The basic foundation of Meditation is to purify and experience the true nature of our body, thoughts and emotions. If this much happens our life will become really blissful and divine. If the feeling that We are the body disappears, then We will become bodiless.
If our identification with the body is broken, bodilessness will happen. When We are walking along a path, We see that deeply inside there is someone who is not walking. When We have some pain in our hand or foot, looking deep inside us with awareness, We understand that it is our body that is hurt and We are getting identified with the pain.
With all that is happening in our lives, while We are standing, sitting, walking, sleeping, waking, We need to remember to be aware to make a constant effort to see where things are actually happening. The awareness of that being and the dropping of the identification with the body, dropping of the feeling that We are the body is Bodilessness.
Alexander the Great
When Alexander was returning from India he wanted to take a sannyasin back with him so that he could show people in Greece what an Indian sannyasin looks like. There were many sannyasins who were ready and eager to go.
But Alexander did not want to take just anyone who was eager, as one who was eager would not be a true sannyasin. He was looking for some sannyasin who had some authenticity.When he was crossing the border regions, he met one particular sannyasin. The soldiers went to the sannyasin to ask him to join Alexander to Greece.The sannyasin said that nobody had the power or courage to force a sannyasin to go anywhere.The soldiers were shocked as there were thousands of sannyasins who begged Alexander to take them.
The sannyasin said that Alexander and his power can conquer everything, but it cannot conquer those who have already conquered themselves. Alexander was amazed with the strange words of the sannyasin. Alexander himself went to the sannyasin and threatened to cut off his head. The sannyasin smiled and said “Do it ! Just as you will see that you have cut the head off this body, I also will see that the head has been cut off the body. But you will not be able to kill me, because I am the Watcher.”
Shri Krishna rightly said,”That which fire cannot burn, which an arrow can’t pierce, which a sword cannot cut, that Is-ness, that being is within us. The Integrated Being which fire cannot burn and an arrow cannot penetrate is within us.”
I heard one story:
It was full-moon night. The moon was full and it was a beautiful night, so friends felt like going boating in the middle of the night. They wanted to have some fun, so before climbing into the boat they got drunk. They got into the boat and rowed for a long time.When the morning was breaking they regained their senses and thought,” How far have We come?
We rowed the whole night.”But when they looked closely they saw that they were still alongside the same bank where they had been the night before. Then they realized that they had forgotten to untie the boat and had rowed the boat for such a long time. And however much, someone who has not untied one’s boat from the bank, may suffer and cry in this infinite ocean of the Divine, One will get nowhere.
The Boat of our Consciousness is tied to our body, thoughts, emotions. It is our shore. In an unconscious state We can go on rowing for lifetimes, endless lifetimes. But when ray of Light touches us and We wake up and look, We wasted lifetimes rowing yet have forgotten to untie the boat.
We need to learn to untie the boat.To Row is very easy, but to untie is very difficult. Ordinarily it is very easy to untie the boat and difficult to row.But in the stream of Life, it is very difficult to untie the boat but to Row is very easy.
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa once said,”Untie your Boat, open your Sails and the Winds of the Divine will take you-you will not even need to row.” What he said was true-If We untie the boat We will see that the winds of the Divine are already blowing and they will take you to faraway shores. And unless We reach the further shores We will not know what Bliss is.
The Light of Consciousness is Enlightenment, Samadhi. It is the door to Truth, Self, Divine. But first, We must untie our boat.
ll Om Amen Amin ll
