Inner Transformation Series – 2 - It's a Perfect World

[Ravishankar.G]

Dear All,

In the first article in this series we saw how, in order to change the world, we first have to change ourselves; for the world is only the way we are. Only what is inside us manifests itself on the outside.

A kind, caring person sees a world that is compassionate and loving. But a perpetual liar believes that everyone around him is dishonest. A devious person sees a devious world that is out to get him.

When Lord Sri Krishna told the Gopas of Vrindavan to refrain from worshipping Indra, the god of rain, but instead worship the holy Govardhana Mountain, they immediately agreed to do His bidding. But when he heard this, the proud Indra, his ego hurt, was furious. The moment he was proud, he thought Krishna had become proud. In his mad rage, he raved that the Gopas were audacious because of their prosperity; that their action was like trying to cross the ocean of Samsara (Mundane Life) by resorting to mere ritualism instead of meditation and philosophical reflection; he even called Krishna names, including calling him "an ignoramus, a pretentious pseudo-scholar, a silly boy and a braggart".

But in truth, was not Indra the one who was audacious because of his prosperity? Was he not the one tied to ritualism as he waited in anticipation for the Gopas' worship offerings? Wasn't he the one ignorant (of who Krishna really was), the braggart, the pseudo-scholar who talked glibly about crossing Samsara through meditation while at the same time succumbing to the desire for material offerings?

The qualities we see in others are actually right within us.

When we truly grasp the import of this sentence, it is like a great secret has been revealed to us. The moment we see something wrong with others, it means immediately that there is something wrong with us. We seem to project what is within us as issues onto others—we focus on the most 'repulsive' aspects of another’s personality that actually reflects our own challenges.

But in truth, there is never anyone to be changed but "me". And once we absorb this, and start observing ourselves—our thoughts and how we view others—then a dramatic change starts to take place within us. Like we saw in the previous article, transformation means going from firm ground to quicksand. To truly transform ourselves we need to step where we have never gone before.

Albert Einstein termed as insanity the act of doing the same thing again and again and expecting different
results. That is why inner transformation means letting go of the big past and trying to bring in fresh thinking; to work out what we are doing with life. This will make a tremendously different, caring person out of us and even inspire people around us.

Once when the great 11th century teacher and philosopher, Sri Ramanujacharya, went to the holy Tirumala hill (Tirupathi. South Of India) , the abode of Lord Venkateshwara, Sri Ramanujacharya's aged uncle, Sri
Periya Tirumala Nambi, came all the way down the hill to invite and receive him. Sri Ramanujacharya was moved and told him that he could have sent some little boy to invite him instead of undertaking the
difficult trip himself. But the aged saint said, "I looked around but couldn’t find anyone as little as me. So I had to come myself."

These are the people who transformed themselves and others too. A thousand years later we are still talking about them. Such people looked at themselves and first made the change within; then the transformation
that happened around them was automatic. Once we make the change within, the ego "I" does not come into play anymore. That is the beauty of it. Then things begin to happen miraculously. Then we understand
that things always happen miraculously; only we thought all this while that we were doing it. It is a wonderful dawn of something higher.

The whole world is the Lord's creation. The Lord is perfect, so the world is perfect. The only thing that appears to be imperfect seems to be our view of the world. Fundamentally things are perfect as they are!

So when we 'see' imperfection, our 'seeing' should be less than perfect. So we need to work on cleaning our vision. It is as simple as that!
----------------------
From a lecture series – 'Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times' by Sri M.K.Ramanujamji ([e-mail]) at Houston, TX, USA, inspired by teachings his Master - H.H.Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji.

From more details Pl contact Sri M.K.Ramanujamji ([e-mail]) inspired by teachings from his Master - H.H.Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji.
-----------------------------
Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
--------------------------------------------------------
Visit: http://www.namadwaar.org/home.php