The Meditative Way Of Life

Ramana Maharshi

-Staff

By Staff

Monday, October 13, 2008, 18:02

In the past those who wished to give themselves to a wholly meditative way of life, would retire to monasteries in order to be far from the madding crowd and remain in exclusive contemplation of God. Ramana has opened for us a new path where it is possible for one to be in the thick of life, with all its stresses and strains and at the same time be able to lead a way of life when one is never out of meditation. One's awareness of the presence of God would not be distracted by thoughts or action. However nowadays the lifestyle is so hectic that we find it hard to believe in this possibility despite Ramana's assurance.

Often one would have to get up early, have a quick breakfast and travel long distances to reach the work spot. The less affluent would have to jostle with fellow office goers in buses and suburban trains. In the office, a tough schedule awaits them. The employer is sure to demand his money's worth. Even if you are self-employed, sustaining competition and technological obsolescence could well be nerve racking. To add to this, there is the continuous ringing of the incoming phone calls and the need for making outgoing calls. The return journey from the office, when one is dead tired, can be quite tedious, given the mental and physical fatigue of the day. Back home, we have the needs of the family to cater to, socialize and relax.

Therefore to talk of a meditative way of life in a situation where it is tough even to find a little time for meditation may seem too Utopian. Hence the general belief that a meditative way of life is too much of a luxury, or that one has to renounce action, and withdraw from the stresses and strains of daily life in order to be able to do it.

It is against this backdrop of scepticism that one has to understand Ramana's statements that such a way of life is natural and his further assertion that “One's busiest hours are not different from meditative time spent in solitude" or that work and meditation are only two sides of the same coin. Therefore one has to go into this question and reconcile the seeming chasm between Ramana's words and our present experience. For this one must find the time to reflect on the core truths of the Ramana Way.

The first truism to which Ramana draws our attention is that all thought and action is aimed at happiness for oneself. The second point, which Ramana makes, is that happiness is natural and therefore available to everyone. It is not the exclusive property of anyone in particular. While the naturalness of happiness is a proposition about which no one has any doubt, the snag is that what one is seeking and searching for in life is not happiness, but pleasure and its concomitant, the avoidance of pain.

The reason for this has been explained clearly by Ramana in the very second verse of his 'Upadesa Saram'. In this verse he points out that action must lead to further action drowning us in the sea of action because no action of ours is complete and got over with. The actor's mind, carries in a seed form, the memory of pleasure, which came from the action. This pushes one further in that direction for more of it. The lure of the more is like the hunter's horn for the deer. Each action done in this fashion would never free one from enslavement to action. The difficulty is further compounded by the fact that all our actions are done with a strong sense of doership, with definite result orientation.

What then is the solution?