Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
VEDANTA IN ACTION.
This is the title of a publication from CM which,
whilst it of course has items by Gurudev, also includes selections of writing
from other well-esteemed Gurus from the Vedantic tradition as well as leading
businessmen. Its focus is the working life. We shall be exploring these essays
for the next few weeks on Workings-day as, clearly, they pertain directly to
the premise of this section of AVBlog! As ever, you are encouraged to read back over previous
posts, to ensure full benefit.
3: Actionless Action.
Meditation in Action (Swami Ajaya)
Letting Go
The
whole process of meditation, whether it is working with thoughts inside or
objects outside, is learning how not to get absorbed in them to the extent that
we forget our essential nature. The core
of meditation involves letting go each time we find we have become dependent or
addicted. The process of letting go has the quality of a flower that is opening
and this creates a very beautiful feeling. It is a feeling of joy, purity and
innocence. It contrasts markedly with the tense discomfort of clinging. This is
what the experience of growth is all about. Growth is a joy, a blossoming, an
opening, a letting go of whatever we have been grasping so that we can move out
of the past and experience what is fresh and new in the present. When you sit
down and meditate and find you are holding onto ideas of who you are, or fears
or expectations, just say to yourself, 'let go!' Do exactly the same with in the world. With
things that you are holding onto and feel "I have it, it is part of
me", let go of that clinging attitude. It is not necessary to give up the
object outwardly. Letting go mentally of your dependency on the object is
sufficient to create that feeling of completeness within yourself and within
the moment. Simply have the attitude, "I don't have to have it in order to
be whole. I can let go and still be full and complete."
Creating
Our Environment.
Learning
to see the value of any situation we are in is another aspect of meditation in
action. Accepting responsibility for our circumstances and seeing the positive
value in them as a learning experience can help to free us from involvement.
Instead of losing our centre in complaint, annoyance and rejection, we can
learn to stand above our situation. We can learn to relate to any circumstance
without becoming imbalanced. It has been said that are 'sermons in stones and
in running brooks'. When we understand that there are hidden teachings in all
situations, we will begin to find happiness and joy in all sorts of activities
that we thought were mundane or repulsive.
If
we could fully understand and appreciate that we are always creating our own reality, and if we
could live with that idea, our entire way of experiencing our world would be
changed. Instead of blaming others for our situation and pushing off
responsibility, we would begin to see that when we assume responsibility we
then transform our world both in terms of our internal state and the external
environment. As longs as you make others responsible by saying, "they are
doing to me; I have to do this; my
parents want me to do this…" the thoughts which make up your internal
environment are those of the helpless slave. If
you think in these terms you are creating a negative attitude for
yourself and the world that you live in is unhappy, unpleasant and negative.
When you realise that you yourself choose your circumstances, the world takes
on a different hue.
...tbc...