Akira and the Sun

"Akira, my beloved, why do you look so restless?", asked the wise old sage. 

"I feel all over the place... unsure, unsatisfied.", said the worried Akira.

"Is that so? And what is it that you feel unsure about?", prompted the sage gently. 

"It's just... I've been searching for the purpose of my life for the longest time. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost there, but then I realize I'm far off. I pray to God day and night to give me the answers of my questions. I almost feel obsessed looking so deeply into things to find the smallest of signs that can possibly explain my existence. But I fail, I fail every time. It makes me sad, you know?", confessed Akira. 

"I know. Tell me Akira, what else do you do in your day? How do you feed yourself?", interrogated the sage further.

"I don't. I don't do anything else. I spend my whole day thinking and wondering when I will find the meaning of my life.", said Akira.

"Very well," said the sage, "let me help you. Look at the Sun for a minute."

Akira complied.

As the minute was up, the sage asked Akira to look away from the Sun and point to where he was standing.

"I don't know where to point," Akira exclaimed, "I can't see you! The Sun's brightness seems to have blinded me!"

To this, the sage finally revealed: 

"My dear Akira, the man who looks at the Sun all day long, will only end up being blind. Looking at the Sun all day will not gift you its light. To earn its light, you must fulfill your daily responsibilities. Living every moment fully is the only way you can get closer to your goal each day!"

_ _ _ _

The sage is so right. In looking at the Sun all day, we blind ourselves and lose our own light. Thinking all day about our endless desires, be they love, money or fame, we end up losing ourselves only to realize that we are going further and further away from our goals each day. As they say, "a watched phone never rings".

So what should we do? Stop dreaming, stop desiring? Not at all. We are bound to dream and desire, but it's the losing of self that we should learn to keep away from in dreaming and desiring. We can only reach our destination if our journey is well planned and fully lived. Else we'd be stuck in our journey, losing our way at every crossroad and possibly running behind mirages that never existed...

iMeditate

Day before, I went to a Meditation Centre to celebrate a friend's birthday. She goes there often, but it was my first time. It's called the The London Centre of Self-Realization Fellowship. 

To briefly introduce... 

This centre is managed by members of Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), an organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. The purpose of this SRF centre is to provide a communal place for people to practice the teachings of Yogananda, indulge in group meditations and provide spiritual support to each other. The centre runs on a schedule and is open to everyone who wishes to practice meditation. They also have a library with a great set of books and audio tapes that you can shuffle through, or buy of course.

My Experience

I'd gone for an hour long meditation class with a whole bunch of people who were also going to meditate along with me. The place looked insanely serene. As soon as you walk in, you cease to speak. The only language of communication in here was that of silence. Entering a place so silent, in a hustling bustling London, almost felt unreal! I was surprised to see how many people turned up to experiment with this type of practice. 

People from all sorts of different religions were there together, practicing the art of meditation. The service started with a prayer and a short story that was read by an old lady who ran that particular meditation practice. FYI, the person running this service is subject to change. Following this, we sat in meditation for about 40 minutes. 

It felt amazingly peaceful! That silence from all the noise of the city and the noise of the mind got me feeling formless. The undying voice of the mind finally seemed to take deep long breaths before uttering each new sentence. There was a time when it completely stopped speaking! And the body? Don't be afraid if your body goes numb, it's only a good sign. 

It really was a beautiful experience. As the service finished, I woke up with tears in my eyes to find this energized spirit and stillness within me. This feeling is the best gift you can give yourself. 

Turns out, it was a great way to celebrate her birthday, and an extremely productive hour. I definitely recommend it!

              

#LaughingAnanas