Sellers of Spiritual Truth

You come across hawkers selling fruits or tender coconuts in the street. Some of them appear weak and sick. Are you shocked to find them so? Do you expect that they should possess all the vitamins that their products carry? Certainly it is foolish to expect a fruit vendor have all the vitamins that fruit gives us. But when it comes to spiritual vendors we always expect that they should have all the traits that they preach in their discourses. Consequently we are disillusioned sometimes when we find them contrary to our expectations. Here it is to be noted that a milkman need not be strong because he delivers you milk, the highly nutritious drink everyday. Similarly a fruit vendor need not have all the vitamins that are found in fruits. When they sell a product judge them by the utility of their product. Don’t be shocked to find a few sellers of spiritual truth devoid of the things they are talking about or selling.

Be a Zero Steeped in Sorrow

To know something one should have an ‘empty’ mind. For instance if a box is full it has to be emptied first before filling it up. Similarly a mind is to be emptied before being filled. It is a psychological feat and it cannot be termed as being ‘ignorant’. It is dynamic nothing which is equivalent to zero. It is similar to the act of adding fertilizers to the field before sowing. It is not the absence of something. But this blankness is dynamic nothing. It is similar to the status of zero. Zero is capable of converting one into hundred, thousand and so on. It borrows one and keeps it on the left side, the value increases. If it is kept on right side it’s of no use. Many a time the spiritual knowledge that is gained is kept on the right side. In other words it does not make you happier. So unless you become a zero you can not become any other thing. Similarly one who is steeped in sorrow will be able to know the value of happiness. That is the absence of sorrow leads to the absence of happiness too. Conversely the presence of sorrow gives you the ability to enjoy happiness to the full extent. Summer enhances the capacity to enjoy rain. So is sorrow, it creates happiness. ‘Be a zero steeped in sorrow’. It reminds us of Peter Ralston’s curious and paradoxical fact, “the true awareness arises from a state of nothing.” (The Book of Not Knowing)
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Master who makes you rich without giving you anything!

Who should we call our guru? Is it the one who gives us riches? Or is it the one who makes you rich? Great masters never make you rich in the usual sense. They do not show you the way to riches either. They don’t even give you the treasures. Then what is that they do? The real master is the one who tells you that you are already rich. They will make you feel rich. A master or a guru can not remove your sorrow. He can not make you happier. Unknowingly people seek the help of the Masters and gurus expecting that their problems would just vanish. Some of them do find some solace but it is not the ultimate one and more over its momentary and on some occasions it may also lead to disappointments. But the real master makes you realize that you are already happy. He would make you discover the unheard wealth of happiness which is already within. He will make you the Columbus of your own life. In other words he is not the one who would merely show you the path. He is the one who makes you realize that you are ‘the path.’ Yes he makes you rich in one sense but with out giving you anything.

Sorrow

Sorrow is an 'ununderstandable' process of creating joy. Just as summer is the only process of creating rainy season. One has to enjoy oneself in nature but be prepared for the sorrow that follows. Tears and smiles do exist together because they enrich each other. Just as summer is the mother of rainy season, a tear drop is the mother of smiles. If we hate tear drops we are denied smiles. Those who love tear drops need not pray for smiles. We always try to separate them which is not possible and also not desirable. A story doesn't have only heroes or protagonists. The presence of a villain enhances the effect of the work. we can imagine how dull a literary work would be with out conflicts. But when it comes to life we expect it to be devoid of sorrow. is it possible to have only happiness without sorrow?

Detached Attachment- Essence of Gita

Therapeutic attachment:
Another aspect sir always emphasizes is detached attachment. sir gives a simple example to explain this. While climbing up using a rope one has to hold the rope with one hand and leave the other. This process of holding and leaving the rope continues till one reaches the end of the rope. Similarly in life one has to be attached for a while as long as it gives happiness and detach oneself soon to move ahead. Sir doesn't prefer an ascetic life.Sorrow is an 'ununderstandable' process of creating joy. Just as summer is the only process of creating rainy season. One has to enjoy oneself in nature but be prepared for the sorrow that follows. Tears and smiles do exist together because they enrich each other. Just as summer is the mother of rainy season, a tear drop is the mother of smiles. If we hate tear drops we are denied smiles. Those who love tear drops need not pray for smiles. We always try to separate them which is not possible and also not desirable.

Your Body is Your Gita

The Gita is not a book of desirelessness!
But it is a book of desires!
It asks you to develop desires!
It never asks you to put an end to desires….
Now are you not shocked when you hear this?...Desirelessness doesn't mean disappearance of desires or annihilation of desires.
Desirelessness= desires minus the undesirable consequences.
What did Arjuna do after having been taught the Gita? Did he leave the desire to fight ? Or did he fight? Strictly speaking-earlier he did not have the desire to fight-now the Gita teaching developed in Arjuna the desire to fight. It is not escape from life but into life. When you touch a hot object, your body instantly leaves it. This attitude is nothing but detached attachment or therapeutic attachment. While climbing up using a rope one has to hold the rope with one hand and leave the other. This process of holding and leaving the rope continues till one reaches the end of the rope. Similarly in life one has to be attached for a while as long as it gives happiness and detach oneself soon to move ahead.

Success

His Views on Success:
Why do sometimes people fail despite their hard work?Sir says two factors are important for achieving success- Two Ks- (‘manava krishi’ and ‘madhava krupa’) your endeavor and divine blessings. That is why at times despite our efforts we fail for want of one.Further one should be submissive to reach new heights. A mountaineer always bends while climbing up. A horseman also does the same while surging ahead. So the greatest achievements are not merely the outcome of hard work but the result of individual submission to the divinity.