Becoming hollow and empty

 

The world would be free of trouble if there were no love! All the problems in the world are caused by love! If there were no love, you can’t be jealous. Jealousy is because of love. Greed comes because you love objects too much. Anger is because you love perfection; that is why you are angry at imperfections. You love yourself too much and that’s why pride and arrogance come to you. 

Every distortion of love causes problems, yet life will have no meaning without love. Suppose you are immensely successful and have all the riches at your command and but love is missing from your life. But life will not really be worthwhile; it would appear barren. Whatever angle you look from, all we long for in life is love; a divine love. The purpose in life is to blossom in that ideal love. 

So, how do you get to that point of love where it is free from the distortions and you are at ease with yourself? You have to see that what is really obstructing you from that innocent love is your ego. What is ego?  Ego is like a dream. A dream exists until it doesn’t exist. You can’t call a dream real, but you can’t call it unreal either because you have the experience. Ego is simply being unnatural. 

The ego is not a substance; it is a non-substance like darkness. Darkness is only a lack of light. There is no substance called ego. You could say it is just a lack of maturity or the lack of pure knowledge. Knowledge is an aid to develop the innermost state of you, which is love. Love is not an act; it is a state of being rather than an act. We are all made up of love. When the mind is in the present moment, we are in a state of love. Train the mind a little to live in the present moment. 

If everything is God and all is love, then where is life heading to? Life is heading towards perfection. You look for perfection; that is why you are angry at imperfections. There are three kinds of perfection: perfection in action (kriya), perfection in speech (vachan) and perfection in feelings (bhaav). Suppose someone makes a mistake and when you see that mistake you get angry. 

Then you are no better than the person who has made the mistake. Your feelings have become imperfect because of someone’s imperfection in action. Any action will have some flaw. But when the feeling becomes imperfect, then it stays for a longer period. The innermost perfection is lost. 

Spiritual practices help you maintain your centeredness and not be shaken by small events. Every individual is bestowed with all the virtues in the world. They simply get covered by lack of understanding and stress. All that is needed is to just to uncover the virtues that are already there. 

Breathing techniques and meditation are very effective in calming the mind. Learning something about our breath is very important. Our breath has a great lesson to teach us, which we have forgotten. For every rhythm in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath and for every rhythm in the breath there is a corresponding emotion. So, when you cannot handle your mind directly, through breath you can handle it better. 

Our mind is like a pot that is turned upside down. When we were born, the pot came first with the neck upright. The whole purpose of life is to stand up, turn the pot upside down and empty it. But the pot is filled with something very sticky; though it is standing upside down, it doesn’t get empty. No animal has its neck upright. Only human beings have the opportunity to empty their heads. Becoming hollow and empty is the whole purpose of life.

Blossoming in immortal love

 

We feel if there is love then why is life so painful? All that we want in life is love. Every human being is longing for a love that doesn’t die out, a love that doesn’t cause pain, a love that grows and stands forever. By taking a multilateral view of life, one can see life in a different way and realise that the purpose of life is to achieve this kind of love and blossom in that ideal love. 

Suppose you are immensely successful and have all the riches at your command but there is no love in your life, then life would not really be worthwhile; it would appear barren. But still, most people lead a loveless life. Have you ever thought why this happens? It is your ego that prevents you from achieving that love. As long as there is ego, there cannot be love. And when there is love, there is no sign of ego. 

What is ego? Ego is simply being unnatural. Half knowledge brings ego but when knowledge becomes complete, ego drops and simplicity dawns.  

The question arises that if ego is so unnatural then why does every human being have an ego? We have an ego because it is necessary in some way for our growth in life. That doesn’t mean it should not have been there from the very beginning. Ego is necessary, but with knowledge you can now grow out of it. 

In the Narada Bhakti Sutras one sutra says: “Knowledge is one of the aids to uncover the naturalness”. Through observing oneself and by going deep into one’s self, through meditation, one can overcome ego.  

Often, when someone shows a lot of love you do not know how to respond, you feel obliged and bound. This is because you are not natural. There is an ego coming in between. The ability to receive genuine love comes with the ability to give love. The more you are centered and natural and know by experience that love is not an emotion it is your very existence, the more you feel at home with any amount of love expressed in any manner.  A seed has a covering or shell over it, and when you soak it in water, it sprouts and then the shell peels off. Similarly, the ego is a necessary unnaturalness that develops as you grow.

When you were a child of two or three years, there was no ego; you are in a state of total, innocent, blissful love. Then the ego forms a cover. Knowledge uncovers this shell and make you a child again; natural, simple and innocent. When you are natural, simple and innocent, there is no ego. The ego is not a substance; it is a non-substance, much like darkness. Darkness is only lack of light. There is nothing called an ego that has substance. Ego is just a lack of total development, a lack of total understanding. It is just a lack of maturity or lack of knowledge.