Living with the Momentary

Photo Credit: Idle Hearts

Living with the Momentary

We live with momentary things. That’s why there is so much misery, because whatsoever is momentary is not going to satisfy us. By the time we become aware that it is there, it is already gone. This life is in a state of flux: it is continuously moving, slipping out of our hands. Nothing is certain, nothing is stable. Everything is in a constant movement.

We cannot make our abode in this momentary world, on these shifting sands. If we do make our abode on this, it is bound to collapse – the collapse could happen at any moment, and we then cannot live in peace.

We enter into relationships through love and friendship and then we fear whether this is going to end! Whether the relationship will be there tomorrow or not, we do our best to stabilise our relationships, to make them permanent, and in that very effort all joy is lost.

Change is constant – both in nature and in our lives – so, as we continue to grow materially and spiritually we start vibrating at different levels, people within the same frequency band stay with us, others fall away. Whether it is family, husband-wife, friends, colleagues, anyone – the same rule applies.

Our desire should be for something eternal, but that cannot be fulfilled by the material world. Somebody is poor and thinks that if he/she becomes rich he/she will be happy. The moment such a person becomes rich he/she is not happy, he/she is simply more worried. When such people are poor, they do not worry, they sleep well – and once they become rich, worry and sleepless nights become their companions.

This is what goes on happening unless we start looking inwards. The outside world is not going to satisfy us because it is a changing world, momentary, and our innermost longing is for the eternal. And that cannot be fulfilled on the outside. There is nothing against the material world. What we should just be aware of is that our desire is for the eternal and that cannot be fulfilled on the outside. So, on the outside remain joyful with the momentary, don’t ask that it should be eternal. Nothing can be eternal on the outside. Enjoy the momentary as momentary, knowing perfectly well that it is momentary.

The flower that has opened up in the morning is bound to die by the evening. It has come with the sunrise; it will go with the sunset. So, rejoice! We are not against the flower - rejoice! But remember, don’t cling, don’t hope, otherwise we will be disillusioned. Rejoice in the momentary on the outside, and search for the eternal in the inside.

Inside we will find nectar, the immortal, the eternal, the divine. And once we have found that then there is nothing more to be found. Then all is bliss, then all is joy. Life is fulfilled. One has come home.