There is freedom without discipline

 

People who are free regret that they do not have discipline. They keep promising that they will become disciplined. People who are disciplined look for the end; discipline is not an end in itself, it is a means. Look at people who have no discipline; they are miserable. 

Freedom without discipline is absolute misery. Discipline without freedom is suffocating. Orderliness is monotonous and chaos is stressful. We must make our discipline free and our freedom disciplined. 

People who have company all the time, look for the comforts of solitude. People who are in solitude feel so lonely and want company. People in a cold place want a warm place. People in a warm place love something cool. This is the dilemma of life: everyone is looking for perfect balance. Perfect balance is like a razor’s edge. It can only be found in the self. 

Initiation is called diksha. In Sanskrit “di” means intellect, “ksha” means the horizon or the end. Diksha means transcending the intellect. Education is called shiksha, the horizon of discipline – total discipline. Discipline is needed for education. Diksha is needed for meditation. 

A teacher gives shiksha. A guru gives diksha. A guru takes you beyond the intellect to the realm of Being. It is a journey from the head to the heart. 

Blossoming beyond the intellect is diksha. If you do not go beyond the intellect, you will not smile, you will not laugh. Once diksha happens, you are happy, blissful and contented and your thirst for knowledge is quenched. Totality of discipline is shiksha. Totality of intelligence is diksha.

Finding freedom through bondage

 

One who has given everything has also given freedom. Honour the freedom first and make good use of all things given to you. To think fresh, you need to be free of all impressions. Let go of all impressions right this moment and be hollow and empty. 

When you hear a word, the sound instantaneously conveys the meaning. Similarly, the knowledge that you are sitting, standing or talking needs neither confirmation nor proof. An intention to be free makes you free right away. Realising that freedom is your very nature brings enormous shakti, energy. 

Forget about this knowledge note and be free. The full moon of Raksha Bandhan is dedicated to the seers the rishis. Bandhan means bondage, raksha means protection. This is a bondage that protects you. Your bondage to the knowledge, to the master, to truth, to the self, all save you. A rope can be tied to either protect or strangle you. The small mind and mundane things can strangle you. The big mind and knowledge save you. Raksha Bandhan is the bondage that saves you. 

You are saved by your bondage to satsang. Your bondage to the master, to truth, to the ancient knowledge of the rishis is your saviour. Bondage is essential in life. Only let the bondage be to the divine, in a life free from bondage.