Rest At the Top

 

Photo Credit: Thinking Faith

Rest At the Top

As we progress in life, we start from getting an education, then finding a job or starting a business, then making ends meet and then going on to make money and generate wealth in life. Most of us don’t stop to rest as we feel we have very little time to achieve our never-ending life goals. All this applies to us in our material life; some of us get fed up of the continuous stress of living up to not only our own expectations but to the expectations of our family and friends!

Some of us get fed up of this rat race and try to find a solution which is outside the rat race. A true seeker finds a spiritual guide, a realised Master, and then turns inwards to find inner peace. Here too, the task is tough and one has to follow all the rules of an ascetic before one reaches a stage where he can ultimately rest. The way to the goal is through yoga and meditation.

Meditation is rest, absolute rest, a full stop to all activity — physical, mental, emotional. When you are in such a deep rest that nothing stirs in you, when all action as such ceases, as if you are fast asleep yet awake, you come to know who you are. Suddenly the window opens. It cannot be opened by effort, because effort creates tension and tension is the cause of our whole misery. Hence this is something very fundamental to understand - that meditation is not effort.

One has to be very playful about meditation, one has to learn to enjoy it as fun. One has not to be serious about it — be serious and you miss. One has to go into it very joyously. And one has to keep aware that it is falling into deeper and deeper rest. It is not concentration, just the contrary, it is relaxation. When you are utterly relaxed, for the first time you start feeling your reality, you come face to face with your being. When you are engaged in activity you are so occupied that you cannot see yourself. Activity creates much smoke round you; it raises much dust around you; hence all activity has to be dropped, at least for a few hours every day.

That is only so in the beginning. When you have learnt the art of being at rest then you can be both active and restful together, because then you know that rest is something so inner that it cannot be disturbed by anything outer, the activity continues on the circumference and at the centre you remain restful. So, it is only for beginning that activity has to be dropped for a few hours. Then one has learned the art then there is no question: for twenty-four hours a day one can be meditative and continue all the activities of ordinary life.

In leading a spiritual life, however, once you get to the top, you have reached Ever-rest. You do rest there, and you won’t have to come down. You can even pull others up as well. But there are no shortcuts. A great price must be paid to reach that great goal. What is that price? Leading a selfless life.