Realize the Ultimate Truth

athato brahma jijnasa: “Now this human form of life is meant for inquiring about The absolute truth, the transcendental, spiritual nature” – The Vedanta Sutra (1.1.1)

A Blessing in Disguise

My father had been in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for last two days. We met doctors the same morning that we arrived in India. The timing was perfect as they had enough time to review my father’s case during this period.

He was brain dead, half side paralyzed, his heart was working at about 15% of its capacity and he was put on ventilator. The doctor briefed on his condition: there is no chance for his survival, it is just matter of time.

But the family wanted to wait, to see if a miracle can improve his health.

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Connecting the Dots

Steve Jobs used this term in his 2005 Stanford commencement address. It is worth reading. If you haven’t, please do so. Here’s the link.

He says “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Instead of “…Life, Karma, whatever”, I call it “Lord’s hand in everything”. I’m sure all of us have observed this phenomenon in our lives. Though at times, it becomes very difficult to believe in it especially when we face adversity and there doesn’t seem to be any hope.

I can recall many incidents related to this phenomenon ever since my elementary school years. Here is the most recent one.

Fall season was around the corner and it was time to visit Europe again. It is my most favorite time of the year as Summer crowds are gone and weather is just perfect..60-80 (F) degrees. I spent about a month planning this trip. It had to be a different place, different culture that we haven’t had experienced yet.  The final itinerary looked like this: spend two weeks in Rome, Florence, Venice and one week in Istanbul.

The trip was going great, no flight delays or unexpected travel hassles. Every day was a beautiful sunny day in Rome. To make the most of our vacation, we don’t carry a phone while traveling international and limited internet access is good enough for us.

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Listen to Your Heart

If you do that then you will be the happiest and most satisfied person in life.

 

So how do we do it?

By spending some time in silence and contemplation daily. Or whenever possible, given the challenging and busy lives that we lead. The ideal place is your prayer room or your quiet space. It can also be done while doing other favorite activities of yours such as walking, biking, exercising, showering, taking bath etc. The key is to be alone so that you’re able to listen or talk to yourself.

The problem is that we can’t do without Noise :-). We need the radio, music, TV or headphones all the times. If that’s the case, how will we ever connect with ourselves?

Each one of us has inherent strengths or some unique talents. We are here in this world to fulfill a purpose and the “art of listening to our heart” allows us to discover the very same. It allows us to be in sync with the Higher Purpose and relieves us of everyday anxieties.

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Pursuit of Perfection

All of us are already familiar with Pursuit of Happiness which means that everybody wants to be happy, nobody wants to be miserable. Then there is Pursuit of Excellence which only few seek in their lives, though this term is more common in the Business World.

What I’m talking about is: Pursuit of Perfection. “Perfection” is an under rated word, it doesn’t apply to only few. It applies to everybody, all of us are seeking Perfection.

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