Beyond Matter

If there’s ONE thing that comes pointing at you from all directions…

From the romance movies that you watch…

From the stories people tell you…

… and from the fairy tales & other tales that people tell you as you grow up…

That there’s SOMETHING called a Happily Ever-After.

Your pretty little princess is in distress, the Prince arrives, saves the day & both set off happily ever after.

There’s a war going on, there are difficulties – but the King pulls through & reigns over the world as an uncontested champion.

That’s the story we’re exposed to.

That’s the message society tries to convey.

… and this creates a society of frustrated souls, broken values & a low self-esteem society because life doesn’t work that way.

Life & the Universe never worked that way.

And this is where I love Indian Mythology so much.

Indian mythology, with it’s stories, convey a potent hidden message – and this message is open to interpretation.

The Ramayana is a perfect example of a story that conveys life’s lessons in a point blank fashion.

You have Rama, a mighty personality, epitome of goodness, helper of the poor, people’s champion – ready
to ascend the throne of Ayodhya.

People are incredibly happy & joyous with his marriage to Sita from Mithila & the couple are in conjugal bliss.

Ayodhya’s King Dasaratha is ready to hand over the reins to his son & plans to crown him.

And there comes the twist in the tale.

Dasaratha imposes an exile on Rama & Rama goes on exile with Sita & Lakshmana.

Even in exile, with cheerfulness, the husband, wife & the brother continue to thrive & live their life
through challenges.

And as they’re going about their activities, living in exile – comes ANOTHER turning point – Ravana
takes Sita away.

Rama is devastated & destroyed. He doesn’t know what to do & yet he’s determined to get Sita back.

He finds his army in Sugreeva & Hanuman, and in order to win Sugreeva & his army over to his side,
Rama has to commit a few sins that he would have NEVER committed otherwise for his majestic
sense of integrity.

And then comes the battle – after which he wins Sita back.

Sita & Rama return to lead their life & live happily for a while… until people start talking & Sita
decides to leave Ayodhya yet again.

Throughout this tale & also the other mythological tale Mahabharata, there’s a lesson about
life that’s being conveyed.

And that is…

There isn’t a happily ever-after. You can’t have it all.

You can have fulfilment, you can have bliss for some periods, but there is a time when
that gets taken away.

In life, day to day – we come across men & women like Rama.

Capable, smart, sensible, hard-working & goal-oriented.

They know what they want & are determined to get it.

They work incredibly hard towards their goals, their ambitions & plans…

… and yet something doesn’t go right.

It may be money, success, love, health or whatever that is.

Their goals – their ultimate desires – are the Ayodhya Crown & Sita.

There are some periods of time where you have the Crown & Sita.

… and then there are testing periods where the Crown gets taken away,
Sita is around.

Then you have both Sita & the crown taken away, and like Rama – we restlessly
wander in search & are forced to fight a war.

… a war that we didn’t need to fight.

This is life as it is.

You have periods of fulfilment where you have it all.

And then, there’s a twist in the tale – an incident that pushes you away.

Once that twist happens, there’s restlessness.

There’s a period of testing time, struggles, doubtfulness and once again,
returns the time of bliss.

This is LIFE as it is.

As humans, the primarily lesson that we need to learn is that we can’t have it all.

We can have fulfilment in life.

We can have periods of bliss.

But that too shall pass, and another set of challenges come through.

When we have bliss & fulfilment, we’re really happy.

But, it’s in the challenges where we’re tested.

It’s during the challenges where we become distraught, devastated & distract ourselves
from the goal.

Kingdom of Ayodhya must never be forgotten.

Sita must be won back.

At the same time, we must never lose the peace & steadfastness within ourselves.

Rama went through a lot of trouble-some situations, but he didn’t go back to Ayodhya calling
out his struggles.

He faced them boldly, courageously & there were incidents where he had to compromise.

And that simply is life.

You also learn this in Mithila’s King Janaka’s conversation with Ashtavakra after his nightmarish dream.

“All things change,” he said, “and that which remains true is within us. Feeling that reality within dispels all doubts, but thinking and talking only leads to more doubts and discontentment.”

Everything in life changes, things get taken away.

Lakshmana may draw a line, but Sita still gets taken away.

Everybody wants Rama to be the King, including Bharatha – but Bharatha ends up getting crowned anyway.

That’s simply the way life works.

The sooner we realize this truth & accept the discomforts, challenges & zig zags life throws at us – the better equipped we become to face the world.

Fortune favors the brave,

Harry Ramsay

Do you feel that peace of mind evades you no matter what you achieve in life?

Have you ever gone through an experience where you reach one goal, and your mind has a natural tendency to hanker for another goal?

If so, you’re not alone.

Desire after desire, goal after goal, like a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of it’s head, we are always seeking some goal or another thinking that it’ll give us peace.

… But in reality, we come to learn from experience that peace of mind does not come from achievement of these goals.

Peace of mind is a state of being…

… and it starts right now even if you have nothing.

With peace of mind as your foundation, you can build & achieve anything in life.

When you’ve learned the art of maintaining peace with yourself, you’ll find that you’ll go unruffled through insurmountable challenges.

With that said, here are 3 keys to attaining peace of mind…

1. Be Free

You are the eternal soul that is beyond birth & death. You have no wants nor no lack. You are beyond all these things, and therefore, you are never bounded. So you don’t need anything external to fulfil you. You have a fountain within yourself that will quench your thirst even in the darkest of times.

So let all your desires go. Don’t hanker after them. Selectively choose your desires that you want to pursue which are appropriate for your station in life, but don’t hanker after it like an animal. Be a human, be a hero. Go after your desires/goals strategically knowing that even if you achieve it, it is just a part of the process.

2. Accept Responsibility

The mark of a hero, and the mark of a coward is in the level of responsibility he/she accepts in himself. The hero takes complete responsibility on his shoulder, and carries forward with zeal and enthusiasm. You find that heroism in Mahatma Gandhi, Bharatiyar, George Washington & many others.

… and that’s why they’ve made history. When there is uncertainty whether in your work, in your life or in the society, whoever takes the full responsibility & tries to create a result out of that uncertainty emerges victorious.

Be determined not to curse anything on the outside. Always take responsibility because no power in this Universe can stop you from having a thing that you truly deserve. So take the full responsibility on your shoulders.

3. Be Not Discouraged

As you go through life, tremendous difficulties will appear, and they will always test you.

The mark of a hero is that he is never discouraged by setbacks. He is clear & determined about his goal, and moves forward with zeal no matter the turbulences, criticisms, and failures.

The coward takes discouragement to his heart, begins to doubt himself, his goal & starts to give up. And when you do that, death & depression seizes upon you like a tiger latching onto a prey.

Never let go, never be discouraged. Be clear about your goal, work on with the intrepidity of a lion, the tenderness of a flower and your path will open up.

The Happily Ever After Connundrum

3 Keys To Peace Of Mind