The Secret Meaning of Life - Thoughts and Ideas:
In his book 'Ideology', Khaptad Swami has written in essence, 'The subject we think about, again and again, we eventually reach the same mood.' Our life is built according to our thoughts. Whatever we are today, we are according to our thoughts and ideas. Tomorrow we will be whatever we are, according to the ideas and thoughts we hold. So, if we want to build a holy, pure, and Buddhist life, we must be able to build an ideology accordingly.
We have two kinds of worlds. One is the material world, the other is the spiritual and indestructible world. These two worlds are also represented in our lives. Our physical cover represents the material world, while the inner self represents the spiritual and indestructible world.
Wherever our inner thoughts or minds turn, our lives turn in that direction. If we begin to consider the material and perishable world as everything and keep thinking only of that, then the range and speed of the mind are also imprisoned within the boundaries of the same material and perishable world. But, if he keeps on thinking of the indestructible Supreme, the speed of his mind and thought also becomes indestructible and eternal.
What kind of world we want to build is up to us. If we can limit this beautiful life to a limited and fleeting subject matter, we can also become victims of many anomalies and misfortunes. By our own efforts and determination, we can achieve the eternal and indestructible supreme position.
Thoughts of fleeting and extreme materialism never allow us to go beyond trivial thoughts. Greed for social prestige, sensuality, and various kinds of accomplishments and desires for wealth will never allow us to be free, holy, pure, and undefiled. As long as we cannot get rid of these many cycles of rage and hatred, we cannot become worthy of peace, happiness, and indestructibility.
In the Gita, Lord Krishna has said, only those who have lost their value and attachment, who have conquered the attachment-like guilt, who are eternally spiritual, or who are situated in eternal divine contemplation, whose desires have been completely destroyed, are the ones who are free from such conflicts called happiness and sorrow.
We are badly caught in a cycle of many kinds of humiliation. As easy and natural as it may seem for a cool person to take care of value and humiliation in normal household affairs, it is just as uncomfortable and unnatural for those who are active in the field of spirituality, religion and philosophy of life to be distracted by value and humiliation. Today, the preaching of knowledge, religion, and spirituality seems to have become very strong among the preachers. So, being religious, being spiritual, or being a preacher is one thing, being a devotee of God and being a true seeker is another thing.
Even the great yogis, sadhus, and spokespersons seem to be obsessed with small honors. It is rare to see yogis who have the courage to withstand the onslaught of the senses. The first qualification required to be a true yogi is sense restraint. It is only after success in sense management that a high moral and spiritual power emerges in us. It is through this moral force that we can reach out to people for transformation.
The restraint over the senses is the restraint or management over oneself. We have many problems and pollutions within ourselves. As soon as these problems are solved, we reach the stage of thinking about the problems of society as well. If we don't get satisfaction, peace or respect from people even after doing social service, then it can be understood that there must be some defect in us. If we are able to maintain self-control in ourselves, then the self-respect, moral strength, and indomitable zeal that we get at that time, the social reform campaigns that we considered impossible, can move forward unhindered.
Lord Krishna said that in order to attain the indestructible Supreme, we must constantly meditate on the same indestructible Supreme. That is, we must constantly meditate, practice spirituality, and follow spirituality. The word 'spirituality' means that we should always be around spirituality. To be spiritual is to be a worshiper of God, to be a devotee of God.
Those who wish to build a big house, build an ashram, earn a name and prestige, accumulate a lot of money, or experience many pleasures can never be worthy of the supreme position. Those who are free from all kinds of desires are worthy of the supreme position. In the Gita, Lord Krishna addresses all those whose desires have been destroyed as retiring. We cannot be pure and pure until we have lust. It is our work and the desires that defile us. Just as there are no ragas, hatreds, and desires left with God, there is nothing left even in an enlightened person.
Another thing that a person needs to become immortal is to be free from many conflicts of sorrow and happiness. We cannot travel to immortality until we are immersed in the raga of worldly things, objects, or substances. One who can realize that he is free from the shackles of sorrow and happiness that come in daily life, such a person will always live even if he is physically exhausted. A person who is very fond of the physical body cannot do adventurous work and without doing an adventurous person, he cannot become immortal.
The indestructible supreme position that Lord Krishna has spoken of is the position of our immortality, the position of our permanence. This indestructible term refers to two types of indestructible terms. One is the indestructible position of completely devotional divine bliss, while the other is the immortal position obtained through worldly fame and merit. After all, no matter what the indestructible position, the condition for both of them is the same, that is liberation from happy and sad conflict.
The greatest people in the world have never been able to distinguish between misery. With the panic of sorrow and the intoxication of happiness, the possibility of a person approaching failure also becomes stronger. The policy also states, it is mine, it is his thinking, it is the tendency of narrow-minded people. A man who is confined within the confines of mine and yours can never be shared by all. Only those who indulge in luxury and cheap lust will discriminate between me and you. The great ones are completely free and independent of my and your calculations. This is what the Gita says is free from attachment, jealousy, spirituality, retirement, and happiness.
Thus, what is confirmed is that by being within the limits of work, anger, greed, lust, intoxication, envy, etc., we become perishable and become indestructible as soon as we are free from its limits. Contemplation, association, and use of material objects make our age just as fleeting and perishable as those objects. The more a person becomes free from mortal matter and becomes active in performing immortal, indestructible, and eternal duties, the longer his life will be, and the more he will attain the position of immortality.
There is nothing we can do if we want and try. Our incompetence leads us to become a Buddha, while diligence or effort leads us to become a Buddha. Balak Dhruv, Prahlad, etc. had attained the supreme position through continuous practice, practice, and hard work. To this day, many people in the world have been born, many have died. We don't know how many people were born and when they died. But, we always remember the names of people far away from us. Lincoln, Gandhi, Vivekananda, Mandela, these are all people far away from us and are always memorable, revered.
Behind this is nothing but the tireless efforts and hard work of those people. In the Gita, Lord Krishna says, the yogis who strive to know the soul in their hearts, but those who do not purify their hearts are ignorant, and even if such ignorant people try, they cannot know, see and understand this soul.
This means that there is no point in wasting labor. Attempts have been made, but if one does not know what the work was done for and what will happen after doing it, such an effort will be in vain. This kind of labor is like trying to build a bridge with sand. If we make a great effort for the welfare of all by our mind, words, and deeds with a holy purpose, then such an effort is worthwhile. Purification of the heart means that the feelings and thoughts in the heart are pure. The efforts of a person whose conscience is not pure, that is, full of greed, sin, anger, malice, and jealousy, become like 'water in the sand'. The wise are those who are completely free from vices such as greed, sin, and hatred.
Wise people are full of great faith and reverence for the Supreme. They see the glorious and eternal presence of the Lord everywhere. But, the ignorant consider themselves God. They are full of ego. That is why they do not believe that the earth is made by anyone. But, the truth is that God is also the doer of all doers, the knower of knowledge, and the man of men. Lord Krishna has said in the Gita, Through me, a person can become aware of the flaws in his intellect due to his memory, knowledge, and ideas, and remove the defects of contradictions. Similarly, I am the only one worthy to be known by all the Vedas. I am the doer of Vedanta and also the one who knows and understands the Vedas. '
It is by the grace of this eternal and divine divine power that we have been able to acquire knowledge and memory. How powerful we are! There is no point in us being proud of anything. We have received life from our parents according to the plan of nature. We grew up in a house built by our parents. The language we speak is from this society.
We have the opportunity to be happy just by looking at nature. The physical strength we have got is also from the food and fruits grown on this earth. Even if we have earned wealth, we have earned it after coming to this earth. We didn't bring anything with us when we were born. We experience pride, joy, happiness, and bliss in life only by using the beautiful eyes, nose, mouth, brain, hands, knees, etc. sent by God. Seen in this light, we all seem to be nothing but participants in this beautiful project of divine and cosmic energy. Therefore, not only us, but all the subjects, substances, and plants around us have received the divine blessings of that cosmic power.
He is the best man in all our endeavors. Thus, we must strive to make life indestructible and immortal by showing faith in eternal existence. We can truly become immortal, indestructible and eternal if we understand the real purpose of life, purify our conscience by purifying our bodies, minds, and words, and free ourselves from work, anger, greed, and lust.
To be immortal means to have a meaningful life, to be able to receive divine inspiration and energy from ourselves, to make our life successful. For this, as God says in the Gita, it is necessary to make meaningful efforts, sadhana, and penance by making the conscience pure and untainted with full awareness. One should be able to be free and independent from the conflicts of life's joys and sorrows, loss of benefits, disgrace, jealousy, etc. The same perceptions and ideas should be formed even in the midst of all pleasant and sad situations. This is the only way we can become immortal, indestructible.
- Acharya Laxman Bhandari
