A Pilgrimage called Life---part 8

 

One is attached to the world in hate as much as he is attached to the world in love; one has to go beyond both, by neither accepting nor rejecting anything.

 

 

Abraham Lincoln once said-- “You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry”; for it is very natural for a righteous person who always tries to walk on the path of dharma to feel angry looking at the society in general—the hypocrisy of the leaders, a world of constant comparison and competition, the increasing gap between the super-rich and the poor.

 

However the Ashtavakra Gita, says:

 

Bondage is when the mind longs for something, Grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, and is pleased about something or displeased about something.

Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieves about anything, rejects anything, or holds on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything

 

So we are equally bond to this world, both in love and in hate 

 

Further, the Ashtavakra Gita says 

 

A Bhogi (who is after more and more of enjoyment) as also a yogi who is bent on renouncing all enjoyments are both qualitatively on the same plane

The minds of both are on "enjoyment' one for grasping it and the other for leaving it.

One has to go beyond both by adopting the attitude of a witness (Sakshi) i.e. by neither accepting nor rejecting.

 

 

So a person should not worry about the surroundings but concentrate on himself

 

Everyone wants a change in society, but how many are seeking a change in themselves; for the world can only change if there is a shift in consciousness, and this will happen when individuals change themselves rather than hoping for the world to change

 

“The only hope for humankind is the transformation of the individual. To change the world, you must first change yourself.”

Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

An enlightened being does not have to preach others, his very existence is a blessing to all, and where ever he is, the surroundings automatically change and he influences others without saying anything

 

I conclude by quoting another teaching from the Ashtavakra Gita

 

Those who desire pleasure

and those who desire liberation

are both common in the world.

Rare is the great soul who

Desires neither enjoyment nor liberation

 

the Ashtavakra Gita, conveys that the liberated one is he who does not seek liberation