Peaceful Mind Through Gliding Along The Esoteric Path

Most people spend their waking hours with their minds caught up in conventional thoughts – thoughts that breed fear, anger, regret, anxiety, self-pity, loneliness etc.  Discovering the Esoteric Path takes them on to a well-ordered and useful life.

The Other Path

Endless conflicts arise due to the conventional mental state and people go on with it year after year, for many years.  The attrition by thoughts that are heavily centered on self-importance wears out the mind.  Even those who are socially successful realize, rather late in their lives, that they have been chasing a shadow all along – a very deceptive shadow at that.  Mental mediocrity sets in and there is a general dullness.  Is there a way out of all these so that one can live with a child’s freshness notwithstanding the crowding in of many negative things in life?  When people take up that question as an intriguing puzzle, they begin to discover the Esoteric Path that helps them live without mental conflicts and enjoy the freshness of wholesome living. 

Esotericism implies that we wouldn’t be carried away by social ways, nor would we be conditioned by belief systems or driven by habitual neurology.  There is a tendency to understand how the mind gets bogged down by the usual vortexes of fear, regret, anger, attachment, resentment etc.  The same tendency moves us to have insights into life (and the afterlife too!) rather than our using life merely for ego satisfaction and security.

The Transformation

Once on the Esoteric Path, people turn their attention inward and understand how the conventional thoughts bring in all the mental attrition.  The ensuing awareness is what takes them along the path of self-knowing without which one becomes a slave to the tyranny of the conventional thought stream.  They wake up to the poison of such slavery and release themselves from the stranglehold that thought has on us. Even as one functions in society, one frees oneself from falling prey to the mental pollution created thereof.  This brings in some calmness and quietude to the mind, countering the ill effects of the attrition.  The repose is somewhat like the placid waters of a still lake.  Under those conditions, just as the turbidity in the water settles down leaving the water to be clear, the mind too becomes lucid and shines like a single star in a limpid sky.  Once we get a taste of these happenings, we become increasingly interested in the still mind and its ability to make us understand the unconditional love of Divinity.  When a person who has had a Near Death Experience (NDE) speaks of the boundless compassion while being engulfed by the Light, we are in a position to sense and appreciate what that person is talking about.    

Two of the immediate effects of being on the Esoteric path are:  (1) We become empathic and begin to pay more attention to others than we normally do and (2) Begin to show interest in the messages of paranormal phenomena such as terminal visions before passing away, out-of-body experience, NDE etc.  These things bring about a natural austerity to oneself helping one to easily steer away from personal evils such as addiction to alcohol and social evils like indulging in unscrupulous methods of amassing wealth.  Consequently, there is an inward integration and the associated peaceful mind.  There would be the joy of giving and the vicarious happiness of making others happy.       

Further Reading

More about the effectiveness of the Esoteric Path is brought out in the book “In Quest of the Deeper Self”; details are given in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com  The author can be contacted at gopal.tc@gmail.com   He would enjoy interactions with all those interested in the topic.

This Matter of 'Taking It Easy' - Why Does it Become Difficult?!

       

Often our friends and relatives tell us to 'Take it easy' when we are in difficulties or in sorrow. It is good advice, no doubt, but people may come up with the jocular statement, "Yes, but taking it easy is not easy."! It is good to explore into this matter as it would open a doorway into ourselves.

People try to reach a state of peaceful mind through practising a method or a system, religious or otherwise. If it were to happen that way, there will always be the fear of losing what is gained and so continued stress will be felt in order to retain that state. It will be a matter of constant struggle to ensure that the peace is not lost. However, many people hope that they can reach permanent peace through adopting that approach. They are unaware that the psychological 'reacher' himself is impermanent! Even though it is a simple fact, many people are unwilling to acknowledge that fact. This is because the thought created 'I' has no intrinsic substantiality and so it is constantly in fear of being dissolved. That is why it is always moving out to hold on to something giving it a feeling of permanence. The fear of death also arises from the same cause.

If  some people rebel against the established systems and style themselves as non-believers, they make the mistake of over-emphasizing the rational mind’s ability to judge.  They remain unaware of the power of intuition. So they too alienate themselves from the abiding peace that is naturally there in us.    

When one sees the truism behind the above statements, one wonders, "How then does stable peace come at all?" Stable peace is our natural state and chasing it through thought projected things is what takes us away from it. UG Krishnamurti says, "Your attempt to become peaceful is creating the disturbance." Another Master asks, "How do you find a way to the house in which you are sitting?" Obviously, every way you take would lead you away from the house. People who have come that far know that the peace reached through a thought projected goal is false. That insight helps them to be free of all chases and there is a natural self-abidance - a state of falling into oneself through non-dependence. It augments an intrinsically peaceful mind because it is not based on a projected point of success through a method or a belief system.

As of now, only a small percentage of people seems to sense the above state of affairs and have the boldness to stand alone, free from all dependence. That aloneness has a purity and the associated peace that is self-sustaining. Then we can 'Take things easy' and apply ourselves to life passionately. Evolution on this planet is bringing more and more people into that awareness, though the process seems to be very slow. The current trend in the majority is still towards relying on sectarian practices that promise peace here and heaven after death. When the trend changes into one of self-abidance through inwardly directed awareness, the society will change to be one where there is unqualified love and all-pervasive camaraderie - no segregation whatsoever through nationality, religion etc.

Now, you can take it easy because you don't have to chase anything! 

Knowing how to take things easy, we would also know the seriousness with which we have to apply ourselves to our practical responsibilities.  Reflecting on the above, you will be able to strike your own trail towards the inner self and the abiding peace that is there naturally in you – like the deep ocean waters.   Related matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com