Diogenes was a very wise thinker who lived in Greece. He lived as a naked man like Mahavira for his entire life. He had only one possession, a begging bowl which he used for drinking water. On one beautiful morning, he saw a man drinking water by cupping his hands. The idea of drinking water by cupping one's hand had never come across to his mind. He threw his begging bowl away. The man who was drinking water told Diogenes, "Why have you thrown your bowl?". Diogenes replied, "by drinking water by cupping one's hand one can feel the coolness of the water. The transfer of energy from our hands to water changes its quality. One can't feel any energy by drinking water through a dead bowl."
The same is the case with your senses. They have become dead like a begging bowl. They have lost all their sensitivity and become dull. You can't experience anything through it.
Senses are thirsty for stimulation. The law of senses is that the more stimulation is given to them, the more their need for excitement arises. The more excitement they receive, the duller they become. Let's understand it through an example. You take one glass of wine, your senses are pleased by it because they have received some sort of intoxication. The day after that two glasses of wine will produce the same kind of intoxication. One is not enough to excite the senses. The day after that you need three glasses of wine to generate the same effect. A vicious cycle starts. In the end, your senses become so dull that the entire bottle of wine won't cause any excitement.
Now, you want something more intoxicating to excite your senses. In your effort to increase the sensation for taste, your ability to taste decreases. You can observe the same effect in spicy foods. If you take too many spicy foods, initially it excites your taste buds. As time passes, your senses are adapted to that kind of pleasure. Ordinary food tastes like mud. The problem is not with the food, the problem is with your ability to experience it. You have lost the sensitivity to experience ordinary food.
Mahavira and Buddha were not escaping from the responsibilities when they left their palaces. The deeper truth is, they were renouncing the place of excitement so that the natural purity of the senses can be regained. Ultimate enjoyment is the meaning of renunciation. Your senses become so refined that even the ordinary water tastes like a glass of wine. The more intense your rush for excitement, the lesser will be your capacity to experience it.
Pleasure is born out of sensation and bliss is born out of non-sensation. You see a beautiful car. It is very pleasing to your senses. The desire to possess it arises in your mind. The law of attraction says you are only attracted to something which you are not or which you don't have. You bought a beautiful car. Initially, it gives you a lot of pleasure. As time passes, your mind gets adapted to it. Now it doesn't excite you much. The pleasure, in the beginning, becomes a cause of suffering because now you need an even more beautiful car. Caused happiness is the root of suffering.
Bliss arises out of non-sensation. Senses are not in a rush for excitement. Senses become so pure and refined that even an ordinary thing seems extraordinary. The quality of your being changes that in turn changes your way to experience things.
Friction is involved in pleasure whereas void exists in bliss. In old schools of Zen, masters taught their disciples to meditate on the sound of one hand clapping. In reality, they were teaching their disciples to listen to the sound of silence.
Silence is a source of Great Strength. Lao Tsu
What happens when you utter the word OM?
The moment you speak it, the sound clashes with the atmosphere and become gross. It will produce vibrations on the one who is listening to it. Do one small experiment, close your lips and intone the word om. Listen to the echoes that are generating in your body. By and by, don't even speak the word om, just listen to the voice of the soul which is vibrating with omkar, and experience sat(truth), chit(consciousness), and Anand(bliss).
The voice of the divine is very subtle. Purify your senses to experience the whisper of the divine. Generally, people like loud music. The intense rush for excitement jaded the senses. Understand the whole absurdity of the senses and purify them to experience the ultimate bliss. You will feel joy in listening to the sweet voices of birds. Your being will be mesmerized by listening to the songs of the trees. Ultimate bliss happens when you listen to your divine soul. The way to fulfillment is not by paying attention to the outer things but by turning them towards your inner being.
Purity or impurity depends on oneself, No one can purify another. Gautama Buddha
When the river is cut off from the spring then it dries up. When the tree is uprooted from the soil it becomes dead. The moment you lose contact with your soul, your life becomes miserable. Never move away from your inner center. Sacrifice the outer for the inner. Listen carefully to the voice of silence. The most beautiful things in life happen in deep silence like the germination of seeds, the growth of a plant, rising of the sun. The more you are closer to the truth, the more silent you become.
The deeper truth of the renunciation is to let go of the meaningless so that you become aware of the meaningful, let go of the gross so that you can experience the subtle. The eyes are the most beautiful and delicate part of the human body. Divine is manifested in each and every pore of the universe yet you miss its beauty. Through eyes, one can enter into the being of the other person. Love is an alchemy that transforms everybody. Love everyone so that others can give you their inner space to make direct contact with their being. Bliss happens due to the communion of two pure beings. Always look at others through the eyes of your inner being with pure innocence, without any selfish desire, and experience the bliss.
Kill out the desire for sensation. Look at its absurdity. Never suppress your desires. In fact, go beyond them through understanding. Learn from the sensation that it gives you a false illusion of beauty, that it makes your senses dull. Observe your thoughts of sensation and smile at their foolishness. Only then you can commence the science of self-knowledge. By and by you will start moving towards your inner center to experience the bliss of your divine existence.
Comments