My six year-old daughter surprised me one day by asking, “Why doesn’t God appear”! After a pause for a few moments, I explained to her, keeping in mind her age, that he lives within all of us in order to avoid chaos that may arise due to his physical presence for attaining him at any cost. This answer quenched my daughter’s curiosity, but the question gave me a chance to look within. We all keep trying to find that God in different ways at some time or the other.
We have understood God in the corporeal form in our minds and perhaps we establish His devotional form in our places of worship. But it is very clear that we are all an atomic part of that Supreme God and therefore that seed of consciousness exists within us. We are not able to realize that source only because there is a constant conflict going on in our inner self between our strengths and weaknesses and as we grow up, the layers of expectations and social values influence our mind due to which we are not able to live in our purest form.
We are not able to sense that unique feeling because the negative forces prevail and stand like a rock in front of our pure consciousness. Our mind gets so entangled and preoccupied in mundane activities that we adopt a reactive attitude towards the situation. We begin to respond to the evil of others by losing our own goodness. In adapting ourselves to social norms, we leave our originality and spontaneity far behind. We also constantly fight with our enemies like lust, anger, greed, ego and jealousy but are not able to overcome easily. Throughout our life’s journey, we face the challenges of these foes every moment and keep on getting defeated. Famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in his psycho-analysis has clarified that there are two opposite forces ‘eros’ (positive) and ‘thanatos’ (negative) within a person, in which there is always a continuous battle going on.
The battle in the Mahabharata in the field of Kurukshetra is also reflected in the nature of our inner conflict. Arjuna gets distracted in front of the huge asura powers, but he is able to win over his enemies only due to the divine knowledge of Lord Krishna. As explained by Karma Yoga in Verse 43, Lord Krishna himself invokes-
‘‘एवं बुद्वेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना
जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम्।। ‘‘
Thus knowing yourself, O great Arjuna, beyond the material senses, mind and intellect, and having fixed the mind with careful spiritual intellect (Kṛṣṇa consciousness), one can conquer this formidable enemy of lust by spiritual power. Life is a laboratory in itself where man can center himself and attain a certain state where harmony and identity can be established instead of conflict and disintegration. Through yoga, devotion and satsang, one can achieve one’s ultimate goal in this inner journey. The meaning is that supreme power and bliss is possible only when we are able to light the lamp of self-realization by piercing the darkness within us. As Osho, the great thinker and spiritual leader of the 21st century, said, “Inertia comes automatically, life does not come automatically, it has to be invited.”
The lack of realization of divine power lies in the fact that our efforts have been mostly scattered, dissonated and perhaps that wonderful experience has never been our real goal. In this continuous battle, the mantra of victory is inherent in our physical, mental and emotional purity, to achieve which, we will have to strive relentlessly with determination. We have to introspect and understand our true nature, state of mind and instinct. As Guru Osho has said, “Man has both poison and nectar within him. The anarchy of powers is poison and the restraint, harmony and music of powers is the elixir. ” A seeker has to strive sincerely to overcome the challenges of the inner journey throughout his life.
We have to constantly increase our inherent creative qualities so that we can be able to reach that original source. As soon as we start getting into meditation, gradually the waves of the mind start to calm down. By doing this regularly, gradually the mind comes to a standstill and we establish oneness with our focal point. Where there is a question, there is also an answer! Kabirdas ji’s beautiful expression says everything
जिन खोजा तिन पाइया, गेह्रे पानी पैट
मै बपुरा बूदन दरा, रहा किनारे बैथ।
That is, we can definitely discover our inner treasure with determination and courage.
