are waiting for happiness. This is the folly. Because this day will never come. Even if it comes, it will go away in no time. We all are always waiting for something to happen; some miracle to happen that will make us happy. This waiting strains us. Do not wait for results of your actions.
• If you are not waiting for results, if you are not waiting for happiness, enjoyment and relaxation, then the results, whether positive or negative will not matter. So delete the word relaxation from your dictionary and work all day and night and never bother about the results.
• When you do not bother for the results it means that you are not waiting for happiness. This way you become a real karma yogi. You hanker for results because you want to be happy. If your goal is not to be happy, you are not bothered about results. If for you – Unhappiness is OK, then you are not bothered about results.
• Understand that for a karma yogi, the actions and results do not clash; they are on two different levels. On one level a karma yogi acts and in another level things keep happening. They do not mutually interfere.
• When you are unhappy tell yourself that this is the normal state and when you have no time to relax and enjoy, tell yourself that you do not want to relax.
• Start working and give yourself such a momentum and never stop till the two levels of action and results become separate and eventually the lower layer vanish.
• Pick up a goal and do not stop. Do not care about happiness, relaxation. Do not think that the actions that you are doing will do you any good. Do not think that the results of your actions will bring you happiness.
• Let all other things, including all your problems be in one plane and you actions in another plane interfered by none.
• When in a problem, do not wait for the day when you will relax when your problem is done away with. But work to solve the problem.
• Whenever you think about happiness and enjoyment, tell yourself that you are not looking for happiness, enjoyment and relaxation. Know that these things are not possible.
• Your work momentum should be such that it can crush the block of your emotions. So start working and develop a momentum that can crush everything that comes on the way.
• Understand that a momentum of work has to be developed and one has to rise to a level of action, where nothing interferes. Such a person, who stays in the level of pure action, is devoid of problems.

The Idea is to accept the fact that there is struggle, there is conflict and there is no relaxation, enjoyment and happiness. And you being a part of this world will have to take part in the struggle. This way a subtle peace and relaxation will grow from within. This peace that grows from within will be permanent and will never go no matter what you do. This way you will become a perfect Karma Yogi.