What is your truth?
I recently read a book, "If Truth be Told - A Monk's Memoir" by Om Swami. It was a fascinating book. I liked it so much, I am already reading his second book. I have read few other memoirs from various Swami and Monks in the last few years. One book I really liked was by Swami Rama,"Living with Himalayan Masters" quite fascinating.
This book starts with a interesting point ..
A sadhu visits the author's mom and said that she will have a 3rd child. "The woman said, they have a boy and girl and they do not plan to have anymore". But the Sadhu tells that you will have a 3rd child and and he will have divine quality. Now it does happen and the third child is Amit who later becomes Om Swami in a realized form. This makes very interesting to the discussion we had few weeks back "Are we predetermined?".
In the book, Amit talks about how grew up, his early inclinations, how he became a highly successful technology entrepreneur at a very young age (20's) and then at the age of 30, left everything in search of truth; experiences he faced searching for a Guru, rejection and finally finding a path of his own. Instead of going over his metamorphosis process which is quite revealing (one has to read the book to understand the depth of his journey), I want to talk abut few things in the book which was very thought provoking to me.
Religion
"The most inflexible people I have met are the most 'religious'. Religion is our creation. It is the middleman who over-promises and under-delivers and what's more, it rarely connects us to the right supplier."
"We depend upon religion and theology because we have lost faith in ourselves and in our fellow humans. As a result, we need external pillars to support ourselves. Self-Realization is removing yourself from that support structure .. "
Illusion
"Some scriptures say the world is an illusion. There is a heaven and hell."
"The world may be temporary but does not make unreal. Nothing is absolute or permanent, anyway. The reality is that everything in creation is in a state if constant transformation; everything is interconnected and interdependent."
I like the word impermanence to illusion. We know that everything is changing, life is short, even stars die and long long time from now, the Universe may collapse to a singularity. Illusion fills like that we are in a unreal world (like in the movie Matrix). Once we understand that we are real, Earth is real and all of us connected for a small period of time ... it makes life more fuller and truthful than thinking like we are in some sort of illusion. Now, for people who think they will live forever are in a big illusion.
Truth
"The eternal truth is that you have a right to live your life to the fullest."
"Listen to your inner voice. This voice is the purest voice you will ever know. Your truth is also the greatest religion, the highest God. A sense of fulfillment comes from walking your own path. For some, it may be meditation, for others it may be music, dancing, painting, writing or reading. Find what makes you happy and pursue it"
"Rewrite your rules, redefine yourself. Do not let life slip you by. You are a master of infinite possibilities." "I have given you my truth, Go discover yours"
What is your truth?
So, how to go about it discovering our own truth ...? Now, we don't have to write a memoir like Om Swami.
Each of us must find our own path and own way. To discover the truth, one has to be true to oneself. That may mean, really taking a deep breath and reflecting. The first step may be coming to closure on the past and only then a new road can be forged.
It is time to discover
it is time to realize
it is time to be brave
share what was not shared
speak what was not spoken
fix what was not fixed
and there are things which
can not be shared
can not be spoken
it is time to write them
in the sands of a beach
let the waves of ocean
purify it for eternity.
=========
07.10.16
This book starts with a interesting point ..
A sadhu visits the author's mom and said that she will have a 3rd child. "The woman said, they have a boy and girl and they do not plan to have anymore". But the Sadhu tells that you will have a 3rd child and and he will have divine quality. Now it does happen and the third child is Amit who later becomes Om Swami in a realized form. This makes very interesting to the discussion we had few weeks back "Are we predetermined?".
In the book, Amit talks about how grew up, his early inclinations, how he became a highly successful technology entrepreneur at a very young age (20's) and then at the age of 30, left everything in search of truth; experiences he faced searching for a Guru, rejection and finally finding a path of his own. Instead of going over his metamorphosis process which is quite revealing (one has to read the book to understand the depth of his journey), I want to talk abut few things in the book which was very thought provoking to me.
Religion
"The most inflexible people I have met are the most 'religious'. Religion is our creation. It is the middleman who over-promises and under-delivers and what's more, it rarely connects us to the right supplier."
"We depend upon religion and theology because we have lost faith in ourselves and in our fellow humans. As a result, we need external pillars to support ourselves. Self-Realization is removing yourself from that support structure .. "
Illusion
"Some scriptures say the world is an illusion. There is a heaven and hell."
"The world may be temporary but does not make unreal. Nothing is absolute or permanent, anyway. The reality is that everything in creation is in a state if constant transformation; everything is interconnected and interdependent."
I like the word impermanence to illusion. We know that everything is changing, life is short, even stars die and long long time from now, the Universe may collapse to a singularity. Illusion fills like that we are in a unreal world (like in the movie Matrix). Once we understand that we are real, Earth is real and all of us connected for a small period of time ... it makes life more fuller and truthful than thinking like we are in some sort of illusion. Now, for people who think they will live forever are in a big illusion.
Truth
"The eternal truth is that you have a right to live your life to the fullest."
"Listen to your inner voice. This voice is the purest voice you will ever know. Your truth is also the greatest religion, the highest God. A sense of fulfillment comes from walking your own path. For some, it may be meditation, for others it may be music, dancing, painting, writing or reading. Find what makes you happy and pursue it"
"Rewrite your rules, redefine yourself. Do not let life slip you by. You are a master of infinite possibilities." "I have given you my truth, Go discover yours"
What is your truth?
So, how to go about it discovering our own truth ...? Now, we don't have to write a memoir like Om Swami.
Each of us must find our own path and own way. To discover the truth, one has to be true to oneself. That may mean, really taking a deep breath and reflecting. The first step may be coming to closure on the past and only then a new road can be forged.
It is time to discover
it is time to realize
it is time to be brave
share what was not shared
speak what was not spoken
fix what was not fixed
and there are things which
can not be shared
can not be spoken
it is time to write them
in the sands of a beach
let the waves of ocean
purify it for eternity.
=========
07.10.16
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