“Surely he was the greatest man who ever lived. He never drew a breath for himself. Above all, he never claimed worship. He said, “Buddha is not a man, but a state. I have found the door. Enter, all of you!”
– Swami Vivekananda
It is an unfair exchange with God. Perhaps that’s why they say, God is not for trading with. Keep your transactions out of it. But what if you do end up in such an exchange?
It is bound to be unfair. You give a little, He will give a lot. This is in gist, what Akshaya Trittiya is about.
To those who worship Him, the Lord may grant mukti sometimes, but rarely bhakti.
– Srimad Bhagvatam
It is said that the Lord uses such willing vessels to teach others through their example. In their non-resistance to insult and injury, they show His greatness. Their humility reflects the compassion of the Lord. Their gentle equanimity is a reflection of the Lord’s own smile. Their lack of ill-will is a glimpse of His Love.
There is something within us that whispers, ‘choose me’. It is the voice of Light that has the potential to burst into a rainbow of colours. As we come upon Holi, the festival of colours, we also usher in the first month of the Hindu new year, Chaitra. The eve of Holi, Holika Dahan, is marked by a large bonfire where we surrender the past within us to the Light, to make way for the new. This is always a conscious choice, just as weeds grow wantonly but a flower needs deliberate planting.
Whether we were born here or not, Bharat is an opportunity for all of humanity to witness through this civilization, how the ‘outer’ and ‘inner’ has the potential to beautifully integrate. Not because of concocted beliefs or some selfish desires of a group of exclusive people, but because of the universal movement of Life itself – through Sanatana Dharma. …We stand at an auspicious juncture as we correct narratives and understandings and move from ‘mythology’ to history, ‘religion’ to dharma, lies to the uncovering of truth.
Rama as the Sun, ushers in the inner light of consciousness. In a country where Sanatana Dharma beautifully integrates the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’, the establishing of Rama’s presence in Ayodhya after 500 long years of struggle, is hopefully a sign of a civilisational awakening and a cultural renaissance that is long overdue.
“You won’t reach it without singing; if you don’t sing, it’s far.
But when you sing with deep feeling, God is right where you are!”
– Kabir
