The Way To Perfection-Part II

Anecdotes

-Staff

By Staff

Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 16:59

When Swami calls us for interview He always says: "Go". What is "go"? To go is to let go! How can we 'go' when we can't 'let go'? This is the first step in the path of self surrender: to let go! When we let go, then we can sell all, then we can give all, then we can come and take refuge at the Divine lotus feet, (Manasa bajare Guru charanam), then we can surrender to that lotus feet who will take us across the ocean of samsara – circle of birth and death.

When the man had left, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

This was another shocker for the disciples. "In that case" they asked, "Who then can be saved?" The Jews looked upon wealth as a blessing from God, a reward for being good, a sign for His special favour. If the rich - those who from the disciple's point of view seemed to be first in the line for salvation - cannot be saved, then who in the world can be saved? Jesus looked at them intently and said, "From the human point of view, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

In reality, it is not just the rich who have difficulty, for perfection is not possible for any one from a human point of view. But from God's View Point, everything is possible! So perfection is all about the optical medium with which we see Reality. When we see with the human binoculars we see 'I' and 'mine', 'you' and 'him', 'male' and 'female', 'rich' and 'poor', etc. This sense of duality is the illusion that creates the tangles of attachment. Like this rich young man we have lots of attachments. This young man probably did not know that he was deeply attached to his wealth. This is also true of many of our attachments. You cannot tell what you are attached to until it is disturbed.

Swami often shakes our attachments in order that we may not only become aware of them, but also to let go of them. But we do not need to wait for this shaking. We must adopt an attitude of mind whereby we are always ready to let go! What is this attitude? It is the sense of "I" and "mine". It is this sense that we have to let go.

Some feel that detachment means letting go of material possessions. But this is not detachment. In any case it is not possible to let go of the objects of the world. This is because objects have no independent existence apart from us. Where can we run away from them? Be it in the forest or in the city, they are there. Come to Prashanthi Nilayam and they are there too. Can we go anywhere to escape them? No! What has to be let go are not the objects but this sense of possession, this attitude that things belong to us, this feeling that make things happen for us...

When the clothing of "I" and "Mine" is stripped away, then we will see Perfection because we will see from the Divine View Point: All is One! There is no other, no owner and owned, no you and me! All is One, be alike to everyone! This is salvation. Jesus is telling us today: 'This is the only way to perfection'