Our presence on this earth comprises of three things, things that we identify ourselves with.
So it is important that we have clarity on these three things.
The body is the car we use to experience everything first hand. Without it there is no identity of anyone. Therefore it is important that proper care is taken of it to make it last longer. For that it is imperative to understand that as long as it is kept running it will function well but when we keep it in garage for a long time, faults and defects will start to appear.
Our greatest attachment is towards our body. We do all types of things to keep it well oiled and running. In the process we forget that at some point of time in the long run it is going to finally break down. No amount of repair and maintenance will keep it running, but our attachment to it keeps on increasing as we age. When the time to ‘let go’ comes we become sad thinking that if only it ran for a few more years. The clarity of accepting it that whatever possessions we have today will one day end is known to all but the graceful acceptance of that end with peace and satisfaction is lacking in most of us.
People take clarity as mental clarity but that is not all. We know that mind is a master game player and even we cannot control it. Mind is like the gearbox of a car, which changes its position on its own. Mind is a continuous accumulation of diverse impressions all through our life therefore it is always like murky water. It is only that some days when we are happy and content, this murky water is a little stable so there is less murkiness. And some days when we are unhappy and irritated the water gets murkier.
We need to control the gear and not the other way around. But we cannot do that while we are inside the gear box, we have to be outside to change it. So we have to go beyond the mind into the realms of wisdom and consciousness to control and direct our mind. Only then we will be able to decipher between the true truth and the false truth. Then only we can develop equanimity of mind. And once we reach that level only then the mind puts everything in its proper place.
Now the car has the whole world as its road to travel. We can take it over the mountains and valleys and the cities and the villages. If we destroy the road ourselves then there is no point driving the car. The world is the place we are born, grow up, work, travel, and ultimately leave. If this playground is not tendered well then we ourselves will have difficulty in our cycle of life.
We need to have clarity that world where we live cannot be destroyed slowly, slow poisoned slowly. By doing it we are destroying us and slow poisoning us. It is we who have taken the most advantage of it, not the animals, so it becomes our responsibility to maintain it. Or else it is us who will suffer the most.
So these three things BMW- the body, mind and world has to be trodden carefully, so that our time on this earth becomes a pleasant one and not a journey of suffering and pain.
Nice article