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Iishatkara - easy/doing little
This is a polite reference to finding the shortest way of doing something - preferably involving minimum effort; in other words, laziness! Why chose this for a series on self-development?
Well, as mentioned yesterday, there are no shortcuts to the proper raising of standards. The exercises and disciplines given by the teachers over the centuries have been tried and tested and proven, not once, not twice, but umpteen times. They have to be rehearsed and polished and checked and rehearsed and polished and checked and… Yet it is the case, especially in the early stages of seeking to make changes for the better, (but it can haunt us even at advanced levels), to want to find the most comfortable way of doing things in the hope of equal results. To become lax and think skipping steps will not be a problem.The concert pianist will laugh at you. The master-builder will watch as you hit your thumb. The jet pilot will blink as you crash and burn.
The sadhu in the Himalaya will not notice you because you have not done enough to rise to the state of unity with him or her.
Okay, so most reading here do not have any interest in gaining jivanmukta - freedom from the bondage of daily living whilst still living life. I would venture to guess, though, that if you have stuck around reading these posts, you do have at least some small interest in improving to some degree as a person.
Therefore, just as the pianist must build the strength of the fingers, the flow of the scales and sharpen memory skills, so it is that personal growth requires us to learn the life lessons of those who have done it before us, build our strength of character and hone our sensibility skills. Just as the master-builder must be certain of his tools, sure of plans provided by the architect and have the expertise to interpret them correctly, so it is that we must accept the tried and true practices and trust the proven methods, and not seek to interpret them to suit our low and lazy ways.
Vedanta provides a very straightforward set of 'saadhanas' - daily practices. Not mere words to be read, but processes to be applied in daily life. Just like any other methodology, though, it requires the practitioner to be honest - brutally so - with themselves. We are a maze of personal history. If we cannot be true to ourselves, we can never unravel our own mystery...
Good post. Laziness doesn't take anyone anywhere. One must constantly keep working honing our skills. I remember my school teacher saying: there is no shortcut to success.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting one for me. For various reasons, I'm always looking - where possible for simpler and easier ways for myself/others to do things and to weigh what needs to be done. I feel a lot of times like practices people try to teach me worked for them but they may be trying to entangle me in a system they may not even realize - and I kind of want them to pay me to find out - have attachments to racism or sexism or classism. And that's not pay me to be selfish, but really someone who is more an expert in that "sensitivity training" so they might listen to that person. This will sound crazy but I have had these problems with spiritual teachers in the past, and I often wonder where does this put me? When I was 14, I had a spiritual experience that transcends space and time. I *chose* to return to earth to help people. I'm not here to learn lessons, and the longer I live (in my 40's now) the more I come to understand this is something unique about me that really bothers some people. If I feel led to learn lessons, it's usually to come through on the other side like "oh yeah that's cool" or to be the pianist who will tell your angels/spirit "watch that second verse though, it's a little off there." Everyone assumes their teachers are great because they have been "doing this for a long time" but there are plenty of very terrible things that have been going on "for a long time" and it works for some people while brutally oppressing others. Do you ever feel like everyone else is in prison/school and you're just visiting? What is the difference between lazy and saying no matter what your title/position, mm, no. Or no matter what your title/position, that is beautiful, how you transcend life as you find it. I tend to shy away from "absolute ways" in general because I feel like each person, each soul is different. This bothers me exactly on this level, and I know it is not that I'm lazy. Or maybe I am. But that is the bone-deep honest truth about my soul. Teach me about how you do you, how others do them. Don't try to teach me to do me. That's a whole other universe. Trust me. But you can teach me how you want my universe to intersect with yours. And each person is different, even if the languages may be the same for people/groups who know each other. Words are failing me. I know there is more to what you are saying than this. It is just so important to me that if people want to participate in a particular ordered system, great. But, there are other ways of getting to the same place with discipline and order you may not even recognize because their methods are different. And past that, words fail, because language has to fail. But I know it is true. Hope you have a great weekend! Peace, Anne
ReplyDeleteCutting corners never works. But, as you've mentioned in your post Yamini, we can all succumb to laziness. This is a great reminder for anyone practising any sadhana.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
My dad used to tell me, "Nothing difficult is ever easy." His father told him that, too. That pretty much sums up life!
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