Monday,
07 January 2019
Lonely
But Never Alone
The
Speaking Tree | India | ET
By LEWIS
RICHMOND
Loneliness
often increases as we grow older. Certainly when those we know begin to pass
away (which may start when we are in our 50s). There is a kind of loneliness
that comes and cannot easily be assuaged. Their loss is permanent.
I have a
thumbnail summary of Buddhism that goes like this, “Everything is connected,
nothing lasts, and we are not alone.” So, the losses of our friends and loved
ones tells us, like nothing else can, that “nothing lasts” — especially those
things that we most care about.
So, what
do I mean when I say, especially to those grieving or lonely, “We are not
alone?” Loneliness is part of the human condition, and even adepts and realised
teachers of Buddhism can suffer from it — though they may understand and accept
it better.
We may
feel grief and loneliness, but we are actually never alone. My life story and
memories and losses are unique. Nobody else feels them as I do. But in that
discreteness is also connection. We are unique individuals, but each of us has
the same fundamental nature — Buddha nature. Touching that fundamental nature —
for example, in meditation — is paradoxically the way we connect with everyone
and everything.
“Everything
is connected” and “We are not alone” are two ways of describing the same
condition. Touching that connection means that our all-too-human loneliness has
some context. We grieve for those we have lost, but we rejoice in the
connections that have, have always had, and will always have. We are not alone.
DISCLAIMER
: Views expressed above are the author's own.
Quote
from the True Charm and Power of Vedanta
Initiator
and Guru
The
Speaking Tree | ET
By B
Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj
The words
‘initiation’ and ‘diksha’ are not synonymous. The Oxford English Dictionary
says, ‘initiation’ means admitting or introducing somebody to membership of a
group, often by means of a special ceremony. The definition of ‘diksha’ is
given in Hari-bhakti-viläsa: “the procedure by which self-effulgent (divine)
knowledge that eradicates the cause of all sins”.
Divine
knowledge comes through revelation. One who has realised the Supreme can impart
that self-effulgent knowledge to others, provided the aspirant submits to the
Supreme and to his guru. The initiatorguru must have two qualifications, says
the Mundaka Sruti: he must be well-versed in the scriptures, and he must have
realisation of Divinity.
Krishna
is Supreme. By serving Him, we serve all. If we pour water at the root of the
tree, all parts of the tree will be nourished, if we give food to the stomach,
all parts of the body will be nourished — we should have firm faith that by
serving Him we serve all.
A bona
fide guru does not think himself as guru while giving mantra to disciples; he
never makes disciples with the ego of being guru. Showing the path of eternal
welfare to aspirants is the greatest service of Krishna. An observer may think
that one is giving mantra as guru and the other is receiving it as disciple.
Those who give mantra with ulterior motives suffer for the sinful acts of the
disciples because they are not doing it for the Supreme’s satisfaction. God is
Omniscient; nobody can deceive Him.
DISCLAIMER
: Views expressed above are the author's own.
But, if He exists?
I
drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and
evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed
at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on
something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well,
if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He
exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten
minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy
that I derive 4m.
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