Remaining Centered in a Material World

 

Remaining Centered in a Material World

Today, with all the chaos both political and the pandemic which is afflicting all parts of the world, staying balanced and centered is becoming more and more challenging, I would say. Luckily, with the lockdown we do not have access to newspapers anymore – at least we have stopped subscribing to the print media. I have also stopped watching TV and the slanging matches which sell as news today! So, just by staying away from the media, to a certain extent, I manage to retain a degree of sanity. But the question is – is this enough?

We are bombarded with all kinds of stuff through the alternated media and it comes directly into our handsets! I invariably read or watch something which is of some interest – 90% of the whatsapp, telegram, facebook, Instagram posts are ignored. I end up seeing only what needs to be seen. This actually happens automatically – anything of interest just pops up and says – ‘read me or watch me’!

If you have a compelling desire to remain centered and balanced, believe me the universe will help you achieve your goal – you should have the desire for peace or bust – nothing in between – inside me as well as around me! When we accept that life is nothing but a mirror which reflects our inner state, that is when we begin to understand that the external chaos is nothing but a reflection of our mental state. As Swamiji says our outer world is a reflection of our inner world – so once we learn to quieten the inner noise, our external noise and chaos will simmer down. Most of the time we get this process backwards and hence it takes such a long time for us to realise and then tame this mental monster.

We can transcend this external chaos only by cultivating an inner calm and remaining centered in one’s own self. We can do this through regular meditation and consciously practicing mindfulness, living in a state of constant awareness, correcting oneself when we find ourselves deviating from the chosen path. It is very difficult to do this, as those near and dear to us will taunt us, tease us and do all they can to bring us back into ‘their’ world. It is up to us to follow our chosen path and at the same time remain in society, participate in it fully but without getting emotionally involved or attached. We can only do that by practicing, what I call, detached attachment!

Meditation and living in the moment and not vacillating between the past and the future will help you remain centered in spite of the surrounding chaos and noise – once you quieten the mind you will not ‘hear’ the external noise. Guru-purnima is round the corner – let us stay focused, balanced, centered and peaceful withing our own core to maximise the absorption of energy which will shower on us in a couple of days.