Crossing the Sea of Samsara

How can we cross the sea of Samsara? This worldly existence is so difficult to cross. Billions have died and billions will die. All of us will one day be dead. If we fail to realize the Self before we depart, we will have to take up the journey again and again until we succeed.

We make plans, we set goals, we desire for this and that — but have we forgotten the Real Giver of Life? Without His Grace we would have no breath.

We have a part to play, and we should play our part well. When the Director gives us another part to play, we should not hesitate to follow His instructions. But the problem in some cases is that we have become so familiar with our part that we no longer grasp the whole picture. We become arrogant and sit ourselves on the Director's chair and insist that everything should go our way. Mistakenly, we assume that WE are the Director.

When we 'play God,' we can no longer play with Him. This is a very big problem. This is a trap that nearly everyone falls into. To avoid this trap (or to get out of this trap) we need a Guide, someone who knows the path and knows where the traps are set. To find a qualified guide there is only one requirement: we must first be a qualified seeker. If we are just interested in taking a spiritual 'trip', then we will find that there are numerous 'tour guides' advertising in the 'spiritual' marketplace, and we can readily acquire their services for a handsome fee. There are many souls who fall for the trappings of these charlatans, but this only happens when we are so wrapped up in our personalities and bodies that we have cut ourselves off from the depth of our being.

We have expectations and we are anxious to fulfill those expectations. Inwardly we are still immature, like little infants, expecting and wanting. But unlike innocent babes, we hide behind a mask of contrived self-control. Although outwardly we maintain a friendly unassuming nature, inwardly we burn in frustration when we don't get our way. And instead of controlling this negative aspect of our nature with self-discipline, humility, introspection, and prayer, we cover it up with outer decorum. As children, we learned to control our bowels so that diapers were no longer necessary. But we never learned to control our minds. We've been wearing the dirty diapers on our heads for so long. It's time to remove those dirty diapers and clean away the negative mentality and wrong thinking. We have to learn to control our mind.

We have to feed our mind good thoughts and inspiration. If we feed our mind the wrong thoughts we are going to suffer from mental diarrhea or mental constipation. We shouldn't get stuck in our images and ideas about how things should be. Things are going to be the way they are, and the only way we are going to change them is to put out good energy. It is not enough that you just meditate or read books, or run from this place to that place in search of "something" or "someone" to make you happy. You have to confront yourself head-on. You have to become quiet and peaceful inside by living in the depth of your being.

We have to live a pure life, with good habits, and sincerely and energetically serve our loved ones. But if we are busy playing mind games we will miss the boat. In other words, if we are busy entertaining our personality or other personalities we will NEVER grasp the import of the Teachings of the Wise. The wisdom that has been passed down from times immemorial can be compared to a well-built ship. This ship (navigated by a qualified captain) can take us across the sea of birth, life, and death (the Sea of Samsara). But if we waste our time and energy in useless talks and in giving importance to shallow relationships and selfish pursuits (like bad habits and pleasure-seeking) we will never be able to get out of our shallow mentality.

We need to put a stop to our verbal delusion. Expressing our opinions and intellectualizing and philosophizing about worldly and spiritual matters will only increase our stubbornness. It will thicken the veil of ignorance by increasing our ego. Likewise, listening to those who are "lost" will only take us deeper into the jungle of our mind, and further and further away from the Divine. The one who is in the mouth of the shark loves to have company. There are many fools who misuse the old saying "Be in the world, but not of it." Be in the water with the sharks and you will be ripped apart. Be in the water in a sturdy and sound boat and you will have the chance to cross the Sea of Samsara and reach the shore of Eternity.