Quote
from the true charm and power of Vedanta
Perseverance is strength
A friend of mine, after his studies in the High School worked in an organisation to make his living. He has to work eight hours a day to eke out a livelihood for his family. But he appeared in private for the MA Examination. “Being a pirate candidate i wasn’t given a first class. Fifty –nine percent is my score, “he said. He was not a born genius. I asked him, “How did you mange to study amidst all these worries! His answer was interestingly significant. “I went up step by step, it was not a difficult ascent” He put in two hours of solid work every day, by way or preparing for the examination.
Whenever we meet people with outstanding
achievement in any field, sports, music, or oratory –we often attribute it to a
divine gift and we tend to think that we could never be like the victor. But we
should not forget the years of regular work before their apparently stupendous
success. What is the miracle in achieving something after years of hard work? It
is perseverance that is at the base of our strength.
We often get upset and discouraged when we try to achieve something spectacular or miraculous, at the earliest. We should remember that even a thousand mile journey starts with a single step. All big triumphs are a culmination of several small efforts. When we accomplish small tasks by applying our mind whole heatedly we can be sure that the final big task will lead to a great achievement.,
Get transformed, make the world a better place
Speaking Tree in TOI . India, Spirituality.
By Ramesh Bijlani
Many have felt drawn to Sri
Aurobindo because of the reputation of his works, particularly Savitri and The
Life Divine. While the language in which he wrote is appreciated by some for
its elegance and poetic quality, his teachings appeal to a wider audience.
The core of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings is to bring spirituality into daily life. It is common for people to complain, “Where is the time for spirituality?” This is because of the misconception that spirituality is the preserve of the lucky few who can afford to run away from life and relax in the Himalayas. It is assumed that for the rest of us, who are caught in the web of responsibilities and temptations, spirituality can at the most be some outer symbols, a weekly fast perhaps and often mechanically performed rituals on occasions such as birth, marriage and death. We forget that spiritual growth is the purpose of the journey of life, for the fulfilment of which life itself is the vehicle. It is the attitude with which daily work is done and the choices that we make in daily life that takes us quietly towards liberation from fleeting joys and sorrows.
Sri Aurobindo calls our life “a
tranquil pilgrimage” in which all our acts help us and all events are signs
that guide us towards “timeless peace”. His succinct message for a meaningful
life is to acknowledge our oneness, which in turn would inspire love: “to feel
love and oneness is to live,” says he in Savitri. These are teachings with a
universal appeal and are meant for every one of us.
Before he took to spirituality full
time, earlier, as a freedom fighter, Sri Aurobindo kindled courage and idealism
in youth through his pithy and witty writings. During the brief period that he
was in the thick of the Freedom Struggle, he set before the nation the goal of
‘purna swaraj’, total self-rule, and worked out a detailed blueprint of action
for the same. Passive resistance was one way of achieving the goal of purna
swaraj. The essence of passive resistance was that people cooperate to not
cooperate with the foreign rulers. For example, boycotting foreign goods could
deal a severe blow to the economics worked out by the British, making it
unprofitable for them to continue to rule India.
It was a divine revelation Sri
Aurobindo experienced during his year-long imprisonment that led him to
discover that the true mission of his life was something much wider and deeper
than the country’s freedom. So he stepped out of the Freedom Struggle with the
message that the nation must wait for the “God-sent leader” who will mobilise
people to liberate the country. About a decade later, Gandhiji emerged as a
leader, and making liberal use of the blueprint prepared by Sri Aurobindo, he
turned the freedom struggle into a powerful movement.
Unlike conventional spirituality
that has been used to guiding a select few towards their personal salvation,
Sri Aurobindo wanted everyone to progress together spiritually. His mission was
to help transform human nature, and make it possible for the world to become a
much better place to live in.
August 15 is Sri Aurobindo’s birth
anniversary
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