Set Your Compass, and You Will Reach the Port Within
In this New Year let us ask ourselves the question: What do we want in life, more thoughts about what we want or thoughts about the Inner reality that is Thoughtless? Meditation takes us to a state of thoughtless Awareness. Don’t we need this state more than ever in this day and age? In today’s world we humans are thinking far too much!! The CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, presented an astounding fact at a conference in 2010. He said we create as much information in two days now as we did from the dawn of man through 2003. This is a mind-boggling fact, unbelievable as it may appear, but that is what their research proves.
We humans are thinking too much; thinking about what we could learn next, want next, have next, do next. We think if we obtain these desires, we will then be happy! Thinking too much and addictive doing are creating the mess that we are in today. Driven by the rajasic tendencies (according to ayurveda, one of the three gunas, characterized by activity, stimulation, and movement) of “doing,” man is now at the brink of forgetting the reality that we are not “human doings,” but more precisely “human beings.”
When activity possesses your striving in life, then you forget the Center within, and you drift to the periphery. At the periphery there are more distorting vibrations that lead to confusion and conflicts, stress and tensions. That is what is happening to the ambitious men and women today who are suffering with self-victimization.
Thinking without being conscious of the thinker has taken us far away from the core within. We are more like lost children in the wilderness of life! It is time we stop for a while, look to our inner compass, and decide which direction to go. Let us first set our compass and then sail for the port we want to reach!
But how do we find the right direction with all this information bombarding us, creating all these thoughts within? There is no better way than to first be mindful, practice meditation, and gravitate towards the Center Within.
Through mindfulness you need to learn to be very alert as to what kind of food you are ingesting through your eyes and ears, for all the unfiltered information most often creates a lot of mental indigestion. The bombardment of images, programs, celebrity news, advertisements, and even Facebook and YouTube, often only serves to clutter our minds and hearts with unhealthy amounts of information. Be careful with what you feed your mind!
Attainment of knowledge is a natural desire, but let us be conscious while discerning between what information we truly need and what we need to avoid. Our goal is to create a solid foundation of inner stability. Real learning only happens when the knowledge you have gathered benefits our Spirit. One has to decide what knowledge is beneficial in the search for the answer to the fundamental question in life, “Who am I?” Any knowledge, even seemingly beneficial knowledge, which you do not convert into self-help for your ultimate Journey in life, will simply clutter or muddle your mind.
I would never, ever wish you to stop seeking and acquiring knowledge, but my whole intention here is to have you think deeply: Do we need only information and knowledge or do we need to find the inner Reality that gives true meaning to all acquired knowledge, the Knowledge of the Self? This mass of knowledge and dwindling Wisdom is the major reason for the waning of the values that kept the family and society bonded so well in the past. We did not have these wonderful gadgets but we had time for each other, love for each other, and concern for each other.
People are feeding on, often proactively seeking, a lot more information than they can use. Unless the information received can be used to make one’s life, and lives of some others better, it only agitates our mind. Like our sages and saints have always said, knowledge, unless practiced, is of no use. What is the use of knowing if we don’t know who we are?
And what is the use of doing if it does not take us to our Being? Doing without being conscious of the Doer within has made us “human doings,” and not “human beings.” Thinking without being conscious of who is truly thinking has taken us far away from the Core within.
But in your meditation you can learn to be a double-headed arrow, and be conscious of the Spirit within that makes all thoughts possible and sees that all deeds are done. Meditation is time to revisit your “port,” to relax and rejuvenate, regenerate, heal, and then bounce back to the dynamic life of activities. Think, think, think, do, do, do, learn, learn, learn till the last breath, but do not stray from your center, your inner cave, your silent “port” of eternal peace and calm.
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