Dear Friends,
Namaste!
Now that we are setting out on this journey together, you will naturally ask, “Where does it lead to? Does it end anywhere at all? Is there light at the end of this tunnel?”
Therefore it is important to establish our destination first. A clear-cut destination will give us direction. It will also motivate us to keep taking a step at a time and reach there – sooner rather than later. For,
“The highest level of motivation
Ensues from the clear realization
Who you are, why and what you should do
And about what in the world is there so much ado”
So what is the common destination that all of us do all our activities day-in-day-out in order to attempt reaching? If you ask a student why he is studying, he might say, “To gain knowledge”. If you ask him why he wishes to gain knowledge, he might say, “To pass the exam in flying colours”. If you further ask him why he wants to do that, he might say, “To acquire qualifications and earn living respectably”. If you drill down with further “why”s, he will eventually come to “To be happy!”
Similarly if you ask an employee why he is doing his best for his company, he might say, “To get increments and promotions”. If you ask him why he wants increments and promotions, he might say, “To become the CEO and earn a lot of money”. If you keep asking “why”, he will eventually say, “To be happy!”
Thus, it is quite evident that people may have different milestones in their journey but have the same common destination which is to “Be Happy”. This rule has no exceptions - including the people who serve others ‘selflessly’…
Abraham Lincoln was once travelling to the court with a fellow lawyer. They were having a conversation about the fundamental motive of all living beings behind every action. Lincoln was of the opinion that everyone does everything to “Be Happy”. His friend argued that there are some selfless souls who perform charitable actions without caring for their own happiness.
Just then they saw a piglet struggling by the roadside to get out of a muddy ditch. Lincoln immediately stopped the buggy, got down, helped the piglet out of the ditch and returned. “Look,” cried his friend, “That was a very selfless act of yours – and it only proves my point!”
“Not at all” said Lincoln, “In fact, it was a very selfish act. If I had not rescued the piglet, it would have bothered me all day long. Hence I had to do it.”
The next question you will ask is, “What about people who commit suicide?” Even such people do not want death, they actually want happiness. They would never want to die if they found a way of being happy!
So, let’s conclude then that all of us live every moment of our life in search of happiness. And how do we want this happiness to be? Transient? Fleeting? Temporary? No way! We want it to be eternal!! Also, do we wish to be just a little bit happy? Somewhat happy? Less happy than someone else? Not at all! We wish to be infinitely happy!! Our happiness must know no bounds...
Thus, it will not be incorrect to say that all of us want to be eternally and infinitely happy. This is indeed the single destination that all of us yearn. Understanding and accepting this fact is taking an important step forward in our journey.
However, this acceptance also gives rise to the next set of logical questions. Which path (or paths) can one take to ‘get home’? Is it indeed ever possible for anyone to be perfectly happy? What role does Yoga play in this?
The Science of Yoga provides unequivocal answers to these questions -
Just like all the raindrops falling from the sky undertake a journey through various routes to eventually merge into the ocean, we also merge into the ocean of happiness. The raindrops may follow different trajectories but the direction is same – towards the ocean. Likewise, people may cross different milestones in reaching the destination but the path is the same – the path of Human Evolution, the Yoga Path!
In fact, ‘Life’ is nothing but a game of ‘Treasure Hunt’. The ‘Treasure’ happens to be the ‘Reservoir of Joy’. The main (in fact, only) objective of this game is to hunt down the treasure. So the game gets over once this objective is achieved - just like a journey concludes after reaching its intended destination. What’s more, various steps in the ‘Treasure Hunt’ map astonishingly closely to the steps in Human Evolution!
How? Let’s take this fascinating analogy further and discover a few secrets next week.
Au revoir…
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