Change – Eternal Conundrum

 

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Change – Eternal Conundrum

In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna – That which is subject to change (unreal) is not eternal. That which is real never ceases to be. Seers have realised the truth about both.

We have always been told that the only thing that is constant is change, in which case what is Krishna talking about? What is being referred to is the physical body – Arjuna sees his relatives, his Gurus on the other side of the battlefield and is in a dilemma as to what joy will he get over the blood of his relatives? Krishna then talks about the unreal and the real. The soul is permanent, all the embodied souls on the battlefield have always been there and will always exist, it is only the body which is impermanent. The physical body keeps changing, how can that be permanent – the soul is eternal, never changing, it is the part of universal consciousness which is embodied in the individual physical body – that is eternal.

So, it is important to realise that we are eternal – not the momentary, but the eternal….not the changing but the unchanging. If we see a flower, then in that flower there are two constituents – one, which is constantly changing, the body part, the form; and then, hidden behind that form is the formless which is unchanging. Flowers come and go, the beauty, remains. The flower will wither and die, and its seeds will fall onto the ground, a new plant will be born, giving new flowers – again there will be beauty that will assert itself…then they will drop and the beauty will move into the unmanifest.

The same is happening with human beings, birds, animals, everything. We have two dimensions – the day part when we become manifested, and the night part when we become unmanifested – but we are eternal. We have always been, and will always be. Being is beyond time and beyond change.

We need to express the desire to change. Once that happens, then it is very simple. The change happens inside, no one is stopping anyone from changing from within. Once we decide we want to change, then the universe will send a Master to help us on our way. The desire to change has to well up from deep within us, and only then will we be able to experience the real that never ceases to be.

Change cannot be partial. Either it is or it is not – it can only be total. So, we need to decide whether we want that permanent change – and if we do, then universal consciousness sends us our Guide and Master to show us the way. With our spiritual practice, we soon realise that we are not the body and as our soul consciousness increases and ego consciousness decreases – we come closer to our real self, the eternal soul!