In our lives, every day, every moment, we are experiencing a harsh battle going on inside. The outside world and what we perceive—our loved ones, people, daily routine, and worldly responsibilities—are nothing but shadowy manifestations of our internal battles. There are so many obstacles, which are often painful, such as diseases, sentimental bondage, boredom, hopelessness, and, above all, fear. There are feelings of personality or egoism, attachment, the will to live, and so on. How much we want to throw it all away, we can’t.
A moment of profound sadness is a significant factor in one’s life. When both hands wring the heart and all things around you are shrouded by an inexplicable dark miasma, then only the light deep inside, the darkest corridors of your heart, brings forth, and you will become luminous. This is the time when most people start moving toward abstractions of life. They want to find answers that are not apparently clear by rational thinking, logic, or worldly calculations. They gradually move from material to spiritual. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to conceive of a spiritual plane through material means. In life, most of the extraordinary transformation happens automatically. You cannot just realize any spiritual insights through a strict routine; it is, however, essential to follow a specific path because it helps to season your material plane to pass on to the spiritual plane.
What is the Objective of Spiritual Living?
The question generally would pop up in the mind, ‘What is an object of spiritual practices? What is the object of eradicating all limitations or obstructions? What is the aim?” Isn’t it better to lead a life just as it comes? Now, this phrase “take life just as it comes” is very profound. If we really applly this thing in our lives, we will never suffer, but unfortunately, we can’t make it happen. The reason is that we don’t have faith; we see what our mental perception and the things that our senses show us. Of course, that’s not enough; some uncountable things or phenomena exist behind our normal senses that we can’t just comprehend with our simple mortal senses.
The greatest lesson one can learn from his pain and suffering is that there is nothing higher than renunciation. From the deep core of our hearts, we must learn to leave our desires or detach from every single thing. At a young age, we are too impulsive; we want to do this, do that, and want to 'change the world', but after a certain age, we understand those things we left voluntarily or involuntarily and do not have any ambition to “do this, do that." At that particular point, we are peaceful; we have just renounced that desire and become peaceful. It does not mean you stop going forward with a definite aim; it only means you are not attached to the results that the goal would fetch.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
All enjoyments are more or less connected with some pain or suffering. Desire means wanting, and wanting connotes the idea of lacking in something, and lacking something means pain. There is no limit to our desires. We go on wanting, and when our desires are not fulfilled, we feel pain. These total impressions of pain-bearing obstructions, which obstruct our freedom, are the causes that will again bring effects. We can’t stop them. This process continues from cycle to cycle for every organism. Some work does not produce results immediately, but it has been produced slowly lately. We do not know why these results of terrible misfortune, disease, and other emotional or physical turmoil come to us because the whole thing is going against us. The law of cause and effect works underneath the surface, which we cannot see. Our vision is only on the surface because we can’t get rid of egoism.
Anything that makes us truly happy and never produces any evil effect is good. However, it is an illusion that you can remain in an eternal state of happiness in this material world. It is our innate desire to remain undisturbed, but more often, things around us shatter our beliefs. The best way is to accept the shadowy part of life with courage and know that true happiness is unconditional. It comes gradually with the freedom of the spirit. It is not at all easy to obtain, but it is worth trying for.
-Written by Shubhajit Chakraborty
Email-chakraborty.shubhajit@gmail.com