The Path to Stillness….

 

The Path to Stillness….

Conscious, deliberate effort is needed

To attain that effortless

State of STILLNESS.

 

-          Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharshi

-          Day by Day – 11/01/1946

Yes.

 

The way has to be conscious.

Does it mean you have got to push yourself?

No.

No Effort of Herculean sort is required.

 

Gentle shift suffices.

What holds you back from that gentle shift?

 

Maha Periyava reasons it out and attributes the same to the past birth – purva janma.

Those accumulations – purva karma  weigh you down.

How will you undo the past misdeeds?

 

By doing good – punya- deeds in this current birth and eschewing any misdeed now.

How do we do?

 

The God shows the way.

To engage in doing good karma, duty now;

To observe prayer and follow the way of devotion- i.e., the Bhakthi Marga.

 

What is punya karma?

The swadharma, the nature of a bee is to collect honey from flowers.  No other creature can do it. It’s unique to Bees.  The same way, Vedas prescribe a particular way of living to everyone.

 

As Mahatma points out there is everything for one’s need but not for greed.

 

Indulgence in greed steers one away from the path of righteousness and the indulgent one keeps adding to accumulation of hate, sorrow and fear.  Even when one engages in one’s own duty to make his own living, still he has a duty to mind the welfare and good of others as well. The bee does not gather honey and keep all for itself. Neither the river flows for itself nor the Sun rises for itself.   It’s here the volunteering for good public causes, helping others play a vital role.  Such engaging keeps the mind pristine pure and leads one to the God Consciousness.

 

Mere cajoling, commanding one to pray, sing in praise of Lord would not work. That’s why there are rituals, prayers, namas in religions.  Involving in this marga, the Godward journey happens.

 

Once born, all are subject to constraints, struggles, obstacles etc.  Only to feel it, there is a           tradition in Tamil community following Tamil calendar from Chitrai to Panguni that at the      beginning of the new year on first day of Chitrai, the neem flower is cooked and consumed      and on first day of the month Thai, sweet pongal is cooked and consumed along with juicy          sugar     cane. This is to indicate what begins with bitterness would end in sweetness.

Maha Periyava blesses:

 

“May everyone follow one’s dharmic – the righteous way in all fairness and be in eternal bliss”.