Get rooted to self

By P. L. Bhola

After attaining a certain age, one starts thinking and behaving in a particular pattern. A broad mould or a matrix is formed, according to which all his thoughts and actions are patterned. This cocoon, worked out by his genetic inheritance and conditioning, serves for his ‘refuge’ throughout life. Spiritual leaning may or may not be part of his refuge. A man steeped in the demands of day-to-day business and enamoured of allurements of material possessions considers talk of spirituality as a weak mind’s crutch.

But occasions arise when movements of saner reality dawn on him and he realises that there is more to life than he realises in his humdrum existence. He realises the profundity of Christ’s counsel that a man cut off from his root is like a branch cut off from a tree, that soon turns yellow and listless.

A man rooted in the self, partakes of life and experiences bliss. The bliss that he experiences is quite different from the pleasures of the material world. According to Guru Nanak, in this life full of suffering and worries, only he is blissful whose mainstay is God’s name (Nam-aadhar). Sufism also believes in the same thought when they talk about Zikr. ‘Name Therapy’ has been acknowledged as the cure for many human sufferings.

Many well-known persons are known to have discovered peace and tranquility in the safe sanctuary of their hearts by being rooted to the self. They found their inner self as their oasis in a dry and dreary world. Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama are only some examples.

Those who are rooted to their self are always ‘at home’ and don’t feel strangers anywhere in the world. Loneliness or boredom is foreign to them. They savour solitude. They are partaking of His bliss all the time. Their being connected to their consciousness enables them to attain material success too, besides leading a life of creativity, peace and understanding. Spirituality blooms in such a state of mind.

courtesy: hindustantimes.com