The Beginning Of A Blessed Journey

The power of wisdom is greater than all the wealth on earth — this was the lesson that King Alexander the Great learned after a lifetime of conquests, amassing lands, possessions, and the wealth of people across the world. When he came to India, he desired to meet a man of spiritual prowess and sent his men in search of a sage, the kind of which was always abundant in India.

They found a sage who refused to come and meet King Alexander, despite the best offers of opulence. Infuriated, the King marched to meet the sage himself, full of pride. The sage, however, was in a state of supreme bliss and detached from the world.

The King spoke insolently: “Why did you refuse my offers of gifts, and how could you be indifferent to my invitation? Do you know who I am?”

The sage replied with placid calmness: “How can I accept hospitality that has been acquired through unrighteous hostility, causing harm to innocent lives? You yourself are unaware of who you truly are — then why do you expect me to know who you are?”

The King became enraged and threatened to kill the sage. To this, the sage laughed and said, “Oh sure, you can kill my body, but not me. You will never be able to kill me.”

This marked a turning point in the King’s life.

‘Me and my body — are they different?’ To find the answer to this question is the crux of spirituality.

Now, what should a person do to walk the path of spirituality and find an experiential answer to this question? Should one become stern and cheerless in order to gain focus and force an experience? The answer is a definite ‘No.’

People think spirituality is serious, and that spiritual people are withdrawn and forlorn. But in truth, spiritual people are the most light-hearted, because they know that nothing remains in the end. Hence, they are always carefree and happy, like the sage whom King Alexander met.

The very purpose of understanding spiritual texts or pursuing any spiritual path is to make us happier and more abundantly blissful, no matter the circumstances we may face in life.

The secret behind permanent happiness is to acquire higher knowledge, by knowing which you will always be confident, fearless, calm, and steady.

It is with this purpose that we pause and turn toward the higher knowledge, which is made available to humanity through the Upaniads of Sanātana Dharma.

Higher knowledge is found in the depths of your being, unlike lower knowledge, which is found everywhere around you.

In today’s times, we know everything about our car and phone, home and business, investments and fashion — but we do not know our own true self.

The questions of ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’ have always been directed toward the world. For once, can we ask ourselves these questions: ‘Who am I?’, ‘What is the purpose of my birth?’, ‘Why am I not always happy?’

Everyone is in search of happiness — knowingly or unknowingly — and often falls for specious appearances that offer false promises.

Can you climb the shadow of a tree to pluck the shadow of a fruit? It is not possible. You must climb the real tree to fetch and taste the real fruit.

Here we are to help you taste that real fruit. For this, you do not have to do anything unusual like holding your breath for long, sitting in a cave to meditate, or giving up eating, sleeping, and other activities.

All that is needed is to turn inward, while continuing to perform your duties, plan your vacations, spend time on your hobbies, and take care of your other needs. The slight change you may need to bring is to silence your senses and mind — to move within.

Are you ready for this ever-so-worthy inward journey?

(The writer is a Humanitarian and Spiritual Teacher)