It Just Happens

 

It Just Happens

Photo Credit: LonerWolf

When we walk on the spiritual path, we invariably meet our Guru who guides us on the way forward. He instils his values within us at the time of sowing the seed of spirituality inside us when we take diksha and become his disciples. We are taught meditation and told to practice the same individually as well as in collectivity.

Swamiji keeps telling us that transcendence happens in a flash – everything becomes clear – we just have to keep doing our spiritual practice. We cannot say exactly what will open our mind and when it will happen. The real knowledge or wisdom will not dawn slowly. Once we get it, we have it. If we don’t get it, we don’t have it. The realisation doesn’t come little by little. Realisation is instantaneous. When will it happen? Nobody can tell you. Even a small, trifling thing could do it.

There is a story about a saint named Patinar whose father was a very rich man who made a lot of money from his shipping and other businesses. His father has come in contact with many saints but nothing had opened his mind to the Truth. He followed all religious and spiritual practices but wisdom eluded him. One day he sent his son with his ship to buy some merchandise. Patinar went to an island and saw the poor people over there. He spent lakhs of rupees which his father had given in helping these people. Patinar knew he could not go home with an empty ship, so he filled the ship with cow dung cakes and set sail for home.

The ship’s captain ran to Patinar’s father telling him that his son had gone mad and had bought cow dung cakes and spent the money on poor people. The father was so upset that he refused to see his son. When Patinar reached home his father was not even there to greet him.

Patinar gave a small package to his mother asking her to give the same to his father and then he left his house. When the father came home, he asked for his son, and his wife told him that he has given this package for you and then he left. The father opened the package and found a note in it, it said, “Even the eye of a broken needle will not accompany you on your final journey.” On reading this, realisation dawned on the father in an instant and he took off his fancy clothes, put on a loin cloth, said good-bye and walked out of his house.

Realisation can dawn with the smallest thing. It doesn’t have to be a big blow. That trifling thing is what we call the final straw. Wisdom dawns that way. At any moment, anything could be the last straw for us. Then enlightenment dawns. Until then, we are still preparing ourself. We are getting ready for that moment.