Friday, April 3, 2009

The Road Trip of Life

April 10-12 is a long weekend here in Singapore because of Good Friday and we generally don't spare such precious long weekends in Singapore :) People are busy packing their bags to go to nearby Malaysia or Thailand for a trek in the jungles. So a friend of mine was saying, 'Dude, I won't be here for the long weekend. I am gone for a long drive with a group of friends to West Malaysia.'

I asked him if there were any particular places that they were going. He replied, 'Nope! This time its more of no-planning trip. Just go wherever, eat wherever and stay wherever types!!' ... He paused and then said, 'it sounds fun to me...'

It surely is fun. I agree with him totally. No planning as to where to pit-stop, where to eat etc. Just go, enjoy the traveling part and take the trip as it comes.

I was wondering, if a two-day trip can be so fun, by offloading the baggage of planning, just imagine how much more enjoyable our 60-70 years of life can be if we just flow with life?

Why can't we have the same attitude towards life? Instead, we plan and plan and plan... continuously, we keep planning not just about our life but about one generation behind us and one generation ahead us.

The answer is simple! We are scared about the insecurities of life. We do not enjoy our life simply because of our fear and greed: fearing the insecurities and greedy about our own expectations from life. We do not enjoy the path - the process of life. We think we will enjoy the goal, when it is reached but before it is reached we have already exhausted all the energy to enjoy it by constantly psychologically worrying about our fears and expectations about the goal that we have set. And after that goal is reached, there is another goal that awaits us.

Nithyananda says, 'When we live in utter insecurities of life, we are a seeker. That is why my parivrajaka, wandering days were one of the best parts of my life.'

When we live in utter insecurities of life, we just flow with life. We plan but chronologically only. We will not have an opportunity to psychologically worry about it because we are too busy enjoying and celebrating the path; then the path itself becomes the goal. Our fears and expectations keep our joy away from us.

The main difference between the road trip of my friend and our life is that my friend is already prepared to take on whatever comes his way as auspicious (mangalatva); either a tent in a jungle or a posh luxury suite; either food or no food. And hence he is saying the trip is going to be fun. There are no expectations or fears whatsoever. If there is any trace of either of them, one would certainly back off.

When it comes to one's own life, it is too far fetched to accept that insecurity for 70-80 years. Actually, even for one or two days it becomes difficult to accept because we are conditioned about our lives. We are conditioned by society, parents, friends etc. as to how one should live.

The irony is, all those from whom we learn to live are themselves most of the time living a life of total internal chaos.

When we surrender to the Existence, the Existence takes care of us... and this the truth. There are enough number of testimonials from people who believe in this to testify this, myself being one.

And you know what! When we surrender, the Existence always gives a lot more, many a times what we wouldn't even have dreamt of, both in our outer world and our inner world. And It also gives us the intelligence to be completely unperturbed whether that outer world is there or not there ...

Thank you Swamiji for giving us this shakti (energy), buddhi (intelligence), yukti (understanding), bhakti (devotion) and mukti ... liberation



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