Life on this earth is a trek. It does not matter if a man is a seeker of worldly pleasures or a spiritual seeker. Trek he must. During this trek, his feet will carry him through the scorching sands of the desert, skip through the verdant valley floor, march across the endless plains, trudge through the scrublands, grapple for purchase on the crags and mountains and sometimes walk across the waters. This varied landscape represents the whole gamut of experiences that life throws at both the worldly man and the spiritual seeker. The endeavours to cross every type of landscape combined with the experiences so gained is what the worldly men call trials and tribulations, the highs and lows of life, the religious men call punishment, retribution, atonement or penance. The spiritual seeker sees these neither as trials and tribulations, nor as punishments to be endured, nor as a retribution from the almighty, nor as an atonement to be undertaken, but just as experiences of life that he must experience for the complete awakening of his soul – to term these experiences as anything else is a disservice to self.
Irrespective of what man seeks on this trek, man needs a pair of sturdy boots – his determination, a staff – ego (in the case of a seeker of worldly pleasures) faith (in the case of a spiritual seeker), a backpack – karmas, emotions, relationships, attachments, strengths and weaknesses, view of life etc. How man carries, handles and offloads this backpack will determine the outcome of his journey. At the loom of life – for it is neither the first nor the last lifetime for man – it will dictate whether man weaves the fabric of his life or the tapestry of his existence.
The renunciate has one aim – to pursue his spiritual journey. Therefore, he divests himself of his emotions, offloads his attachments and desires on the roadside, only armed with his faith and determination embarks on his journey. The man of the world arms himself with his determination and ego to pursue his worldly goals; haphazardly packing and unpacking his backpack on his journey. The spiritual seeker neither divests himself of his emotions nor leaves his attachments and desires at the roadside – he lives in the world and pursues his spiritual goals – slowly but steadily lightening his backpack on his journey.
Under the guidance of his master, the seeker realizes that the intensity of his life experiences is directly proportionate to his perseverance to empty out his canteen of ego and fill it with humility; unroll the bedroll of desire and attachments and understand their impermanent nature, divest himself of the accoutrements of emotions and know them for the blindfolds they are. His karma of the lifetimes gone by and of the present hue his path through the varied landscape that he journeys through. Sometimes the path is laid out before his eyes and at others obscured. Forging the hidden pathways is a measure of his success, intangible though it is, as also paving the way to further his journey.
He recognizes the impermanent nature of his emotions, desires and attachments that ebb and flow like the tide and realizes that the world views them as the backbone and reason of existence in this world. The world believes that without these, life is not worth living. This understanding is a slow and steady process, it does not happen overnight. As the process takes a life of its own, it influences the seeker’s interaction with the mortal world. This gives rise to a conflict between the seeker’s approach to conducting his worldly life and the expectations of the world. This conflict is the very basis of all life experiences – pain and rejection being the most difficult to resolve.
Greater the conflict, greater the understanding that pain and rejection is just a part of the living process that is experienced by all, whether a man is pursuing his worldly dreams or spiritual dreams. The difference is that the man of the world lets these experiences define who he is whereas the spiritual seeker lives life with equanimity. Accepting and believing that experiencing this pain and rejection is for his good (though when in the midst of the turmoil, he definitely does not think so) and using it as a stepping-stone to understanding the impermanent nature of life helps the seeker to become a master of himself. The canteen of ego develops a leak and the emotions that blinded lose their ability to obscure reality.
The blindfolds that lift and the ego that starts to seep out of his personality; make him more amenable to the ever-changing landscape that he encounters en route. He adapts his actions accordingly, never compromising on his principles or ethics. However, it does not mean that once this process starts the seeker has reached the end of his journey. Walking on the spiritual path does not entitle him to a hunky-dory life nor is he exempt from fending for his needs and fulfilling his responsibilities. Life has to be lived with awareness. With every twist and turn of the path, he will have new experiences. He has to be careful, for ego and emotions that hold fast to each other can quickly bind him again. Wielding the staff (i.e., faith) at such moments is not a bad idea. It steadies the steps, protecting him from hurting himself or stagnating on his journey.
Life’s circumstances and experiences teach the seeker to weave his learning on the spiritual path with living in the mortal world. The spiritual pursuits and worldly pursuits must progress in tandem. There is no spoon-feeding and no one size fits all solution. The seeker’s nature dictates the nature of his experience – as many individuals on the journey, those many experiences and solutions. Being aware of his follies and flaws are signposts that help him offload the burden from his backpack and make it lighter. The more accepting and amenable he is to the curve balls that life throws at him, the lighter the backpack and lighter the backpack, the easier the journey.
Thus, at the loom of life, the worldly man weaves the warp and weft of his life’s journey with the singular thread of worldly gains that is strengthened by his ego and desires. He pushes at the pedals of his loom endlessly never understanding the true reasons as to why the fabric that he weaves shreds so easily and in every life he finds himself back where he started having to relearn the art of weaving. On the other hand, the spiritual seeker, under the guidance of his master weaves the warp and weft of his life’s journey with the threads of spiritual and worldly pursuits that are strengthened by his humility, faith and awareness of his flaws and follies. When he pushes at the pedals of his loom, it is with a clear aim of taking up from where he left in his earlier life – he weaves the tapestry of his existence that holds strong against the test of time.