Enlightenment.

Our young blogger friend Ashok, in his last LBC post has this to say:
“True power lies in fighting our subservience to ourselves. The process requires deep thinking and identifying who we are and what we stand for. Perhaps with more introspection, we might see a better class of leaders tomorrow.”

I am intrigued. At such a young age, Ashok has already started being an anthroposophist.

While I was mulling over his approach, I received the picture, with which I have started this post from another young friend Ashwani, who too is struggling towards enlightenment. IT APTLY POINTS OUT THAT THE PROBLEM IS “DESIRE”, even if it is for enlightenment! (Please click on the image to make it larger if needed.)

Recently, Cheerful Monk from Happiness As A Spiritual Practice has been on an extended discussion with me on my post The Most Dangerous Stage Is Respect.

Then, Conrad, another LBC blogger friend had this to say in the same post on Respect: “there is an inner calling to pursue certain esoteric things that does not seem to affect most people”

As you know, Ramana, we both feel that inner calling and those unaffected can be put off. It does not salve our inner itch, though, to try to turn away from it. Cest la vie!”

It certainly looks to me as if synchronicity is working over time again.

Conrad, Cest la vie! indeed!

My Desire And Some Reality Check.

I am overwhelmed with the invitations from so many of my blog friends to visit them when I fulfill my desire to travel at the earliest possible time.

Recently however, I have been having a problem with my partial denture that keeps popping out when I chew something a bit harder than normal. I have already been to the dentist a few times for tightening up the ****** thing and am just about beginning to lose patience with the whole exercise.

In the meanwhile, I just came across this cartoon which makes me wonder if I should risk traveling at all!

What do you think?

Desire.

“When all the desires that surge in the heart are renounced,
The mortal becomes immortal.
When all the knots that strangle the heart are loosened,
The mortal becomes immortal.”

“You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your DESTINY.”

– Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never had great desires. No, I am not subnormal, more like practical. I grew up with very sound conditioning that taught me and my siblings to accept our lot and do the best that we could under whatever circumstances that came our way. It is to my complete satisfaction that by and large we have lived like that and many material things have come our way. I think that my three siblings will agree with me that, the things that have come our way have come without great desiring for them or striving towards obtaining them.

If I could replace the word ‘Desire’ with ‘ambition’ my thoughts would still be the same. My regular readers would remember the post ‘Ambition’ which more or less reflects the contents of this post too.

From about the end of the year 2001, however I developed a great desire and prayed for it with all my heart and soul. That was that I outlive my wife to provide her the best possible care that she could get. My prayers were answered and as I write this, I have outlived her by over a year.

I now have a desire. It is not a burning, all consuming desire, but one I hope comes true, and if it does not, so be it. It will not make me unhappy if it does not come true. That desire is to travel again to the UK, the USA, Australia and New Zealand to meet up with relatives and some old friends and to meet face to face, some new ones made via the blogworld.

Not much to desire for is it?