Ranjit Kulkarni's Blog, page 17

Non-attachment is the complete self abnegation

Non-attachment is the complete self abnegation: Chapter excerpts from Karma Yoga – from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol 1. Excerpts reproduced below:

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He who in good action sees that there is something evil in it, and in the midst of evil sees that there is something good in it somewhere, has known the secret of work.

A perfect life is a contradiction in terms. Life itself is a state of continuous struggle between ourselves and everything outside.

Although a man has not studied a single system of philosophy, although he does not believe in any God, and never has believed, although he has not prayed even once in his whole life, if the simple power of good actions has brought him to that state where he is ready to give up his life and all else for others, he has arrived at the same point to which the religious man will come through his prayers and the philosopher through his knowledge; and so you may find that the philosopher, the worker, and the devotee, all meet at one point, that one point being self- abnegation.

Know that you are separated entirely from the world, though you are in the world, and that whatever you may be doing in it, you are not doing that for your own sake.

“Do not give up the world; live in the world, imbibe its influences as much as you can; but if it be for your own enjoyment’s sake, work not at all.”

To work properly, therefore, you have first to give up the idea of attachment. Secondly, do not mix in the fray, hold yourself as a witness and go on working.

When you give something to a man and expect nothing– do not even expect the man to be grateful– his ingratitude will not tell upon you, because you never expected anything, never thought you had any right to anything in the way of a return.

Nothing has power over the Self of man, until the Self becomes a fool and loses independence. So, by non- attachment, you overcome and deny the power of anything to act upon you. It is very easy to say that nothing has the right to act upon you until you allow it to do so; but what is the true sign of the man who really does not allow anything to work upon him, who is neither happy nor unhappy when acted upon by the external world? The sign is that good or ill fortune causes no change in his mind: in all conditions he continues to remain the same.

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What vs Why

“Every time I am unhappy with the work scene, Raichand calls me and gives me some pep talk,” Swami told me and Jigneshbhai over his coffee the other day. We thought maybe he was telling us how he felt like a wanted employee due to that. But it turned out that he was not happy but complaining.

When Jigneshbhai said, “Good for you,” Swami frowned and howled back, “What’s good about it? I get upset.”

Jigneshbhai and I were surprised with that.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“All that he does is provide me some carrot of some raise or bonus or promotion next year,” Swami explained. “I am fed up with those promises. And anyway, I don’t work for them.”

Jigneshbhai continued sipping his coffee with amusement.

“You may be surprised that people who work in the same profession may not have much in common,” Jigneshbhai said while sipping his coffee. “Like you and Raichand.”

“Common? We are miles apart,” Swami said in an instant.

“Birds of a feather don’t often flock together. Especially if that feather is the work they do,” he added.

Swami got interested in another one this of Jigneshbhai’s theories. Both he and I wondered why, but Swami asked it.

“Why do you think is that?” Swami asked.

Jigneshbhai broke into a smile and replied. “Because of Why.”

“Why?” Swami repeated.

“Exactly why. Because of the why,” Jigneshbhai repeated too.

Swami and I looked at each other unable to get what our wise friend was trying to say. He saw the confusion on our blank faces and explained.

“That’s because though they may be doing the same thing, why they do it is very different,” he clarified. “Their motivations are not the same.”

Swami and I pondered over what Jigneshbhai said. He continued. “If the Why are different, there is not much connect even if what they do is the same.”

“Doctors fight with each other. Lawyers can’t find anything in common. Entrepreneurs from the same industry find nothing similar in each other,” Jigneshbhai said.

“I met a lawyer last week who was more like Raichand, full of ideas extracting every penny from his client to pursue his dreams of wealth,” he added.

“I think Raichand would hire him,” Swami continued.

“Maybe they will connect better,” Jigneshbhai remarked.

“Of course, anything will be better than my connection with him,” Swami remarked and all of us broke into a loud guffaw.

“An entrepreneur I met last month ran his travel business mainly for the freedom it offered. Another entrepreneur I met at the same meet wanted to grow and sell his start-up,” he said, while Swami and I listened in.

Swami and I munched on the muffin and pondered over it.

“Don’t confuse what someone does with why they are doing it,” Jigneshbhai said.

Swami and I learned that people with a common Why may have more in common, irrespective of What they do.

I saw the wealthy old man creep up to us from the adjoining table. For a moment, I wondered why. But it was clear soon enough, when he came close to us and whispered, “What you do is your profession; Why you do it is your purpose.”

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What is Duty?

What is Duty:  Chapter excerpts from Karma Yoga – from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol 1. Excerpts are reproduced below:

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It is necessary in the study of Karma- Yoga to know what duty is. If I have to do something I must first know that it is my duty, and then I can do it.

The term “duty”, like every other universal abstract term, is impossible clearly to define; we can only get an idea of it by knowing its practical operations and results.

Birth and position in life and in society largely determine the mental and moral attitude of individuals towards the various activities of life. It is therefore our duty to do that work which will exalt and ennoble us in accordance with the ideals and activities of the society in which we are born.

No man is to be judged by the mere nature of his duties, but all should be judged by the manner and the spirit in which they perform them.

Later on we shall find that even this idea of duty undergoes change, and that the greatest work is done only when there is no selfish motive to prompt it. Yet it is work through the sense of duty that leads us to work without any idea of duty; when work will become worship– nay, something higher– then will work be done for its own sake.

Duty is seldom sweet. It is only when love greases its wheels that it runs smoothly; it is a continuous friction otherwise.

Duty is sweet only through love, and love shines in freedom alone.

The position of the mother is the highest in the world, as it is the one place in which to learn and exercise the greatest unselfishness. The love of God is the only love that is higher than a mother’s love; all others are lower.

He told me once the secret of work, “Let the end and the means be joined into one.” When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond. Do it as worship, as the highest worship, and devote your whole life to it for the time being.

It is the worker who is attached to results that grumbles about the nature of the duty which has fallen to his lot; to the unattached worker all duties are equally good, and form efficient instruments with which selfishness and sensuality may be killed, and the freedom of the soul secured.

Let us work on, doing as we go whatever happens to be our duty, and being ever ready to put our shoulders to the wheel. Then surely shall we see the Light!

It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in the world, and thus become pure and perfect.

Never will unhappiness or misery come through work done without attachment.

One must first know how to work without attachment, then one will not be a fanatic.

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The Law of Happiness

Excerpts from ‘7 Divine Laws To Awaken Your Best Self’ by Swami Mukundananda

The Law of Happiness – True happiness comes by growing from within to become a better person.

The way to be happier is not by accumulating possessions, but by becoming a better person.

The sequence for success is that ‘being’ must precede ‘doing’. We must be genuinely good before we can truly do something worthwhile.

We are more interested in changing our environment, while God is more interested in changing us.

You can literally know if a thought is holy or unholy by the feeling it generates.

Desire is the primary culprit in this triad of desire, anger and greed. It leads to contemplation of the object of our desire which in turn increases our attachment.

What happens when we try to fulfil desire? The result is greed for even more. Conversely, what happens when desire is thwarted? It gives rise to anger.

This it he unholy nexus – contemplation, attachment, desire, anger, greed – that contaminates and defiles our mind.

Trying to suppress undesirable thoughts does not work as well; rather, it backfires with more of the same.

As a spiritual practice, the goal of stopping the mind from thinking is a difficult one.

In bhakti, we dovetail our mind towards the Divine. Consequently, detrimental material desires and attachments are replaced by divine love for God.

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The Secret of Work

The Secret of Work:  Chapter excerpts from Karma Yoga – from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol 1. Excerpts are reproduced below:

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Spiritual knowledge is the only thing that can destroy our miseries for ever; any other knowledge satisfies wants only for a time. It is only with the knowledge of the spirit that the faculty of want is annihilated for ever; so helping man spiritually is the highest help that can be given to him.

Next to spiritual comes intellectual help. The gift of knowledge is a far higher gift than that of food and clothes; it is even higher than giving life to a man, because the real life of man consists of knowledge. Next in order comes, of course, helping a man physically.

Work, but let not the action or the thought produce a deep impression on the mind. Let the ripples come and go, let huge actions proceed from the muscles and the brain, but let them not make any deep impression on the soul.

Work as if you were a stranger in this land, a sojourner; work incessantly, but do not bind yourselves; bondage is terrible.

Work through freedom! Work through love! The word “love” is very difficult to understand; love never comes until there is freedom.

God is unattached because He loves; that real love makes us unattached.

To attain this unattachment is almost a life- work, but as soon as we have reached this point, we have attained the goal of love and become free; the bondage of nature falls from us, and we see nature as she is; she forges no more chains for us; we stand entirely free and take not the results of work into consideration; who then cares for what the results may be?

Do you ask anything from your children in return for what you have given them? It is your duty to work for them, and there the matter ends. In whatever you do for a particular person, a city, or a state, assume the same attitude towards it as you have towards your children– expect nothing in return. If you can invariably take the position of a giver, in which everything given by you is a free offering to the world, without any thought of return, then will your work bring you no attachment. Attachment comes only where we expect a return.

All thought of obtaining return for the work we do hinders our spiritual progress; nay, in the end it brings misery. There is another way in which this idea of mercy and selfless charity can be put into practice; that is, by looking upon work as “worship” in case we believe in a Personal God. Here we give up all the fruits of our work unto the Lord, and worshipping Him thus, we have no right to expect anything from mankind for the work we do. The Lord Himself works incessantly and is ever without attachment.

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Bheeshma: Vow – Determination or Stubbornness?

Now if one were to think that things were fantastic in heaven so far, one may be forgiven to think that they get even more fantastic on earth.

One would think all the effort that Bheeshma went through to get the three princesses for Vichitravirya and in the process, preordain his own death through the wrath of Amba, would lead to some substantial gains, at the very least. The irony of the epic is that there are fantastic twists and turns at critical junctures, most of them with amazing backstories and this was one of those points.

It turned out that Vichitravirya, for whom this entire swayamvar episode had been orchestrated, did not live much longer after his marriage to Ambika and Ambalika. He died of an unexplained disease leaving the kingdom of Hastinapur not only kingless but also heirless. Bheeshma, who had taken the vow for his father Shantanu, and Satyavati, for whom the King Shantanu had allowed his illustrious son to live a life of celibacy and service were the only ones left alive. The children of Satyavathi were no more. But Hastinapur needed a king, and even more important than that, required a heir. Bheeshma was the only man to whom Satyavati looked towards as both.

Here it is important to put some context to the culture of Vedic times. The practice of niyoga as part of which a queen was allowed to beget progeny from other revered men, in the absence or death of the king, was common and dharmically accepted. It was probably constituted as early or untimely death of men in war or disease wasn’t uncommon, often leaving kingdoms without heirs. And the brother of the king was next in line not just to the throne after the king died, but also the natural and normally accepted choice to beget progeny from the king’s queen. It must be borne in mind that this was more like an on-loan act of service for begetting progeny. Or if one were to have a somewhat closer parallel in modern times, similar to a surrogate father due to lack of other available options. It was not considered an act of promiscuity or anything indicative of an illicit relationship. For all practical purposes, the biological father was deemed irrelevant, and the child was considered to be the son of the dead king and queen.

Given that context, Satyavati approached Bheeshma with the first option of taking over as the king straightaway. It was a national emergency of sorts, and a king was required urgently. Who better than Bheeshma for the throne? It was natural for Satyavati, in all goodwill, to think this way. But Bheeshma argued against it, saying that he had taken the vow of sacrificing his right to the throne, and serving whoever was the king. It would be morally and ethically inappropriate for him to take over just because the circumstances changed and no one, as of now, appeared to be available.

Satyavati then gave him the second option of begetting a son from Ambika and Ambalika, at least for the purpose of creating a heir for the future of the kingdom. Bheeshma refused this option too, citing his vow of lifelong celibacy. It was not with the intention of not taking responsibility. He had taken the vow of celibacy, and again argued that just because he seemed to be the only realistic option as of now, he cannot take advantage of the situation and break it.

If one were to take a step back and see the situation, Bheeshma found himself in circumstances where the throne was there for the taking for him. Not only was it available, but it was necessary for someone as capable as him to take it up. Secondly, in the absence of a heir, the stage was set for him to either enter into a marriage himself, or, at the very least, beget progeny through the queens of the deceased king. On top of this, one may argue that the circumstances in which he had taken the vow had changed drastically and were mostly irrelevant now. The purpose when the vow was taken was to protect the children of Satyavati, and to satisfy her conditions of marriage to Shantanu. Neither were her children alive, nor was anyone else a threat to the throne. Moreover, Satyavati herself requested Bheeshma to take up either the throne or marry or beget children. If there was any circumstance in which Bheeshma could have broken his vows, this was the one.

But despite that, he did not. Was he determined to go down the tough path treating this as a test of his intent? Was he honest in letter and spirit? Or was he needlessly stubborn and impractical? One can argue both ways in today’s world, but it is, without doubt, another example of the extreme adherence to dharma that Bheeshma displayed under hugely trying conditions.

Be that as it may. But then, Bheeshma’s refusal to budge led to a set of what might appear to be fantastic events and revelation of amazing backstories. Left with no option, Satyavati had to find some way out.

That led to her revealing a backstory to Bheeshma that she hadn’t told even her father or husband.

It turned out that prior to her marriage, as advised by her father, Satyavati was asked to provide the service of rowing travellers across the Ganga. Remember that she was part of the Matsysa kingdom and lived on the shores of the Ganga. This service of rowing was said to help her find a suitable husband. In one such rowing episode, the passenger was the enlightened sage Parashar. On that sojourn, he got a divine calling that the Lord had sought that exact time to be born on this earth in the form of a renowned and wise person who would create a legacy of knowledge for generations to come. Parashar requested Satyavati to be the instrument for such a glorious birth as the time was opportune and auspicious. Satyavati, being the unmarried damsel, found herself hesitating and even raised it with the sage.

She expressed her worry that in the event of she accepting union with the sage Parashar for this, no king would marry her in the future. Parashar promised her that, with his divine powers, he will ensure that there would be no signs of this event on her body and not only that, but she would be blessed with a divine fragrance that would attract the most powerful king of the era to her. Satyavati provided permission to sage Parashar who created an island with cloud mist cover around it, so that no one would see them. Out of that union was born the sage Dwaipayana Ved Vyas whose purpose was to spread knowledge for eternity. It did turn out that Ved Vyas was not an infant who needed any caring on birth, but took to his calling immediately, leaving Parashar and Satyavati to be just the vehicles of his birth, and, therefore, to get on with their lives.

Now this may sound fantastic but that is what Satyavati depended upon when she found herself in the desperate situation in search of a king and heir to her husband’s kingdom. She told Bheeshma that she would call upon Ved Vyas, her son so to speak, to do the needful, as he had promised to help her anytime she needed it. Bheeshma was happy that a solution had presented itself and in a sense, beyond the literary, it was the glory of the Lord that saw him through the most severe of tests of his vows.

When Satyavati called Vyasa for this help, he said he will need some time as he was unkempt and ugly having spent most of his life in the forests and mountains as a sage. But Satyavati insisted that there was no time to lose and whatever needed to be done had to be done here and now. Vyasa agreed hesitantly and Satyavati went to prepare Ambika and Ambalika for the ordeal.

As discussed earlier, this was a normal practice in those times and the queens were OK to go ahead. But the minor problem that eventually might be said to have caused major problems in the future was Satyavati didn’t tell the queens who the man was, except that it was your brother-in-law. Now, Ambika and Ambalika knew only one brother-in-law they had. They were happy that their brother-in-law Bheeshma would beget progeny for the kingdom through them, as per prevailing customs, and waited accordingly to fulfil their duty.

One must bear in mind that for the sage Ved Vyasa this was not an act of desire but a service to his mother in need of help to beget a progeny. Therefore, while it may sound fantastic, the context is important to be borne in mind.

Accordingly, Ambika was the first that Vyasa attended to. Expecting Bheeshma, when Ambika saw the unkempt sage, she found it hard to go through the ordeal. To somehow tolerate it, she closed her eyes and the result, as per Vyasa and his powers was that the son would be fit in all respects except his eyes. Satyavati got worried on hearing that and requested Vyasa for help one more time with Ambalika this time. It would be unfortunate if Hastinapur had to live with a blind king, hence another option would be necessary.

In the meantime, Ambika told Ambalika whom to expect and that it’s not Bheeshma. Despite that, when Vyasa came to her chamber, little did she realise that his physical appearance was even below her worst expectations. Looking at the thin, emaciated sage, her face turned pale and, as a result, Vyasa reported that the son born out of this union would be pale. Satyavati was still not happy and asked Vyasa for one more option, this time again with Ambika.

Now, inside the chambers, the sisters together decided that they have had enough with this ugly man, not knowing that he was the revered sage, and sent their maid servant instead. The maid servant instantly recognised the sage Vyasa and served him by washing his feet and being of service in line with his stature irrespective of his physical appearance. Thereafter, Vyasa reported that the son born out of that union would be wise and learned like him, but born in a non warrior clan due to his mother.

Satyavati found that this series of events were turning out to be a disaster of sorts. Even after three attempts, the outcome were not to her satisfaction. So she requested Vyasa again. But this time, Vyasa refused and said, as a sage and as her son, he had done enough and wasn’t allowed to help any further. Now, Satyavati and the kingdom will have to live with whatever has happened, as that was their destiny.

Now even in these circumstances, Satyavati looked at Bheeshma. All the three begotten progeny had some problem or the other. It was still possible for Bheeshma to either take the throne, or marry someone else, or beget appropriate progeny for Hastinapur through the queens. But all the three options were again out of question due to Bheeshma’s strict adherence to the vows.

Eventually, Bheeshma and Satyavati had cast the destiny of Hastinapur in stone. And because it was Dwaipayana Ved Vyasa who had a role in orchestrating it, one might say that it was the will of the Lord. At literary levels, all of this might sound fantastic and out of the world. But at the moral ethical level, it demonstrates the strength of Bheeshma’s character for others to learn from, despite being exposed to the most trying circumstances. And at the spiritual level, it shows the hand of the Lord in orchestrating everything that happened. One can say that at a spiritual level, Bheeshma played the role of that instrument to perfection with the future in mind, aligned with the Lord’s overall plan.

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Karma and its effect on character

Karma and its effect on character:  Chapter excerpts from Karma Yoga – from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol 1. Excerpts are reproduced below:

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Work for work’s sake.

If a man works without any selfish motive in view, does he not gain anything? Yes, he gains the highest. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practise it.

In the first place, a man who can work for five days, or even for five minutes, without any selfish motive whatever, without thinking of future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant. It is hard to do it, but in the heart of our hearts we know its value, and the good it brings. It is the greatest manifestation of power– this tremendous restraint; self- restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action.

All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power.

Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them.

Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man’s attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be.

We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost without exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish; but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselfish work.

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Dream Train

At around 4 AM, 81-year-old Venugopal woke up in shock with cold sweat. He had seen a dream and remembered it vividly.

In that dream, he saw that he and his ailing wife Nalini were on a train journey. He didn’t quite remember where that journey started from. But he remembered that they were having a good trip for a while.

Then he remembered that, out of the blue, while the going was good, the train had derailed. As Nalini looked at him in trepidation, he calmed her down.

“This is just a minor derailment,” he told her. “Let me handle it. It should be easy. I will be back in a few moments,” he reassured her.

Venugopal stood up from his seat in the cabin. He walked to the front of his coach and tried to check with the driver. But he saw no one. He looked around and found no one. He walked through a few coaches to see if there was an engine where the driver sat. He couldn’t spot the engine even after passing through many coaches. Nor could he see any driver. It looked like there was no engine and no driver to this train.

This alarmed him. If there’s no engine and no driver, how is the train moving forward? he wondered. And that too at such a speed? No wonder it got derailed. With no one in charge, what can one expect? He came back a worried man.

“This train has no engine. And there is no driver,” he told his wife.

Nalini panicked. “You mean to say that we are traveling engineless and driverless? You must have missed something, like always,” she told her husband.

“No, I am serious. I walked for ten coaches, but still didn’t find them,” Venugopal informed her.

“Do something, Venugopal,” she cried out. “For all this while, you mean to say we have travelled together, there has been no engine and no driver?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “There might have been an engine and driver earlier, but I am not able to see them now,” he replied.

“What kind of weird train is this? I can’t travel on this train with no driver,” she complained. “How can we be sure it will take us to our station?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, have you faced any problem in the journey so far? Relax, I will manage,” Venugopal told her.

“What relax? It won’t get us where we want to go,” she complained, not convinced.

Venugopal sat down on his seat in the coach and started thinking. If there’s no driver, let me drive this train myself, he decided. I am going to make this train go where I want to go, he resolved.

He went back all the way to the front of the train. But he wasn’t able to reach the front even after a long walk. He asked someone on the way if he knew where the engine was, but that person didn’t answer and neglected him. He didn’t quite understand how this train worked. He gave up and returned.

He found some equipment in their coach when he came back. He realized that the equipment in their coach had some controls. They let every passenger to manage his journey and be comfortable. He didn’t know how they worked but tried to fiddle with some of the controls of that equipment.

He felt happy that he had found something that was in his control at last. It shouldn’t be all that tough to get his derailed coach back on track, he told himself.

He did what he could and returned to his seat in the coach. The derailment had caused some serious injuries to Nalini, he discovered. He told her that he has tried to fix the derailed train. It should be back on track, he promised her. She smiled at him. She knew she could depend on him. Venugopal felt satisfied that he had done his duty.

For a while it looked like the train was back on track. Some of the jerks and pushes that their coach had given them seemed to have subsided. Venugopal thought the train was going where they wanted it to go. He felt a bit at ease.

Once they settled down, Venugopal and Nalini got some free time. They looked at the other passengers in the train. Many of them seemed to be on their own trip. The derailment didn’t seem to have affected any of them. They were busy talking amongst themselves with no care in the world. They didn’t look at Venugopal and Nalini at all.

“What selfish travellers we have got as co-passengers,” Venugopal thought. Nalini nodded and gave one of them a sly look when she stole a glance. She felt good, despite the fact that she was in pain due to the broken leg in the derailment.

Venugopal kept glaring at one of the passengers. That constant stare distracted the passenger and he looked back at him. Venugopal asked him where he was going. He answered with the name of his destination. But Venugopal wasn’t able to place the name of his destination in the list of stations of this train.

“But this train doesn’t go there,” Venugopal corrected him.

“Well, I have got the ticket,” he said and waved his tickets. “So I presume it goes there. That’s where I want to go,” he answered and resumed talking to his wife.

Both of them gave Venugopal a strange, bewildered look. They wondered why he was going around asking strangers where they were going.

What happened thereafter, Venugopal will never forget. He had not thought about it, even in his wildest dreams.

He remembered that his heart started palpitating faster after that.

A person who wore a blue uniform and cap came to their coach. Venugopal thought he was the ticket checker. He was right. Venugopal and Nalini got their tickets out and waited for him to come to their seat. But he didn’t come there.

He went to the co-passengers that Venugopal had spoken to, a while back. They too had their tickets in their hand ready. But the ticket checker didn’t check them. He peered near the man. He looked head to toe at him, and not the woman.

“Your station has come, Sir,” the ticket checker told him.

“No Sir, our station is some distance away,” the man said with a smile.

“No Sir, your station has arrived, it’s the next stop,” the ticket checker insisted.

The woman started panicking. She thought her husband had missed something. “He has messed up again,” she felt. She started packing her bag.

The ticket checker asked her to calm down. “Not yours, Madam, it’s Sir’s station,” he told her.

“What do you mean?” the man asked with eyebrows raised. “We are going to the same place.”

The woman revolted too. “Yes, we will get down at the same station, we have the same destination,” she insisted.

“No, I am sorry Sir. I am sorry Madam,” the ticket checker persisted. “Sir, only your station has come,” he repeated.

The man refused to budge. He insisted that the ticket checker get their tickets checked. The ticket checker neglected him and pointed to his staff who were standing behind. There were three strong, muscular men standing behind the ticket checker. They manifested themselves, almost out of thin air. They caught hold of the man and lifted him. The man shrieked in rebellion. The woman cried out loud for help.

Venugopal and Nalini could see their pain and hear their howling. But they stopped short of helping them. They saw that the ticket checker had come prepared. They knew the ticket checker and his men would overpower them. Besides who knows – the couple might have the wrong tickets, Nalini poked Venugopal. Or they are ticket less, for all you know. Nowadays you can’t trust anyone, Nalini whispered in her husband’s ear. Why get into someone else’s trouble, Nalini warned, and pulled Venugopal back. The ticket checker and his men threw the man out of the train at the next station. His wife kept crying for help in the coach.

Venugopal and Nalini sympathized with the woman but didn’t do anything else. They decided to focus on their journey and waited for their station. Why worry about others who are on their own trip? It’s better to focus on our journey, they mused.

A few stations passed by, and they saw the same treatment being meted out to many other passengers. Before every station, the ticket checker came with his thugs. Instead of checking the tickets of the passengers, they picked up one of them. Then the thugs threw them out of the train when the station came while the others kept revolting.

Venugopal and Nalini wondered what was going on. This was not fair, they thought. How can they just throw people out even when it’s not their station? And what about their families and friends who are traveling with them? He walked to the next coach stealthily to check what was happening there. It turned out that the scenario was the same there too. Venugopal returned to his seat. This train wasn’t a good one, Venugopal concluded. We are not going to take it again, he told Nalini, and she agreed. Let’s wait in silence for our station to arrive, and get off there, Nalini told him.

They resolved to keep to themselves, stick to each other, and stay out of trouble together. At that moment after they had decided this, the ticket checker came again. This time he walked straight towards Venugopal and Nalini. They knew that he will not be checking their tickets, going by his past track record.

“Your station has come, Madam,” he said.

“No, I am not going to let you take her,” Venugopal stood between the ticket checker and Nalini in protest.

The ticket checker smiled. “No Sir, please get aside,” he insisted.

Nalini started crying and held Venugopal with a firm grip. The ticket checker reassured her. “Nothing to worry Madam, this is your station. I am sure, I have checked. You need to get down here,” he said.

“No, it’s not possible. We have tickets to somewhere else. We don’t want to get off here. We want to go here,” Venugopal yelled and showed their tickets.

The ticket checker smiled in an expression of bliss and joy. He put a hand on Venugopal’s shoulder and asked his thugs to take Nalini to her station.

“Listen Sir, this is a different kind of train,” he said as he left.

Venugopal turned red with anger and howled at the ticket checker.

“What kind of train? I don’t care what kind of train it is. This is not our station. Why are you forcing her to get off here? This is not where we want to go. That’s all I know,” Venugopal cried out in rebellion.

The ticket checker smiled again.

“I need to leave to attend to other passengers Sir. But let me tell you one thing before I go,” he said as he left.

“This train doesn’t take you where you want to go. It takes you where you need to go.”

After that, the thugs took Nalini away.

Venugopal sat in grief and lost all interest in the journey. He felt his heart palpitate faster. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was desolate and broken. Never before had he encountered a train like this. A train with no engine, no driver and a bunch of thugs forcing passengers to get off at stations they don’t want to go to. That’s when he heard a voice.

“This train doesn’t take you where you want to go, it takes you where you need to go,” the voice said. It was the driver of the train making an announcement from the engine. Venugopal searched the train again for the driver and the engine, but still couldn’t see them.

He woke up with cold sweat. He wasn’t sure whether he was in the dream or in the real world. He opened his eyes and checked his table clock. It was 4 AM and his ailing wife Nalini was still there, in deep sleep, on her bed next to his.

***

Siddhartha – by Hermann Hesse

I recently read the acclaimed book ‘Siddhartha – by Hermann Hesse’. This is a story of the spiritual journey and growth of Siddharth who as a young man goes in search of meaning becoming a monk only to return to the worldly life of comfort and suffering Samsara to give it up again in frustration. The story keeps moving between characters not knowing whether it’s a spiritual book of wisdom or about a character and the changes it undergoes. So it is filled with profound allegorical messages hidden between plots that aren’t well formed too. Therefore it doesn’t satisfy either the seeker of wisdom or of thrill, leaving the reader confused, much like its main character Siddharth. A profound but confused book.

Nevertheless, there were a lot of words and sentences in this book that the reader is left with. I have collected some of the ones that resonated with me. Here they are, reproduced below:

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The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, siddha (achieved) + artha (meaning), which together means ‘he who has found meaning (of existence)’ or ‘he who has attained his goals’.

One had to penetrate that far into the self, into myself, into the Atman— was there some other way, however, a search which still yielded worthwhile results? When Siddhartha sat down, ready to speak the Om, he murmured and repeated the verse: “Om is the bow; the arrow is the soul, The Brahman is the arrow’s goal That one should continuously hit.”

When every shred of his self had been conquered and put to death, when every longing and every inclination of the heart had been silenced, then the Ultimate had to awaken, that which was innermost had to come into being, that which was nothing less than the ago, the great secret.

The thing that we call ‘learning’ is, in truth, nonexistent! It is inherent, oh my friend, in a knowledge that is everywhere, that is Atman; it is in me and in you and in every essence. I am starting to believe that this knowledge has no more aggressive enemy than learning and the desire for knowledge.”

“You are wise, oh Samana,” said the venerable one. “You know how to talk wisely, my friend. Be wary of too much wisdom!”

Neither Yoga- Veda shall teach me any more, no Atharva- Veda, nor the ascetics, nor any kind of teachings. I want to learn from myself, want to be my student, want to get to know myself, the secret of Siddhartha.” Out of this moment when the world melted away all around him, when he stood alone like a star in the sky, out of this moment of cold and despair, Siddhartha emerged, more himself than before, firmer in his resolve.

He saw mankind going through life like a child or an animal that he both loved and despised at the same time. He saw them toiling, suffering, and becoming gray- haired for the sake of things which seemed to him entirely unworthy of this price. He saw them scolding and insulting each other for money, for small pleasures, or for some small encomium; he saw them complain about pain at which a Samana would only smile, and suffering because of deprivations which a Samana would not feel.

Siddhartha lost his equanimity when he lost a game, he became impatient when he was not paid promptly, he was no longer kind towards beggars, and he was no longer disposed to give away or even loan money to those who petitioned him.

Their vanities, desires for possessions, and ridiculous traits were no longer laughable to him. They became comprehensible, lovable, and even worthy of veneration to him. His goal was nothing more than a readiness of the soul, an ability and secret method of thinking the thought of unity every moment of his life, and being able to feel and inhale the unity.

‘When someone is searching,” said Siddhartha, “then it can easily happen that the only thing his eyes see is that for which he is searching. He is then unable to find anything or let any thought enter his mind because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search. He is obsessed by a goal; searching means having a goal. But finding means: being free, open, and having no goal. You, oh venerable one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, because, in striving for your goal, there are many things that you don’t see, even though they are right in front of your eyes.”

Knowledge can be transferred, but not wisdom. It can be found and lived, and it is possible to be carried by it. Miracles can be performed with it, but it can’t be expressed and taught with words.

I had to learn how to leave the world as it is, to love it, and to enjoy being a part of it.

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The Law of Beliefs

Excerpts from ‘7 Divine Laws To Awaken Your Best Self’ by Swami Mukundananda

The Law of Beliefs – The trajectory of our life is determined by the beliefs we hold in our intellect.

We think we walk by sight, but factually, the course of our life gets determined by our beliefs.

The way to develop good beliefs, or shraddha, is to associate with the scriptures and the guru.

Ultimately, we all want happiness, and if we seem to want anything else, it is because we believe it will bring us happiness.

Though our goal is the same, we differ in our ways to attain it. This leads to the variety we see in the world.

In striving for happiness anywhere, there are three stages – before getting the object, after we have it, and when it is separated from us. Each of these stages is associated with distress.

The Vedas inform us that the various levels of material happiness look to be one higher than the previous. But when we reach the next level, we soon become discontented and wish to go to the subsequent level.

It is better to not get your feet dirty in the first place than asking for water to cleanse them. Similarly, we make desires for happiness, but these very desires become the cause of our unhappiness. We would be better off without creating them.

We make desires because we want joy. But the very same desires become the cause of our misery. And the goal of happiness remains as distant as before.

We are searching for happiness in the wrong place. If we look for something where it is not present, our chances of finding it will always be zero.

The reservoir of infinite bliss resides in us, yet we look for it in external objects.

The Vedas prescribe that the purer we become, the closer we get to God. This means that the path to true happiness is to become a better person. Plain and simple answer.

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