Anything Can Roll Down

Photo Credit:Our Father's House Soup Kitchen

 

Anything Can Roll Down

Once one starts consciously walking on the spiritual path, one has to be very careful about one’s thoughts, words and deeds. The first person who climbs an unconquered mountain always struggles to find the path to the top. He keeps failing again and again before he finally succeeds. After coming down he maps the route for others to follow. He becomes the path-breaker the path setter – ‘I went this way, now you too can follow!’

Swamiji went to the Himalayas repeatedlly spending a cumulative period of 16 years in gaining spiritual knowledge from various Gurus, being passed on like a football (his own words) from one Guru to the other. After gaining knowledge he came down to society and since 1994 he has been showing the easy way to self-realisation by teaching Samarpan Meditation free of cost to all and sundry. Currently this is practiced in 62 countries and spreading very fast! He went to the Himalayas and is now showing us the way to the top, without actually doing the hard work which he did!

The point I am trying to make is that climbing up is difficult, staying on the peak is far more difficult but missing one’s step and rolling down is easy!! Remember, if one cannot control one’s ordinary, earthly, human nature, one is not likely to realise one’s spirit, attain self-realisation. One should have control over the eyes, the tongue, the flesh, the food – why? If we have to rise above nature then we have to have complete control over our senses. We cannot be controlled by the senses! Every discipline in life ultimately gives you the strength to transcend the limitations of the senses.

A stone easily rolls downhill, in fact anything can roll down – gravity does it’s thing. Throw any object upwards, it always comes down – because gravity plays its role. What goes up, comes down. Similarly, our minds and bodies are constantly being pulled down towards the earth and we are trying to change that. We need the help of a rocket to get past the gravitational pull.

That’s why we need discipline. Without discipline, this ascent would be impossible. Even a minor fault, a loose wire and the launch does not happen. The mind is a rocket, the body the launching pad. The mind should be well-tuned and well-fuelled for it’s launch. Then one just needs to have the countdown…. ten, nine, eight….zero…take off! Once one takes off and attains mach speed to go past the gravitational pull, then one transcends the mind.

At this point, the analogy ends, because one is not really launching oneself from here to somewhere else. Everything happens right where one is. Right here one can master the forces that pull one down. One doesn’t have to shoot off somewhere, but one needs to discipline the mind and body. Only then can one command nature.