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A Zen disciple asked his
master: How did you change when you became enlightened ?
The master replied: I now eat
when I eat; I sleep when I sleep.
How many of us eat when we
eat ? We watch TV, read books and newspapers; if nothing else we gossip. We
disrespect the food and it sits on our waist.
To be in the present is an
impossible task for us; our mind flits from past to future, back and forth.
Being in the 'here and now' helps transcend barriers of time and space so
that one can be everywhere at all times. This is also the state of
enlightenment, as the ego or mind breaks down at this point.
People leading a material life wish to be ascetics, Sanyasins. They
feel that they can realise happiness, peace of mind and calmness only by
donning saffron robes.
In the Mahabharata, Vyasa tells us this beautiful story. A crow
dirties a Sanyasin who is on his morning bhiksha (begging for alms). The
Sanyasin looks up in anger and the crow burns to death. He then walks up
with his bowl and stands in front of a nearby house. The lady of the house
is serving her husband, and when she has finished comes out to attend the
Sanyasin. The Sanyasin looks at her in anger, and asked: do you think I am a
crow ? Startled, the Sanyasin asked her how she knows. She says: I have no
time to explain, please go to this man in the nearby town. The Sanyasin
searches out this person in the town and finds out that he is the local
butcher.
When he goes to meet him, the butcher greets him cordially and
enquires about the housewife. The Sanyasin is again surprised, and asked
this butcher how two such ordinary people have this great power of
divination. The butcher says simply: all we do is to do our duty well;
that's all we know.
Doing one's duty, one's
dharma, well is the key to spiritual progress. That duty, that
responsibility can be your material life as well. It does not need to be the
life of an ascetic that you force fit upon Yourself. You need to be aware in
whatever you do; you need to be 100% involved in whatever you do, for you to
do your dharma well.
Stay in the present with
whatever you do; when you take the next step; when you brush your teeth;
when you smile at some one; just focus on what you are doing at that point
in time. That's true enlightenment. |
