Apr 19, 2010, 12.00am IST
MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI.
The tide is shifting. Society is no longer about unity; it’s about individual isolation. The mantra seems to be: “Everything only for me.” As this selfish attitude becomes more firmly established, we find that our happiness is slowly slipping through our fingers.
Unity is the law of Nature. Without give-and-take there is no life. When the sun shines, rivers flow, birds sing, and trees bear fruit, they do so without expecting our acknowledgement or praise. Everything in Nature gives as much as possible. Our tendency to swim against the natural flow fills our minds with tension, sorrow and fear. Hence there is the rich-poor divide and so much conflict and suffering.
Earlier, there was no ownership of land. The indigenous American people and others like them in other parts of the world believed: “The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth.” They didn’t understand how land could be measured, divided, bought and sold. Then how has it come to be that we are now willing to kill each other over even the smallest of property disputes? How come children don’t flinch when they take their parents to court over inheritance matters?
Scientists and governments are promoting cutting edge research that would enable greater exploration of the universe – we want to be able to travel to Mars and beyond. We’ve succeeded in reaching the Moon, and many such efforts have led to exciting discoveries in the universe. Regardless, just as we are reaching for the stars, we should also strive to bring ourselves back to Earth.
We rush about, with packed schedules and back-to-back appointments. There’s so much to do and so little time. But if we lose our peace of mind and happiness as a result, what is the point? It is not enough to be on the fast track; we also have to go in the proper direction. Otherwise the whole trip is a waste of time. Because of our obsession with speed, many precious opportunities are passing us by without our being aware of it.
There are two important days in our life. The first is the day we are born. The second is the day we realise why we are born. But for many people, this second day never comes. They live mechanically from the day they are born until the day they die. We will only be able to appreciate the beauty and magnitude of life when we realise its true purpose.
Worrying has become second nature to us. Once a thought enters our mind, it quickly establishes a dictatorship. Soon, we lose our freedom to think in a discriminating manner with the result the mind becomes a slave. When a virus infects a computer, we are unable to access information in our folders or files. Such is the condition of our mind, infected with unwanted thoughts.
To enjoy freedom, to be more aware, we need to liberate the mind from needless thoughts. Most of our phones have a caller identity option. With this, we can see either the name or the number of the person calling us. We can accept the calls we want and ignore the calls we don’t. Similarly, when we develop awareness, we gain the ability to accept and nourish healthy thoughts and reject bad ones. Through awareness, we can even develop the ability to witness all the various functions of our mind and, ultimately, realise our true Self.
(Amma is currently touring north India. For details visit: www.amritapuri.org .)
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